Traditionally delivered face-to-face, this year's Safety Briefings were presented virtually via Microsoft Teams to ensure staff members' continued protection during the COVID pandemic.
Led by EPC-UK's Safety Ambassadors team and tailored to each specific area of the business and its safety needs, the presentations began by taking attendees through the new Behavioural Safety Model. This streamlined safety model is designed to be more concise and easier to follow, effectively signposting employees through safety procedures and highlighting the many ways they can access support. This presentation was then followed by Ivor Smith and Jeff Burns from Fifth Dimension and their unique way of addressing safety in the workplace.
Ben Williams, EPC-UK managing director, explains why they decided to add this magic element to the 2021 safety briefings: "Due to current social distancing regulations, we had to deliver this year's Safety Kick-offs virtually. We took the opportunity to review the content and research alternate ways of bringing the safety message to life.
"Whilst developing my own CPD and attending a webinar hosted by the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, I came across Fifth Dimension and was impressed with their fun and engaging style of presentation. I then shared their contact details with our Safety Ambassadors, who are responsible for creating our Safety Kick-offs."
Fifth Dimension specialises in supporting a company's specific safety culture by creating innovative presentations that address safety in the workplace. It uses magic as a visual aid to ensure its presentations are fun, impactful, thought-provoking and memorable.
Smith and Burns entertained the EPC-UK team with various tricks, each encouraging the audience to; think more creatively, learn to look at things in the round and see the bigger picture, and discover new ways of creating safer pathways to overcome challenges.
Williams continues: "We are all sometimes guilty of seeing only what we expect to see, rather than taking the time to review the situation we're in and re-examine. When it comes to safety, we want our team to do just this. We have given all our employees the power to say 'Stop' – without any repercussions or blame - whenever they feel unsafe and believe this is the most important instrument in our safety toolbox. Jeff and Ivor's presentation helped to underpin this message to our employees."
The safety briefings were concluded with an overview of the current COVID safety measures, EPC-UK Absolutes, to reinforce those procedures and protocols introduced last year to keep employees, contractors and customer COVID secure.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank both our EPC-UK Safety Ambassadors, for organising this year's Safety Kick-offs and making them so successful despite the difficult situation we're all in, and to Fifth Dimension for making them so much more interesting, engaging and informative. Despite the continued challenges we are currently facing, it did provide us with a chance to review the way we deliver our briefings, add a little magic to proceedings, and offer an alternative way of looking at safety within our workplace," concludes EPC-UK's Williams.
