At NSS, one of our core values is working in the safest way, which is why we set up The Safety Sessions, a series of events aimed at educating our employees and customers on effective risk management.
At our most recent event, employees from all areas of the group and customers gathered from around the country to listen to an inspiring and sobering story from Jason Anker MBE on his experience of falling off of a ladder at work over 27 years ago and the huge impact it’s had on his life ever since.
To fully investigate the cause of an accident at work, we must understand why that person has put themselves in that situation and re-educate them on the full impact of their decisions, which is why Jason’s story was an important one to hear.
The session focussed on behavioural safety, defining the types of human error that can occur and how both the physical and mental state of a person can cause these errors affecting the person’s judgement on what is safe and unsafe.
Jason’s Story
On January 3rd 1993, when Jason was 24, he fell 10ft from a ladder when on-site. In his own admission, Jason knew there was a risk but carried on due to workplace pressure to get the job done.
The incident left Jason with life long injuries, paralysed from the waist down and in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. But the effects weren’t just physical, they were emotional, too. ‘The ripple effect’, as Jason described it, had also changed the lives of his friends and family, leaving long-term emotional scars.
As he elaborated on his story and how it has changed his life, Jason came back to one point – the accident was avoidable. If he had followed a safe system of work this wouldn’t have happened.
Jason summaries with the key facts:
● Everyone is complicit in unsafe practices, not just the person who is taking the shortcut
● Jobs don’t become less dangerous, you simply get confident, meaning our judgement becomes impaired
● Health and safety regulations and safe systems of work are there for a reason and should be followed at all times, no matter how tempting a short cut can be
● Take five seconds to speak up if you see something unsafe
This is why health and safety is so deeply embedded in our culture at NSS. By making it a priority, and learning from stories like Jason’s, we continue to maintain an excellent safety record.
We hold regular health and safety sessions and meetings with our employees, run by our dedicated QHSE department as well as investing heavily in approved training courses for all employees.
What’s more, we are ‘working at height’ specialists so our team has genuine expertise in this area.
Our continued investment in ensuring all employees contribute to the organisations thriving health and safety culture give confidence to employees’ friends and family that we will be sending them home safely at the end of each day.
Watch the video below to get a behind the scenes look at The Safety Sessions with Jason Anker.