H & S No help at all!
I have to take issue with the odd one on the usefulness of the H&S industry within aviation industry.
Long before any one had invented the H&S executive the aviation industry had a very strong safety culture, in twenty years on the ramp at LHR I only enountered three seious injurys, none of these could have been prevented buy HI VIS or any of the H&S regulations. All the inccidents came down to the person who was injured doing something that was stupid and could not be legislated for.
After one innccident we had the H&S people all over the opperation making up rules and producing lots of paperwork, the problem was that filling out all the new forms was taking peoples minds off the job and increasing the risk not reducing it!
The contribution by H&S to my workplace in terms of safety has been negative, people have been lulled into a sence of security and distracted by the paperwork.
I made all the people in my team fully aware that it was down to them to keep themselfs and there workmates safe and no matter how much paperwork was heaped apon us to think first and do the H&S paperwork only when you were sure that it was safe to be distracted by nif-naff and trivia.
I can see the numptys with the clipboards squeeling at my attitude to them but the only think that I can say in my defence.............. in twenty years my team had a ZERO accident rate and only a few of the minor cuts and bumps that go with aircraft engineering in a ramp enviroment.