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Rob discusses his role and involvement with regards to safety and risk management, challenge facing engineers and risk managers when applying and demonstrating ALARP, what he is looking forward to at the event, and why it is important for engineers to attend.
Q: Please briefly explain your role, involvement, and experience with regards to safety and risk management
Rob Norton (RN): As Team Lead at PlanRadar, I am leading the advice and support given to clients in the area of safety and risk management. With the changing regulations, I am supporting clients trying to meet their new compliance challenges in the area of safety and risk management. I started my career as an engineer in the fire sector, so I appreciate the challenges they are facing on a daily basis.
Q: What is the top challenge facing engineers and risk managers when applying and demonstrating ALARP?
RN: There is always a perception that performance and reduction of financial expenditure is counterproductive to health and safety benefits. There is still a culture present that isn’t aware that getting health and safety right will often lead to better performance and reduction in costs.
Q: How has your approach to risk management changed in recent years?
RN: As a software provider, we are not directly involved in risk management, but our platform is used to enable engineers to manage the risks, in particular the fire safety risks, of their projects. Our platform is designed to be as flexible as possible as we understand that each building has different attributes and requires a unique risk approach. We can provide a single source of truth across a project, where the what, when, who and how of each fire safety element in the project is tracked, providing a tamperproof audit trail for total compliance and peace of mind.
Q: What developments are going on in your industry which will change your approach in the future?
RN: New legislation and digitalisation are both playing a huge role in how the construction industry approaches and manages risk. The Building Safety Act, in particular the requirement to create a ‘golden thread’ of information for all tall residential buildings and Regulation 38, and the Fire Safety Act, are forcing a radical overhaul of the approach to safety and risk management. A complex web of responsibilities on each project is being introduced and the issue of competence is a vast topic.
Q: What will you be presenting at the ALARP seminar and how will this benefit participants?
RN: I will be discussing how on-the-go technology can support the new compliance challenges our industry faces, ultimately supporting the reduction of exposure to regulatory and legal penalties and identifying the gaps relating to fire risk assessments. I would like to discuss expectations in the market around information management systems and around safety management systems and how those systems will manage building safety risks.
Q: Which other speakers and presentations are you looking forward to hearing at the forthcoming seminar?
RN: I am looking forward to listening to all the other speakers, to understand the challenges and opportunities there may be for engineers in the changing business climate.
Q: Why is it important for engineers and safety practitioners to come together and share best practice?
RN: With some radical changes happening in the construction industry, it is imperative for engineers and safety practitioners to come together to share best practice. Working together will increase efficiency, productivity and ultimately help save lives.
The ALARP: Risk Management for Engineering seminar will be taking place on 28 February 2023 in Manchester, UK.
Join this in-person seminar to:
- Gain in-depth insights into ALARP methodologies employed in a range of safety-critical sectors – allowing the transfer of best practice
- Understand developments around the interpretation and application of ALARP
- Develop the knowledge and skills needed to successfully apply the ALARP principle to 21st century engineering challenges
- Mitigate and manage risks effectively to eliminate safety-critical events
- Reduce your exposure to regulatory and legal penalties by understanding expectations and meeting them fully
To book your place, please visit the event website.