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A recent survey undertaken by Percy, Hughes & Roberts Solicitors has found that 38% of those involved in an accident did not report it because they felt that nothing would be done about it or that their employer would be angry with them.

Accident reporting is a good indication of the safety culture within a business; we have visited many sites where the manager will insist that ‘they don’t have accidents’ and yet employees can point to various faults or hazards around the premises that have caused accidents.

It is essential that there is a proactive, supportive safety culture within a business and identifying the root cause of accidents and near misses is key to showing that you are genuinely invested in improving safety culture within the workplace. By not identifying accident and near misses, no matter how minor, business owners and managers are missing the opportunity to prevent a more serious accident.

The same survey also found that the most common hazards within the workplace are messy workstations and slipping hazards. Whilst this may be perceived as a minor safety issue it can again speak to the safety culture of a workplace.

http://www.hsmsearch.com/Employees-too-worried-to-report-injuries

At Harrier we work with business owners to identify these areas of concern, talking to employees to identify the hazards and safety issues affecting them and then putting in practical measures to ensure employees are aware of any procedures, changes and time lines.

For a free one hour review* of your business call us today on 01332 460703

*East Midlands only

Keen to meet with more local businesses within the Derbyshire area, we’re proud to announce that we have joined companies such as Bombardier and The University of Derby in becoming a Marketing Derby bondholder!

Being a Marketing Derby bondholder will enable us to network with other businesses across Derby and share our expertise in health & safety and event management. We’re also super excited to be able to promote what the city of Derby has to offer to other regions of the UK.

Helen McCabe, our Business Manager said:

“In the past eight years of living in the area, I’ve noticed there have been some significant changes to the city in terms of industry and leisure. More companies seem to be exploring the facilities and markets in and around Derby and at Harrier, we want to be a part of this exciting transformation. Having spoken to other bondholders, we feel it’ll be a great opportunity for us to continue networking with other companies in the region, and they’re always extremely proud to be associated with Marketing Derby. We’re looking forward to being a part of the scheme.

For me, Derby is where I go to spend my leisure time so I really feel a close connection with the city. There’s such a great mix of smaller independent businesses, which we really enjoy being able to advise and support, as well as the larger brands. I really love the variety that the city has to offer.”

As a Marketing Derby bondholder, we’ll be part of an extensive group of businesses showing their commitment to Derby’s growth and regeneration plans. We will also have access to several benefits such as networking and discounted advertising, as well as being entered into giveaways and further promotion.

Here’s what Lindsey Hatfield, Commercial Development Manager at Marketing Derby had to say: “I am delighted to welcome Harrier to the Marketing Derby Bondholders. Our Bondholders represent all that is great about our city, and without them, Marketing Derby would not be able to continue working to bring new investment into Derby. Harrier is a great local company with a fantastic story to tell and I am looking forward to seeing Helen and her team at future Bondholder events.” So as you can imagine, we can’t wait to get ‘stuck in’ as a bondholder and can’t wait to see what benefits it will bring, and in turn will allow us to provide for the people and businesses of derby!

For details about Marketing Derby’s bondholder scheme, visit https://www.marketingderby.co.uk/bondholders/

We were recently lucky enough to provide our health and safety expertise to the UK’s largest commemorative event marking the 75th anniversary of the Dam Busters raid. The event, which took place at The Royal Albert Hall on 17th May, was presented by Dan Snow and broadcasted to over 400 cinemas nationwide!

Featuring music from The Glenn Miller Band, the commemorative event also included a gala screening of the newly-restored British classic film ‘The Dam Busters’ with special guests such as Barnes Wallis’ daughter in attendance.

To ensure a safe event, we worked with all of the show’s contractors and suppliers to ensure that the necessary paperwork was filled out correctly, and one of our lovely representatives was on site all throughout the day to ensure a safe set-up and closing.

I have never heard the story…what’s it all about?

The Dam Busters raid was a World War II mission targeting the Möhne Dam in Germany. It was believed destroying the dam, which was strongly protected, would severely impact on Germany’s war production. It was hoped that a ‘bouncing bomb’, designed by British engineer Barnes Wallis, would skip across water and this was successfully used to destroy the dam.

One of the highlights of the show at The Royal Albert Hall was a live re-enactment of this scene…and therefore an opportunity for our knowledge to be utilised. Using a tennis ball machine and ten containers filled with water, Dr Hugh Hunt of University of Cambridge demonstrated the science behind the ‘bouncing bomb’. As you have probably already guessed, the experiment involved bringing a large amount of water on stage around electrical equipment and on stage contributors. The potential safety threat of this demonstration was a chief concern for us.

Here’s what our Managing Director, Andy had to say about the event… (as a military man himself!)

“Putting people first is essential in everything we do at Harrier. There was a concern about water being around lighting equipment but we took every precaution to ensure that the experiment was carried out safely for both the audience and hosts.

Having completed 9 years’ service in the RAF, this event is very close to my heart, so to be involved in it, working alongside the fantastic creativity of the Snappin’ Turtle team and in such a big and well-established venue such as The Royal Albert Hall, was very special. I’m incredibly proud of our team at Harrier for contributing to a successful and safe show to celebrate such an important moment in our country’s history.”

Get in touch

Having provided health & safety expertise for a number of stand-out events in the past, we believe in a collaborative approach which puts people first. For more information about the support that we can provide, from event health and safety to high quality training perfect for small businesses, contact us today.

We’re happy to announce the appointment of our new Health and Safety Advisor, Gina Spiro!

With 20 years’ experience in health and safety, Gina is perfectly placed to support our small business clients, providing advice, guidance, arranging training, compiling documents including risk assessments and policies, and conducting audits.

Gina began her career by completing an MSc in Environmental Management at Derby University and from there, spent a considerable amount of time providing health and safety support for a range of SMEs before moving onto larger companies, such as Bombardier and EON. So we’re highly confident that she’s the right person for the job!

Here’s what Gina has to say on her new role:

“I really enjoy working with SMEs and providing them with simple and accessible assistance to benefit their workplace. When I met Helen and Andy at Harrier, they were so enthusiastic and optimistic that I immediately knew I wanted to work with them. Harrier is so upbeat, energetic and progressive and I feel very fortunate to be joining them. It’s also an exciting opportunity to be able to work in different sectors providing HS&E support in addition to getting an insight to the world of event management.”

Helen McCabe, our lovely Business Manager, added, “Gina is perfect for our Health & Safety Advisor role as she has operational knowledge and understands that one size does not fit all. She brings a new dimension to the team which allows us to expand our knowledge and also understands the ‘putting people first’ philosophy of Harrier. We’re looking forward to seeing Gina in action!”

In her previous role, Gina became very involved with the training and mentoring side of health and safety, something which she found highly rewarding and fulfilling. She hopes to continue utilising her personal approach to work and support our customers as much as possible, carrying forward the Harrier ethos of putting people first.

After years of working closely together, the Directors here at Harrier have finalised a strategic partnership with Cobb Associates that will create an alliance we both hope will be a vanguard of the events industry.

A little background on our business…

Harrier was formed in 2010 by Andy Smith, and we specialise in three distinct areas – the Health & Safety (H&S) for large scale events, H&S management for SMEs and specialist H&S training. In 2015 we were proud to be heavily involved in delivering health, safety and crowd management expertise for the First European Games held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Then, in 2016, we were pleased to be jointly awarded an International Safety Award by the British Safety Council! In 2016 alone, we were integral in providing health and safety for almost ¼ million people at various events around the UK. Continuing on from a successful 2016, 2017 saw us working at large music concerts at both Wembley and Twickenham stadiums and the Nottingham and Leicester Carnivals. Andy has also taken his expertise worldwide, including working at last season’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

So, who are Cobb Associates?

Over the last 10 years Cobb Associates has provided event management and event safety consultancy for diverse projects including corporate events, music festivals, air shows, and product launches. Regular clients have included the Capital Summertime Ball at Wembley, and the Sundown Festival in Norwich. Principal consultant James Cobb is a graduate member of IOSH, an associate member of the IEMA, and a past Chair of the Production Services Association. More recently, he founded Surrey-based Crowd Connected which provides real-time crowd insight and analytics to events and venues across the world. James Cobb will become our Innovation and Technology Director and remain active within the events industry, both delivering event safety consultancy as part of Harrier, and as CEO of Crowd Connected.

Here’s what our Managing Director Andy Smith had to say:

“We pride ourselves on providing effective health and safety expertise in a number of sectors including events and we help thousands of people enjoy their chosen activities in a safe environment every year. Increasingly, we’re being asked to work on events overseas as well as in the UK.
By drawing upon James’s expertise with Cobb Associates, we’ve taken Harrier to the next level. The partnership has opened the door to new opportunities for us and has allowed us to incorporate new services for our customers. We’ve increased our ability and knowledge, which enables us to provide a more comprehensive and inventive service to both current and future customers and existing stake holders. We also feel the union with James and his new venture Crowd Connected will enable both companies to make the most of their specialisms and offer a unified and comprehensive service. We are looking forward to building on the excellent existing relationships with Cobb Associate’s clients and we feel that this new relationship will be of ongoing benefit to Harrier, Crowd Connected and the wider events industry.”

And finally, some thoughts from our new Innovation and Technology Director, James Cobb on the new partnership:

“Cobb Associates has been operating very successfully within the live events market for the last decade and is in the perfect position to move into new areas of the events industry. This new strategic partnership Harrier is an excellent opportunity to capitalise on the synergies of Cobb Associates and Harrier, an outstanding international H&S firm, and become an even greater force in the events sector. It will also allow me to continue developing Crowd Connected, my other award-winning enterprise, whilst ensuring continued first class service to Cobb Associates’ long standing customers.”

At Harrier, we believe in putting people first. With this in mind, we’re happy to announce that we’ve teamed up with 1st Choice Safety Training to deliver a series of first aid and safety training courses to small businesses across the East Midland’s!

The training, which covers topics such as Emergency First Aid, Fire Marshal Training and Mental Health, is to provide access for SME’s in these areas who might otherwise not be able to afford the training in-house. We also believe it presents a fantastic opportunity for small businesses who only need to train one or two people at a time.

“We spend a great portion of our lives at work, and so businesses have a responsibility to ensure that their teams feel safe in the workplace. Our affordable courses are designed to give smaller businesses the chance to learn these important skills. We believe that by putting people first, businesses will always be compliant and to be able to raise money for charity whilst we’re doing this is an added bonus.”

Helen McCabe, Harrier’s Business Manager

To kick start the courses, we have already planned 4 initial training days, from which proceeds will be donated to The British Heart Foundation and The Fire Fighters Charity:

For more information, and to register your interest on each of our courses, please follow the links below:

• Manual handling: http://bit.ly/2BZtOZ9

• Fire Marshal Training: http://bit.ly/2ClVuTx

• Emergency First Aid Course: http://bit.ly/2EEfOVt

• Mental Health First Aid: http://bit.ly/2F1BlFo

The training courses commence from Tuesday 6th March 2018, so book now to avoid disappointment!

The summer outdoor events season is just around the corner. Even though it’s still waking up from its winter hibernation, it’s vital that you start getting your health & safety in place sooner rather than later.

Whether you’re hosting a large festival or a small community event in your local area, your workforce, guests’ and performers’ welfare is always the top priority. Here at Harrier, we believe that if you put people first, your event will be health & safety compliant.

Read on for our top tips for getting ready for the events season.

Filling in tickboxes is not paperwork!

Filling in tickboxes is not paperwork!

Every event is different. Yet planners often believe that paperwork is just filling in a few checklists and that’s it. There’s so much more to it than that!

Your documentation, such as risk assessments for example, should be unique to your event and how many attendees you are expecting. It should also cover emergency procedures, how many stewards you will need to have, and who will be looking after the performers or hosts.

Taking great care and spending a little extra time early in your planning stage not only protects you from financial and reputational repercussions should the worst happen, but also clearly shows that you’re putting people’s welfare first and makes their safety an integral part of the event rather than an added bolt-on.

The Construction, Design Management (CDM) Regulations now applies to the events industry.

In March 2016 Helen, tweeted Theo Paphitis about Harrier’s health and safety support for SME’s during ‘Small Business Sunday’ and was one of six weekly winners to gain a retweet from Theo to his 500,000 followers.

Helen, our Business Manager, was pleased with the instant impact “Our Twitter account grew quickly after the re-tweet from Theo and we connected with many of the other winners of #SBS, a community of nearly 2000 business owners, all passionate about their own business and supporting others.”

In addition to this instant boost Helen and Managing Director, Andy, attended the #SBS event at the ICC in Birmingham on 3rd February 2017. This event was a chance to put faces to the names of those businesses we had ‘met’ on Twitter and take part in a Q&A session with Theo, fellow Dragon, Deborah Meaden and JML founder, John Mills.

The event really impressed Andy “It was fantastic to hear from such inspirational business people such as Jodine Boothby from Gummee and the Q&A panel. We really appreciate them sharing their experiences, we came away feeling even more excited about Harrier and the service we can provide to our customers.”

Theo presented Helen & Andy with their certificate at the event “We are thrilled to welcome new #SBS members each week and highlight just how important it is to support our small businesses here in the UK. My vision is that everyone who has ever won an #SBS re-tweet from me becomes part of a friendly club; like-minded individuals who can share successes and learning. The website and Shop #SBS will also give a valuable profile to the winners chosen and I wish Harrier every success”

The #SBS event was the icing on the cake for an award winning 12 months for Harrier including an International Safety Award and being a finalist in the Rural Business Awards. Andy says “We are proud of the health and safety support we provide to business owners and event organisers, being recognised by an entrepreneur such as Theo Paphitis is a boost and an honour. We look forward to supporting all our customers in the coming year.”

Andy Smith, Managing Director of Harrier, featured in the October 2016 edition of Standout Magazine talking with other industry professionals about event safety.

“Each year the way we manage safety within the events industry changes, with varying trends, different challenges and new solutions to keep on top of. The industry is very good at adapting to change and to be able to be a part of the discussion through Standout is very exciting. Event safety professionals across the country are really good at sharing best practice; regardless of the event or who has the contract we are all aiming for the same goal – we want people to have a great time without being hurt.”

This year saw the large fire at Boomtown which destroyed around 80 cars and terrorist incidents in Europe that has meant that additional risks need to be managed and control measures put in place.

Andy is conscious that changes to safety should not impact on people’s ability to enjoy the events they attend.

“People do not want to spend their hard-earned cash on attending events where the control measures in place restrict their movements and enjoyment. Organisers need to find a balance between managing the risks and maximising the customer experience; this is something we are very mindful of when making safety recommendations. Good health and safety measures are generally not noticeable within the events environment including placement of entertainment, concession stands and phased closing of stages.”

For the full Standout article please see page 43 Standout Magazine – October 2016