From their Safety, Sustainability and Training Director, Steven Broom, being awarded 
Health and Safety Influencer of the Year 2019, to win a number of President and Gold Medal Awards across a variety of divisions, Dyer & Butler Ltd enjoyed an outstanding 2019.
As one of the first winners of the Influencer of the Year Award, we recently caught up with Steven to find out Dyer & Butler Ltd’s impressive award history, and how winning a RoSPA Award has benefited both himself and his organization…
What benefits does winning a RoSPA Award have for your organization?
RoSPA is a well-respected brand for the advancement of safety standards within the 
the industry and the association that we have had with RoSPA over the years underpins our commitment to maintaining these standards within our organization. The benefit of being able to show that we are RoSPA award winners provides us with an instantly recognized level of achievement, which demonstrates that our company puts the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees first and above all else.
Which innovative approaches, risk assessment practices and/or control measures to manage health and safety are you particularly proud of?
I am often heard to say that “there is nothing new in health and safety”, and for the most part, this is true because a lot of good health and safety management involves the maintenance of robust policies and arrangements that are then implemented, reviewed and improved over time. This side of the job will never change. However, innovation in health and safety has become so important and companies are now striving to make health and safety easier, more reliable and ultimately safer for the people involved by taking the guesswork and human factor out of the scenario. Recently we introduced a smartphone-based close call reporting app. This was designed by our own IT technician and the response that we have had in terms of our close call and safety reporting culture has been phenomenal. The introduction of the app has allowed people to create the safe habit of being able to instantly identify and report (with accompanying photos and location details) anything that is causing them concern. This has had a massive positive effect in the way that we manage health and safety within Dyer & Butler and has allowed us to move our focus from the reactive management of incidents to a more proactive means which allows us to deal with the pre-cursor to events that could potentially lead to a more significant loss-making event.
Are you able to share any outcomes that have come from your organization’s approach to health and safety management?
Sharing best practice and learning is probably one of the greatest tools that an organization has and I have personally tried to live by this during my career in health
and safety. I have always believed that behavioral safety is the key to good safety management and whilst it is not a “silver bullet”, the act of getting out and talking to people is such an important part of the job. It is often the case that our preconceived ideas of how something should be done safely are completely turned on their heads when you speak to the person who actually has to do the job and it is only then that you get to understand the issues and problems associated with truly getting the job done safely. It is only by understanding this, and the approach that your employees will take in terms of reacting to work-based situations to get the job done will you understand why accidents and incidents occur. Training is also a massive part of this. I also think that good health and safety management is about constantly reviewing and refreshing what you are doing. Things may feel as though they are going OK…but don’t allow yourself to sit back and settle into a comfortable routine as the next big event may only be just around the corner. Keep your safety culture sharp and be constantly looking and adapting your approach to risk.
How have the RoSPA Awards inspired you/your organization to continually improve health and safety management?
I view the RoSPA awards very much like a set of steps. The achievement awards have provided our company with a natural form of progression and have required us to maintain our safety standards. As we have now achieved a steady momentum of safety within the business, this has now led us to look at some of the other awards where we believe that we are within striking distance of being able to win and provide further 
evidence that we have attained an exemplary level of safety within our business.
Personally, to win the RoSPA Influencer of the Year Award in 2019 was one of the highlights of my career and after dedicating 23 years of my life to health and safety, I feel immensely proud to have received this level of endorsement from my colleagues and peers . I have never been one to shout about what I do, but the recognition of receiving a personal award from RoSPA validates how important the work that I (and all of the other health and safety professionals within the country) do is to the industry.
What do you enjoy most about the RoSPA Awards?
The RoSPA Awards is always a great event especially as it is co-located with The Safety & Health Expo. It is a fantastic opportunity to meet new suppliers, test new products and innovations and if nothing else… just to take a day out to immerse yourself in health and safety from a different perspective. The Awards Gala Dinner is also an excellent opportunity to network and catch up with friends and colleagues and to celebrate each other’s success. I have to say that the awards evenings are always well organized and are also a good opportunity to let your hair down at the end of the evening…yes, safety professionals do like to party sometimes…!
Interested in joining this impressive award winning community? The RoSPA Awards are open to organizations, projects and sites across the globe, and is currently open to entries. For information on the awards and how to enter, visit www.rospa.com/awards
