An Inspector Calls.... and the consequences of an accident

The first sight to greet our delegates as they entered the conference room at this year’s British Glass Annual Health & Safety Conference held at the Moat House Hotel in Stoke-on-Trent on 1 November was a man lying on the floor bleeding, a crushed arm and severe blood loss pointing to a serious accident, waiting for an ambulance to take him to hospital. At this point, the full extent of his injury was unknown.  
 

Taking a different approach to the usual conference format, British Glass conducted a full Accident Investigation taking in the scene of the accident, the extent of the injuries and the consequence for the victim and his family, together with a full investigation to identify the causes and the prior events leading up to the accident and how it affected both colleagues and the employer. The investigation concluded in a trial with bona fide judge and barristers conducting a real-life episode from their files.

 

The day's proceedings were opened by David Workman, Director General of British Glass, who highlighted how the glass industry has become - and is seen to be - a leader in Health & Safety, passing mention that "industry figures for accidents and lost time have halved since the GLASS Charter was launched".
 

This theme was continued by keynote speaker, Geoffrey Podger, Chief Executive of the Health and Safety Executive who praised the glass industry for the dedication it shows to Health & Safety, in particular praising the GLASS Charter Initiative, now in its sixth year, and all the efforts made by Charter members.
 

The first part of the investigation began with Declan Moore, UK Health & Safety Manager of British Glass, giving an introduction to the day and background to the accident: “Whilst working at Inpane (UK) Ltd, Ian Jorde, suffered a crushed arm injury having been pulled into a sealed unit machine.”
 

Posing then as a workmate to the victim, Declan contacted Ian ‘by telephone’ – the conversation conducted with great pathos with Declan and our victim on opposite sides of the stage. Delegates were shocked by Ian’s very real – and rather harrowing -personal account of how the accident occurred and how much it had touched upon every aspect of his life, and especially how it had affected his two children whom he idolised: “My son calls me a pirate; my daughter is so scared of me, she’ll no longer cuddle me.”
 

He talked frankly of his shock of waking after surgery to discover his forearm had been amputated and about his grave concerns for the future: whether he would be able to work, whether he would be able to support his family as he knew he would be unable to return to the work he was experienced in and had few qualifications. At the moment all he had was the limited savings that they were using to support themselves and that was another worry.

 

Next came "The HSE Visit Inspection", a presentation by Terry Aston from the Health & Safety Executive, detailing how an HSE Inspector would initially carry out an inspection and what s/he would look for. In this case, the inspector’s own opinion was given as well as the findings and report submitted after the inspection of Inpane (UK) Ltd’s premises.
 

 “The Inspector Calls” a presentation given by Barristers Andrew Stokes and Sally Roff of Beachcroft LLP highlighted how early decisions made by the company can have a significant impact on the outcome and showed the amount of preparation involved prior going to Court.
 

The morning session was then rounded off – also providing an interlude – with the presentation of the annual GLASS Charter Awards - now in their fourth year - given in recognition to those companies who had made significant improvements, initiatives and performances in Health and Safety during the year.
 

Overall winner this year of the GLASS Charter Globe was Solaglass Windowcare showing a significant drop in their incident rate – from 51 to only 31. The company had adopted a wide range of methods to communicate safety including safety text messages and presentations such as “Creating a safety culture for 100,000 workplaces” (over 100 technicians carrying out five jobs a day, five days a week, 47 weeks a year!).
 

The Awards led nicely into the lunchtime break where delegates were able to visit the large exhibition area with displays including safetywear, testing equipment, specialist vehicle suppliers, training providers and many others.

The afternoon session started with the moment everyone had been waiting for: The Court Case. The audience were invited to become the Directors of Inpane (UK) Ltd with the ability to make decisions through interactive voting covering topics such as disciplinary action, training issues, equipment records culminating in what the company would decide to plead in court.

 

Barry Cotter QC was the Judge for the afternoon and he provided an insight into how the Judge thinks throughout the judicial process and how he is on the side of the victim.  His credentials were more than appropriate having worked in high-profile cases such as the 1999 Southall Train Crash Inquiry and the Public Inquiries of Ladbroke Grove in 2000. He specialises in defending Health & Safety at Work prosecutions and also sits part-time as a Crown and County Court Judge.
 

Said Declan, "This year’s event provided a unique opportunity to peek behind the scenes and, more particularly, the human aspect of an accident, gaining an insight into what could happen to a victim of an accident, his family, his work and ultimately his future.  The trial also gave delegates the opportunity to find out what could be the outcome of an accident investigation and the factors that come into play in a court case and the consequences for themselves as employers."

 Sponsors of this year's Conference were Beachcroft LLP, Brunner Mond, Arco, Float Glass Industries, Globus and GQA.