Virtua Team Talk

Virtua UK Limited, a leading Swindon based supplier of expertise to the telecoms industry has set up a triathlon club. The club is made up of the employees of the company and is a part of wider scheme, invigorating the company‘s work culture with fun and sports.

Andy Watts said: “The tri-club has been set up in response to the fact that we now have around a dozen members of staff interested in the sport and even considering race entry.  As keen tri-athletes ourselves, the directors wanted to help develop staff members’ interest in the sport and allow them to progress beyond their own training regimes.  It is also part of our wider health and safety policy to encourage our employees to take up sports and remain healthy.”

Love for sports, in particular has been an integral part of Virtua’s growth as all three directors are keen athletes. Two of the company’s directors, Andy Watts and Brian Watt have competed in the Ironman triathlon in Switzerland, whilst Brian has also taken part in the London marathon 16 times in a row.  Brian and Rob Brown (the third director) are also currently in training for a 250 mile charity bike ride for Multiple Sclerosis Research.

To help team members train and improve the company has also established a leader board in the office for times on the local measured 10 mile time trial route.

Virtua UK Ltd, a leading Swindon based supplier of expertise to the telecoms industry has been taking extraordinary steps in their health and safety practices that go far beyond the usual requirement of a company of their size.

Andy Watts, chief executive of Virtua comments: “For us people are our most important asset. As a telecoms company some of our staff do work in risk prone areas and we want to ensure that we take all measures to keep them safe. We don’t want health and safety to be just text book rules but want to incorporate it into our daily work culture.  This ensures everyone is aware of H&S requirements and has the resources and training necessary to not just deal with accidents but avoid them in the first place.”

The company is investing heavily in their staff health and safety by providing training and facilities that would be seen by many as radical steps, particularly in a company of less than 200 staff.  Some of the unusual steps taken by Virtua are as follows: •    The company has recently trained six members of staff in first aid, with plans to train others who show an interest in the subject. •    Virtua is sending its entire management team for IOSH training, which is a chartered body for health and safety professionals.

In addition to the above, the company has set up an in–house triathlon club to encourage employees to take up sports and maintain a healthy life style.  The club currently includes eleven staff members, including all three directors.  Andy Watts comments further on this: “Health and safety is about the well being of our employees wherever they are, which is why we are also encouraging them to maintain good health through sporting activities.  We even have a leader board in the office for times on the local measured 10 mile time trial route!  Above all we are focused on transforming health and safety from mere guidelines to part of Virtua’s work ethos.”

Health and Safety legislation is having a hard time at the  moment courtesy of the media. It seems that not a day goes past without someone having a jibe at a new directive that for many people seems unnecessary over-protection from a ‘nanny state’. Yes, it’s true that some of the regulations do seem a little ridiculous at first sight but anything that saves lives and avoids the potential for accidents before they happen is surely better than the alternative.

For me personally, Health and Safety is a serious matter and in my role as a manager I have a responsibility towards looking after the welfare of all my employees – but I have to confess that sometimes even I am shocked by new H&S revelations – particularly so when they are related to the new ‘politically correct’ movement! Take Punch and Judy for example…

I don’t know about you but as a child I was rather fond of watching a Punch and Judy show at the seaside as have generations of children. The script and the characters have remained largely unchanged for a hundred years and even with the advent of ipods, computer games and mobile phones children still love to laugh at the antics of Mr Punch fighting the crocodile for his sausages.

It now seems though that Punch and Judy’s days might be numbered – because in many people’s views the show is neither politically correct nor meeting health and safety standards! It was reported this week in the news that officials in a number of seaside resorts have decided that the time has come to rewrite the script and bring Punch and Judy into politically correct line.

Apparently, instead of violently wielding a club Punch will in future hold a fluffy mop. He will no longer be hitting Judy or insulting policemen and instead of throwing the baby away he will be tucking it up in bed. In short bad old Mr Punch has been ‘modernised’ and, like the rest of us, he will have to learn to be more socially integrated, politically correct and more health and safety conscious.

You might think this is a good thing or, if like me you have a sentimental nostalgia for these seemingly harmless childish pleasures, you might lament the demise of yet another great British tradition. Whatever your view however it seems to me that sometimes we need to get the balance right between making sure that our health and safety policies and our politically correct attitudes are sensible and relevant but also not too frivolous or bureaucratic.

Saving lives and having respect for other creeds and cultures is important for sure – but we must do this without losing sight of common sense. When wonderful old traditions that have entertained thousands of people for sometimes hundreds of years are suddenly changed to meet ‘modern’ standards I think we are in danger of losing part of our heritage and culture.

As Mr Punch might have said “That’s not the way to do it”

The Health and Safety Executive are having a hard time lately. Although few of us would argue that health and safety issues are not important, we are also getting fed up with the seemingly endless stream of farcical rules that seem to preventing us from undertaking what used to be simple routine activities. The truth is though, the Health and Safety guru’s are not always as bad as we might think, though they are undoubtedly suffering from poor PR, and a lot of negative press.

The consequences of bad press and constant ridicule of what appear to be senseless regulations is that we are all starting to miss the point. The prime objective of Health and Safety is to save lives and the simple fact is that many hundreds of lives might have been saved in the past had proper Health and Safety precautions been taken at the time.

Yes, we all get fed up with petty rules and restrictions that might seem pointless and yes – sometimes the Health and Safety executive do get it badly wrong. But conversely a lot of new rules are also saving lives and avoiding serious injury, so let’s start putting things into proper perspective.

In 2008/9 there were 180 peopl e who were fatally injured at work. That’s well down from the over 300 a month in the 90’s but still 180 too many. There were also 130,000 major, or ‘more than three day off’ injuries. Again that’s down from the numbers in the 90’s. These statistics show that the preventative measures taken to protect employees’ health and safety are making a real difference but we still have a long way to go. Also, last year 4 people were killed and more than 10,000 people seriously injured from slips and trips at work. That’s real people; real lives shattered. Preventing slips and trips by keeping things tidy and safe is not just Health and Safety meddling, it’s a real practical way to save lives and prevent injuries. As an employer I need to act responsibly in terms of the safety of my employees and if I can take proactive steps to mitigate the risk of accidents then I will do whatever is necessary. The bottom line is that anything that can be done to avoid accident or injury has got to be worthwhile and we should acknowledge that the majority of recommended health and safety measures are actually good advice. If you take a look at the Health and Safety Executive website for example (www.hse.gov.uk) there is actually a wealth of great information and advice for employers and employees as well as some entertaining H&S ‘myth busters.’

I also know from personal experience just how important health and safety awareness can be. I am a swimming lifeguard and I promise you I’d rather spend the effort on risk assessment and hazard removal than to have to retrieve someone’s child from the bottom of the pool.

So let’s get real about the importance of Health and Safety practices and start recognising that following good safety practices will result in fewer accidents because, at the end of the day, prevention is definitely better than cure.

I also know from personal experience just how important health and safety awareness can be. I am a swimming lifeguard and I promise you I’d rather spend the effort on risk assessment and hazard removal than to have to retrieve someone’s child from the bottom of the pool. So let’s get real about the importance of Health and Safety practices and start recognising that following good safety practices will result in fewer accidents because, at the end of the day, prevention is definitely better than cure.