Managing safely away from the virtual world

It was a step back into the corporate world at the start of last week, with yours truly booked on a three-day, safety management course. It’s all part of my new role and followed a mutual decision by the company and I that a professional qualification in this important field would not just be a desirable asset, but an essential requirement in the litigious world we live in.

So, after looking around, I booked myself on an IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) course, spread across three days, in order to achieve this aim. The other point was I was keen to participate in a physical, classroom course, rather than a remote “virtual” one, and following the lifting of most Covid restrictions discovered there were organisations out there who were equally keen to welcome students back into the real world.

There were still a few hiccups, with the date and course venue changing from central London to a hotel, next to the Brands Hatch race circuit, just off the A20 at West Kingsdown. Being only a 25-minute drive from home, there was no need for an overnight stay, which came as something of a relief, if the state of the conference rooms and toilets, was anything to go by.

I won’t bore you with the details, apart from saying there were 12 of us on the course, all blokes for some reason, but it did make for some good banter. The instructor, who was ex-military and really knew his stuff, was able to put the course content across in a manner that was both easy to follow, and also to understand. There was quite a lot to cram in though, and this included two “homework” assignments which we had to carry out on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

We all passed the course, and this included the work-related, risk assessments we were  asked to prepare the previous evening. The examination was much tougher than many of us envisaged, possibly due to some perceived ambiguity regarding some of the multiple-choice questions. But on the plus side, it was good to meet people from other organisations and backgrounds and compare the way in which safety issues can impact on different sectors.

The instructor also said how much more everyone gets from actual real-life courses rather than virtual ones. Just from his point of view having to try and switch focus between close-up faces, on a dozen different screens, to being able to survey the whole room with a few simple head movements, and then walking across and engaging with those individuals.

This backs up what I have been saying throughout the pandemic, that virtual meetings via “Zoom,” or any other digital platform, are a very poor substitute for the real thing, and those proclaiming such means of communication and conducting business, as the way forward, really aren’t living in the real world. Perhaps they have shares, or undeclared interests, in digital communication technology companies.

The same applies to those forecasting the end of overseas business trips. If they knew anything about the way business is conducted the world over, and the role played by the socialising that goes on, both before and after the deal being struck, they wouldn’t be so keen to encourage people to sit there, hiding behind a screen.

Finally, a few words about Brands Hatch, the legendary racing circuit, overlooked by the course venue - the Mercure Hotel. Older readers will remember that Brands, at one time, hosted the Formula One British Grand Prix, alternating this honour with Silverstone, every other year.

The last race at this level took place in 1986, but despite losing the rights to host this prestigious event, the circuit remains busy, staging race meetings for cars, bikes and occasionally trucks. We only had 30 minutes for lunch, but on the final day I took a walk down the course entrance, having heard the powerful roar of the cars earlier that morning.

From the lie of the land, it is possible to see that the circuit is set in a grassy hollow that forms a natural amphitheatre. Racing has been carried out at Brands since the late 1920’s, albeit on an intermittent and casual basis to begin with. There are now meetings both weekends, and if you are a petrol-head or someone who likes the roar of engines, then it is worth a visit.

These things have never had huge a appeal to me, so despite having lived almost half of my life just 15 miles away from Brands Hatch, last week’s course was the closest I have been to the course. As is often the case, we tend to miss or even dismiss what is happening on our own doorsteps, so perhaps next spring I will attend a race, just to see what it’s all about.