Major Lessons Learnt in George’s 37 Year Safety Career

1 It is often the relationships you build, not your technical skills, that determines success.

2 Do not take yourself too seriously as if you do you will have difficulty coping with the fact many will not share your passion for safety.

3 Use personal damage occurrences, not emotion, to guide your preventative efforts.

4 Be a life-long learner in a variety of fields, not just OHS.

5 Everything you do must pass the real world test.

6 Minimise the use of lecture-style presentations.

7 Challenging the status quo is a lot of fun and very satisfying, much better than putting up with fools and mediocrity. Being a bit of a stirrer is an admirable approach.

8 Do not get too focused on work, your family should come first.

9 If it is not face to face it is not communication.

10 Use humour whenever you can

A ex-manager of mine, who has a way with words, says the trouble with safety is that management and safety professionals sometimes engage in acts of public masturbation! I apologise if anyone finds the foregoing offensive but my belief is it is an admittedly crude, but accurate, way of describing some of the things I have seen happen in safety.

George Robotham- Cert. IV W’Place Training & Assesment, Dip Trg & Assess. Sys. , Dip. Frontline Mgt., B. Ed. ( Adult and Workplace Ed.),Grad. Cert Management of Organisational Change, Grad. Dip. Occupational Hazard Management, C.F.S.I.A., R.S.P. (Aust.), M.A.S.S.E., C.A.H.R.I., M.A.I.T.D., J.P.(Qual.),Australian Defence Medal