However, much like the Yellow Pages, it is worth remembering that, “we can help with the nice things too”. In fact, if we get it right, the “nice things” are really what health and safety is all about.

It is widely proven and accepted that with the right approach to health and safety businesses can:

• Reduce absences and sick leave
• Retain staff
• Enhance reputation
• Boost productivity and profits
• Improve customer satisfaction
• Reduce insurance premiums and legal fees

But here are the really “nice” bits. Modern health and safety management is genuinely far more about the positive than the negative. It’s about harnessing modern technology and enabling innovation to realise business and personal benefits. Perhaps most importantly, however, it’s about taking action because you want to help someone out, not catch them out. At its core, health and safety is simply showing that you care about your colleagues and friends – so that every one of them will go home to their loved ones every day without being harmed. We can all understand why that is worth aspiring to; it’s incredibly positive, entirely achievable and simply the right thing to do.

At Thrive, we believe passionately in accentuating these positives, so these news pages are here for those “nice things” too. There is so much to celebrate in health and safety; achievements, milestones, innovation and simple good new stories involving people going above-and-beyond to help others. While there will inevitably have to be the odd bit of information about legislation, prosecutions and incidents – just to provide an holistic view – these news pages will be resolutely focussing on the good stuff; celebrating and sharing the benefits of health and safety.

Keep your eyes peeled for updates and please get in touch with your own positive stories; we’d be delighted to share your achievements and help to inspire others.

And yes, he “were right about that saddle”…