Ep 9: Safety and Autonomy – Professor John McDermid

Lina Chauhan, ergonomic musculoskeletal wellbeing specialist for BT and advanced occupational health physiotherapist for British Airways, talks to our Managing Director, Adam Clarke, about her career path in occupational health physiotherapy, and how she actively promotes health and wellbeing in the workplace.  Lina shares how she has built a successful career over the past 20 years and how her role has grown and evolved. She talks about the role of physiotherapy in occupational health and her passion for preventing injuries by working in partnership with organisations and health and safety professionals.  She discusses why it is important that organisations prioritise people's wellbeing and the ways in which face-to-face interactions in the workplace bring a sense of belonging. Lina highlights the rewards of mentoring other professionals and talks about the ways in which she tries to keep a healthy work-life balance. 

In this episode we are joined by Fiona O'Donnell, Global HSE Strategy Lead at Jacobs. Fiona is dedicated to the promotion of mental health and wellbeing and won the SHP Trailblazer Workplace Wellbeing Award in 2022 for the 'One Million Lives' campaign, a free mental health check-in tool by Jacobs to enhance users' understanding of their current state of mind and provide proactive strategies for personal mental health development. This episode focuses on work-life balance in a male-dominated industry, the impact of hybrid work on relationships and safety, and mental health initiatives in the workplace.

In this episode we are joined by Silvana Martin, Wellbeing Leader at Laing O 'Rourke. Silvana has a proven track record of defining, developing, and delivering health, wellbeing, safety and inclusion strategies, effectively embedding these into the culture of the organisation and achieving excellent meaningful results. This episode focuses on the importance of understanding your business and asking the right questions, dealing with stress in the workplace and designing an effective programme to meet the needs of your people.

In this episode we are joined by Matt Hall, Associate Director of Health and Safety at Imperial College Healthcare NHS. He is an experienced head with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital and healthcare industry, higher education, and research.  This episode focuses on transitioning from small to large organisations, delivering effective talks and the importance of understanding the cost and reward of health and safety.

In this episode we are joined by Clive Johnson, a highly accomplished senior executive with 10 years' extensive experience operating at board level with a number of blue-chip organisations. A well-rounded executive with a track record of leading business and industry through transformational change, Clive is an expert at improving the health, safety, security, and wellbeing culture of any organisation. This episode focuses on transferable skills, safety as an enabler rather than a blocker, taking on non-executive roles and encouraging individuals to pursue a safety career.

In this episode, we are joined by Andrea White, an independent fire engineer, fire risk assessor and chartered safety professional with her own consultancy, A W Fire Ltd.  The strapline for A W Fire is Dedicated to Competence and it's a mantra Andrea has sought to follow throughout her career, gaining several professional registrations and becoming a Fellow of the IFE. In 2022, Andrea was voted an influencer within the fire safety industry by IFSEC Global.  She is Founder and Director of Women Talking Fire, an independent women's support and networking group for the UK fire safety industry.  This episode focuses on the subject of competence - the importance of competency in an organisation, what competency means in real-life, balancing confidence and competency and how to deal with competency issues.

In this episode we are joined by Christian Harris, Founder of Slip Safety Services. 'Slipologist' Christian Harris became passionate about preventing accidents and injuries due to suffering from a severe accident himself. He is on a mission to prevent 500,000+ slip and fall accidents annually across the globe. This conversation looks at how to move forward after a life-changing accident, using client's missions and values in the context of safety, dealing with internal pressure and the importance of trust and growth within business.

In this episode we are joined by Louise Harry, who leads Siemens Environmental Protection, Health Management and Occupational Safety in the UK and Ireland. With a passion for employee engagement, digitalisation and manufacturing, Louise has worked globally in EHS roles in manufacturing, IT & telecommunications sectors before joining Siemens in 2018. This conversation looks at entering the environmental, health and safety profession, the importance of building good relationships in the workplace and making unpopular decisions.

In this episode we are joined by Professor John McDermid, the Director of the Assuring Autonomy International Programme at the University of York. This conversation focuses on safety of robotics and autonomous systems.

In this episode we are joined by Sheila Lord, the Founder and Director of BMR Health and Wellbeing, working to create happier and healthier workplaces by taking a proactive approach to mental health and employee wellbeing. This conversation highlights the importance of investing in wellbeing. This includes reducing workplace stress, saving money, effectively managing an agile workforce, and giving managers the tools to support their staff.