We have been working with a business that has grown very quickly over a relatively short period of time and because of this, health & safety has been left behind.  This is in part because the business is a low risk operation and all efforts have been in ensuring the rapid growth achieved.

This business however has realised that it is time for the business to grow up and make sure that it is doing its best to both protect its people and also make sure it is meeting its legal obligations.  To do this the management team has looked for outside support to provide the necessary expertise the business is currently missing.

Initially a high level compliance audit was completed to identify what the business needed to do and what priorities they needed to take. This provided an action plan for the business to follow and helped to identify what resources would be needed.

The business has responded very positively to this direction and has shown a real commitment to getting things right as the business continues to grow and evolve.

The key to the business has been to develop an effective Health & Safety policy that fits the business and its way of working; from this the business has implemented a training plan to address the areas where the business is most at risk.

Overall the message to a growing business is that it has to be willing to change and adapt. Recognising that health & safety does not have to prevent the business developing, but rather, can assist it getting to where it wants to be, is really important.