The former head health and safety for the construction of the London Olympics, Lawrence Waterman OBE CFIOSH, has joined the British Safety Council as its new chairman.
Waterman is a founding partner of the Park Health and Safety Partnership and is a past president of IOSH.
Lynda Armstrong OBE, chair of the British Safety Council since October 2010, will retire after seven years in the post, on 24 November 2017.
Mike Robinson, chief executive of the British Safety Council, said: “We are delighted to welcome Lawrence Waterman to the board of the British Safety Council. He will be joining the charity at a time of significant domestic and international developments and wide-ranging public debates, which present both challenges and opportunities for health and safety professionals.
Lawrence Waterman OBE
“Lawrence has considerable health and safety experience and he will help the British Safety Council have its voice heard on key issues and promote our vision that no one should be injured or made ill at work, both in Britain and abroad.”
Waterman is also a visiting professor at Loughborough University where he both teaches and participates in research. He was appointed OBE for services to health and safety in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee honours.
He has been leading the call from more than 70 leading organisations and figures from the UK’s health and safety profession for the government to urgently review the fire regulations and to change its deregulation stance.
In an open letter to the prime minister the bodies called for a political sea change in attitude towards health and safety regulation and fire risk management in the light of the Grenfell Tower blaze.
Commenting on his new appointment, Waterman said: “I have had the privilege to act as a trustee to both the British Safety Council and IOSH and I am familiar with the excellent work done by charities committed to making a difference.
“I am looking forward to taking on the role of chairman of the British Safety Council, which focuses on protecting vulnerable people in the workplace and empowering them to better manage risk, wellbeing and mental health.
“I am also keen to help the British Safety Council develop its new programme in India which, through effective partnerships, will raise health and safety standards in that country.
“The British Safety Council, together with its member organisations, is a powerful force for good and I am proud to take on a leading role within it.”
