Europe

Chris Floyd, chair of RoSPA’s National Road Safety Committee (NRSC)

Chris Floyd, Evri’s transport and safety lead, has been named chair of RoSPA’s National Road Safety Committee (NRSC), bringing two decades of professional and personal dedication to road safety.

With a career that began as an HGV driver and evolved into leadership roles in transport management and safety advocacy, Floyd’s journey has been shaped by his understanding of the personal and economic impacts of road incidents.

Data-driven approach

As Chair, Floyd aims to strike a balance between leveraging data and recognising the human stories behind road safety statistics. He emphasises that each incident represents a life, a family, and a community affected, underscoring the need to combine analytical insights with compassion.

Floyd’s contributions to the road safety community include chairing the Institute of Couriers’ Road Safety & Wellbeing group and delivering the Bridget Driscoll Memorial Lecture at the University of West London.

His involvement with organisations such as RoSPA, ScORSA, and National Highways highlights his commitment to advancing safety standards across the sector.

Reflecting on his vision for the NRSC, Floyd aspires to build on the committee’s legacy by advocating for practical, sustainable solutions that influence decision-makers locally, nationally, and internationally. He hopes to continue fostering collaboration and driving actionable change to make roads safer for everyone.

The new Action Plan focuses on impact mitigation as well as preventing, detecting and deterring cyber threats. (Image source: European Commission)

To address the numerous cybersecurity challenges faced by EU countries in the past few years, the European Commission has presented an Action Plan to strengthen the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers

The rise in data-related threat risks can affect a number of systems that would be likely to have a significant affect on patient care. By building on existing legislation and extending its scope to include general practices, the new Action Plan focuses on impact mitigation as well as preventing, detecting and deterring cyber threats. 

Moreover, it also aims to offer bespoke guidance to hospitals and healthcare providers by setting up a pan-European Cybersecurity Support Centre which is scheduled to be set up over the next couple of years. 

The EU's stringent regulatory framework and varying standards outside of the bloc have inevitably led HSE practices and strategies to differ greatly among parties operating inside and outside of the Union: cooperation is growing all the more critical to establish and adhere to best practices that go above and beyond the standards set by EU regulation.

The European Union's influence on HSE standards is self-evident; companies must adhere to stringent and extensive regulations, ranging from frameworks dictating risk assessment processes to those relating to preventive measures and employee safety.

Companies outside of the Union, however, may operate under vastly different frameworks or regulations; in some regions, HSE requirements may be less comprehensive, while others may exceed the standards and demands laid out by the EU.

This creates discrepancies between different companies and internally within those operating internationally or interregionally, posing a risk to both market competition (where companies may opt to divest from projects subject to more stringent regulations) and worker safety for those falling behind modern HSE standards.

Inevitably, as these discrepancies grow more dramatic, they also complicate international cooperation between teams and projects inside and outside of the European Union, potentially rendering such projects more expensive, less safe, and of greater risk to their surrounding environments. 

Looking towards a future that undoubtedly requires international and, indeed, global cooperation to solve matters of emergency or crisis (with recent wildfires and pandemics serving as notable reminders of the fragility of the Earth's environment), it is critical that industry convenes and cooperates to ensure a largely seamless transition between regions and countries. Such cooperation will protect and enhance the stringent (but necessary) HSE regulations that have sparked a massive decline in workplace incidents in the EU, while also enabling companies to expand and operate internationally without regulatory barriers or a compromise of workplace safety.

A continuous and consistent approach can level the currently skewed playing field, reducing competitive disadvantages for businesses adhering to stricter regulations. It also ensures consistency in addressing global challenges like climate change, pollution, and occupational hazards.

Essentially, aligning HSE approaches between EU and non-EU businesses is essential for fostering global safety, sustainability, and equity. Divergent standards will create growing health and environmental risks over the coming decades, particularly in global supply chains, where lower standards outside the EU may undermine broader efforts to protect workers and the environment.

HSE is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. (Image source: Canva)

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Great Britain’s national workplace safety regulator, marks 50 years of safeguarding lives this January.

Established under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, HSE began operations on 1 January 1975. Over the decades, it has significantly reduced workplace fatalities, with annual deaths dropping from 651 in 1974 to 138 in 2023/24.

HSE chief executive Sarah Albon emphasised that workplaces have evolved dramatically.

“Over the past half century, the Health and Safety Executive has led the way in establishing Great Britain as a safe place to work. As we look ahead to the next 50 years, we recognise there is still much for HSE to take on," Albon said. 

“We’re proud of our successes over the last five decades, but the fact remains that any work-related death is a tragedy, and there are still far too many workers suffering ill-health brought about by work activity.

“In 2022, we launched our 10-year strategy, Protecting People and Places, to build on HSE’s strong foundations and address our current and future challenges.

“So today, HSE’s role goes beyond worker protection to include public safety assurance on a range of issues. Recent years have added new responsibilities, such as becoming the appointed Building Safety Regulator and playing an extended role in chemical regulation, post Brexit,” Albon concluded.

The EU saw nearly 3,300 workplace deaths in 2022. (Image source: Canva)

Malta recorded the highest workplace fatality rate in the EU for 2022, with over five deaths per 100,000 workers, according to new data released by Eurostat.

Fifteen workplace deaths were reported, a rate 50% higher than France, the second-highest, and more than three times the EU average.

National Statistics Office data reveals that over half of these fatalities in 2022 and 2023 occurred in the construction sector, marking 2022 as the deadliest year for workplace accidents in 18 years.

Malta’s workplace fatality rate in 2022 was 75% higher than France’s and over three times the EU average, Eurostat data reveals.

In contrast, the Netherlands emerged as the safest EU country for workers, followed by Greece, Germany, and Sweden.

Construction was responsible for nearly a quarter of workplace fatalities across the EU, with transportation, storage, and manufacturing industries also recording significant numbers. Manufacturing had the highest proportion of non-fatal workplace accidents.

Overall, the EU saw nearly 3,300 workplace deaths in 2022, a slight decline from the previous year.

Most non-fatal incidents resulted in superficial injuries, dislocations, sprains, and strains.