The Call: Trainers’ Notes
These notes are intended to help trainers to get optimum use from the DVD The
Call.
The DVD consists of 5 separate films – each edit has been selected to reflect a
different aspect of the story although much of the footage is used across them all.
For each of the modules the content is summarized, the prime target audience
identified and the main learning points highlighted.
The films can be used to train people in any industry although there is obvious
immediate relevance for jobs that involve working at height, extreme height or in
other higher risk environments.
The rarity of this testimony from senior managers, in this case the owners, who
have been prosecuted, tried and convicted for a workplace fatality is invaluable,
stressing the level of responsibility that all managers have for the people who
work for them. The films also demonstrate the level of trauma that such an
accident has on family, co-workers and managers.
The films are not intended to offer definitive solutions to problems with health
and safety compliance – in fact in the final module Keith admits that even after
all that has happened to him he does not have all the answers – they aim to raise
awareness and to get managers and workers thinking and talking about the
issues involved.
DVD MENU

MAIN FEATURE 12mins 5secs

SHORT EDIT. – 6 minutes 10 seconds

FAMILY & FRIENDS – 6 minutes 40 seconds

MANAGER’S PERSPECTIVE – 10 minutes 25 seconds

THE WAY FORWARD – 8 minutes 15 seconds
MAIN FEATURE - 12minutes 5seconds
On the surface this film tells the simple story of a family man killed at work and a
company brought almost to its knees in the aftermath but it also contains
important lessons and reminders about personal responsibility and legal liability
Summary
The film begins with Keith Turney, MD of steeplejacking firm Central High Rise,
describing how, on a day like any other, he received a call telling him that one of
his most trusted and experienced men, Brian Collins, had fallen 30 metres whilst
working on a routine job.
Keith left immediately to drive to the site , on the way his mobile rang – Brian
was dead. All work on the site had come to an immediate halt. Keith had to
assume the role of ‘gaffer’ and take charge of his shocked and devastated team
Keith’s wife June, then a co-director of the company, took responsibility for
breaking the news to Helen, Brian’s wife.
What went wrong? Keith describes exactly what happened: 30 metres up. Brian
had removed a section of the gantry surrounding a power station tower ready to
repaint and repair the bolts that attached it. He unclipped his safety rope, walked
around to the other side of the gantry then on his way back, unbelievably, he
stepped through the gap he had just made and fell to his death.
Brian had been a steeplejack for 30 years, he was a supervisor and trainer– his
workmates describe how good he was at his job – the most experienced man in
the company and the least likely to have an accident of this or any sort.
A key question – why did he unclip his safety rope? This was strictly forbidden in fact Keith Turney had been pioneering safety for work at extreme height for
years, collecting 9 RoSPA awards in the process. Nobody can understand why
Brian did what he did – other than to say he must have taken a shortcut because
he wanted to finish and get home or was it simply that he was complacent and
desensitized to working at extreme height especially on a routine ‘safe’ job?
June explains that the company’s level of training prior to the accident was
unequalled in their field – everyone was trained extensively in all areas of their
work, if anything they felt they over-trained. She never gave a thought to what it
would be like to experience an HSE investigation…
Derrick Farthing, former director of safety health and environment at E.ON
explains that ‘Under health and safety law you are guilty until proven innocent’.
This is the only area in English law where this is the case – for any other ‘crime’
the courts have to prove your guilt you do not have to prove your innocence.
Keith explains the problem he faced - if you defend yourself against an HSE
prosecution you risk looking uncaring – but if you don’t your guilt is
automatically assumed. Keith spent the next three years fighting his case – it
became his job and his life.
Derrick Farthing explains how a prosecution can affect a senior manager on a
personal level while June tells how she was made to feel like a criminal and how
their employees were quizzed by the HSE – a deeply traumatic experience for all
involved
.
Work at Central High Rise went on after the interviews – with no communication
from the HSE for months. Then a letter arrived out of the blue telling Keith and
June they were being charged under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work
Act.
Eighteen months after Brian’s death June received another call. Once again it was
from a job and once again it was a fall. Colin, who had been present when Brian
died, had taken a safety short cut just to take a tea break.
The company would be charged by the HSE for this too, under the Work at
Height regulations – Colin returned to work 6 weeks later and Keith fired him for
gross misconduct.
June describes how she then felt she had to leave the company. All the training,
even Brian’s death hadn’t been enough to make her employees take personal
responsibility for their own lives. June had become afraid of simply answering
her phone and could no longer cope.
Keith relates how they were now forced to plead guilty to both charges and hope
to keep the company going and to keep him personally out of prison.
More months of worry and uncertainty followed before the trial.
Finally, they were fined a total of £132,000.
AIMED AT:
This version of the film is suitable for any trainee from new starter to
experienced worker, supervisor to company owner and anyone in between.
LEARNING POINTS:
-
Individual responsibility for safety – ultimately no one can look after your
safety at work other than yourself.
-
Responsibility of managers/supervisors to constantly monitor work –
even long-serving employees can become complacent.
Macho cultures – the bravado that often prevails in predominantly male
workforces ridiculing anyone who takes safety seriously.
-
-
Emotional impact of workplace accidents on family and friends
-
Legal implications for companies and managers- prosecutions are lengthy,
the publicity surrounding them is damaging, fines can be crippling,
managers will be held responsible and will have to prove that they were
not in any way culpable. Over 90% of HSE prosecutions are successful.
-
Personal impact of the legal process – the shock of finding yourself
presumed guilty and being forced to prove your innocence.
-
Harsh reality of the investigation and prosecution – HSE investigations
are necessarily cold, clinical, intrusive and upsetting processes.
-
Difficulty of maintaining safety awareness during routine work – even in a
job as risky as steeplejacking familiarity breeds contempt.
-
Importance of mutual trust between workers and managers – workers
must trust that management will provide the best training, PPE and work
conditions and managers must trust that workers will adhere to training,
abide by safety rules and always wear correct safety equipment.
SHORT EDIT. – 6 minutes 10 seconds
This version of the film is suitable for any trainee from new starter to
experienced worker, supervisor to company owner and everything in between. It
is designed for use where time pressures are a problem and where a trainer
wants to use the film as a quick reminder.
All trainers’ notes above are applicable.
FAMILY & FRIENDS – 6 minutes 40 seconds
This section looks in detail at the emotional fallout from a workplace fatality and
how it extends far beyond the immediate family to employers, colleagues, and
their families and other people on site at the time of the accident.
Summary
Keith Turney, MD of Central High Rise, recalls the trauma of identifying the body
of his colleague and friend, Brian Collins, following his death from a fall from
extreme height.
June, Turney, a co-director of the company, then describes how she told Brian’s
wife Helen of her husband’s death and how she and Keith didn’t talk much that
night but just held one another and cried as they tried to absorb the impact of
what had happened
Ian Townsend (Contracts Manager) describes the distress of his young colleague
Mark as they drove home from the site. He tells how his own wife was shocked -,
everyone in the company knew each other’s families.
Jason Grice (a fellow steeplejack) explains that both he and his wife couldn’t
believe, couldn’t understand how someone in the company had fallen to their
death.
No one could understand how such an experienced man; a supervisor with more
than 30 years experience in the trade had fallen and died because of a basic
mistake.
Derrick Farthing, former director of safety health and environment at E.ON, tells
how the greatest impact of an event like is on the friends and family of the
deceased. He wonders whether people are thinking of their loved ones when
they choose not to behave safely? He believes not…
June wonders if somehow people think that the safety paperwork is enough to
keep them safe – but she knows that ultimately the only person that can keep
you safe is you. She identifies the macho culture prevalent at some workplaces as
a factor in men disregarding safety rules.
The reality for her is that…
‘If you play games with your life the consequences are that your wife will have no
husband and your children will have no father’
Keith talks about the funeral – the weeping, the sense of failure – a death in your
name – it shouldn’t have happened.
AIMED AT:
Anyone
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
In reality the person who would be least affected by your death in the workplace
is you.
The emotional repercussions of a fatality spread much wider than the immediate
family.
Machismo has no place at all in a working culture.
Paperwork does not keep you safe.
-
MANAGER’S PERSPECTIVE – 10 minutes 25 seconds
This section looks in depth at the way a workplace fatality is dealt with by the
law. It shows exactly how the law views management responsibility.
Summary
Keith Turney, MD of steeplejacking firm Central High Rise, describes how he was
asked to identify the body of his employee and friend of 30 years, Brian Collins,
in the aftermath of the fall from extreme height that killed him.
Keith explains how, on a day like any other, he received a call telling him that
one of his most trusted and experienced workers, Brian Collins, had fallen 30
metres to his death while working as team leader on a routine job.
The team working on the day of the accident are listed – Brian himself leading,
with 32 years experience; Mark, his deputy with 22 years on the job; Tony, a
deputy with two decades of experience, Ryan with 8 years, Mark with 5 years
and Colin with 11 years – an incredibly experienced team.
Their experience didn’t matter.
Keith’s wife June, co-director of the company at that time, then had to tell Brian’s
wife Helen of her husband’s death.
So how did it go wrong? The team had worked together for years and Brian had
done the job, which by steeplejacking standards was easy and safe, before. It’s
hard to say what was on Brian’s mind when he broke a basic safety rule but
whatever it was, in the eyes of the law it was Keith’s responsibility.
The extensive training above and beyond what the law required was irrelevant,
the 9 RoSPA safety awards didn’t matter and Keith’s close work with the HSE
was disregarded. However unfair it may seem he was responsible for the actions
of his employee even when that employee had disregarded the very rules Keith
had insisted upon.
Derrick Farthing, former director of safety health and environment at E.ON
explains
‘Under health and safety law you are guilty until proven innocent.
It’s a strong, well enforced law – every director should be aware of this.’
Keith spent the next three years fighting his case – it became his job, became his
life.
Jason Grice (Central High Rise employee) explains how the HSE insisted there
was a lack of supervision on site – in fact it was the supervisor himself that fell.
Ian Townsend (Contracts Manager) explains that Central High Rise is the most
safety conscious company he’s ever worked for and that, in his opinion, Keith
could have done no more to ensure the safety of his workforce.
June tells how the company’s level of training prior to the accident was
unequalled in their field. Central High Rise trained extensively in all areas, if
anything they felt they over-trained. She never even thought about what an HSE
investigation would be like.
Work at the company went on – with no further communication from the HSE.
Then a letter arrived out of the blue telling them they were charged with
offences under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act.
June describes the call she took to tell her that Colin, another employee, had
fallen.
Colin, who had been present when Brian fell, had fallen himself because he didn’t
take the correct safety precautions while going down to get a cup of tea.
June gave the whole workforce a talking to – and then, in despair, resigned
unable to take the strain of not knowing what the next phone call would bring.
The company would be charged by the HSE for this incident too under the Work
at Height regulations – Colin returned to work 6 weeks later and was instantly
dismissed for gross misconduct.
A further 18 months passed before the trial.
As Keith discovered to his cost the owner is always responsible.
Central High Rise was fined £100.000 plus £32,000 in costs.
AIMED AT:
Managers, supervisors, managing directors and anyone else who may have
responsibility for another person at work.
LEARNING POINTS:
-
Owners and managers are ultimately responsible for their employees.
No company, no matter how conscientious, is ‘bullet proof’ where safety is
concerned.
In an HSE prosecution guilt, not innocence is presumed.
The law is strong and well enforced – more than 90% of prosecutions are
successful.
THE WAY FORWARD – 8 minutes 15 seconds
This section looks in detail at the ways in which Central High Rise and Keith in
particular responded to Brian Collins’ death. Keith had to find ways to shake up
the way safety worked at his company in order to carry on sending men out on
potentially dangerous jobs.
Summary
What went wrong? Keith now explains how the job worked and exactly what
happened: 30 metres up. Brian had just removed a section of gantry. He
unclipped, walked around to the other side of the gantry then came back around
and stepped through the gap he had just made, falling to his death.
Keith runs through the company’s previous safety achievements. Their 9 RoSPA
awards in 8 years, Keith being made a fellow of RoSPA and working with the HSE
on the Work at Height regulations. This was not a company where safety was a
side issue.
The team had been working and training together for years. Keith had had a
deliberate policy of seeking routine, repeat work to try and reduce risk. He
realized that this very policy may have contributed to the accidents – his men
had ceased to regard what they did as risky – but it was. Implicit behaviour had
replaced explicit behaviour, and habit had replaced evaluation. Jobs were begun
with no in depth thought or discussion.…
Keith knew that exactly the same amount of thought and debate that his team
would put into a new job in a new location that they perceived as hazardous had
to be done for, routine, ‘safe’ bread and butter jobs.
Normalising risk is a risk in itself.
Central High Rise has made the thinking and talking compulsory on every job,
every single day no matter how many times the team have done it before– all the
dangers, all the little possible errors would be recognised.
Chain of command has been done away with – every team member has the right
and duty to comment on and correct every other member regardless of
experience and seniority – this is truly watching your buddy while he watches
you.
Everyone on the team discusses and plans every job and everyone knows
exactly what is going on at all times. As a double check the office is kept informed
remotely.
A macho culture can dominate in a job like steeplejacking and many others,
particularly in construction– yet there’s no need to prove anything
It’s just a case of everyone looking out for one another at all times.
The framework for safety must be enforced from the top – but everything else is
behavioural. Once the structures, procedures and equipment for safe working
are in place then it is the duty and responsibility of the workforce to use them all
the time, on every job every day.
Keith worries about the future, that they could become complacent again. The
truth? No one has the answer…
AIMED AT:
Managers, supervisors, managing directors and anyone else who may have
responsibility for another person at work.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
There is no permanent answer to safety – everything must be constantly
reviewed and re-examined.
Communication is key – between colleagues, from managers to operatives.
Nobody is too senior to have their safety performance be corrected and nobody
is too junior to correct them.
Nobody can be 100% alert all the time – we all need someone to watch out for us.
No job can be viewed as routine – there are always subtle differences and
changes in personnel and conditions.
No one person or organization has all the answers – learn from each other.