Andy Shenstone has taken up the post of NEBOSH Chief Executive on 20 March.
He brings 23 years’ experience in education, training and consultancy. His early career was as a civil servant in the then HM Customs and Excise. In the following 16 years Shenstone established and grew an education consulting practice, culminating in a position as Group Sales Director for Capita PLC.
In his most recent role, he was a lead executive involved in the creation and development of Advance HE – an internationally active, member-focused UK registered charity dedicated to the development and enhancement of higher education for the benefit of students, staff and society. He was responsible for executive leadership of domestic and international marketing, sales, business development and commercial solutions.
Shenstone has stated his intention to continue the charity’s mission for social good: “NEBOSH’s social and charitable purpose is clear: to make the world a healthier and safer place through education. I’m dedicated to continuing the phenomenal work that the organisation does. Just this financial year, more than 100,000 people from over 170 countries have taken a NEBOSH qualification and I’m determined that our impact will continue to grow, reaching new regions, countries and industries with the learning and knowledge they need to keep people and communities safe.
“I want to nurture our existing culture of collaboration, partnering with organisations who share our vision. By working together, we will further increase the opportunities and quality of learning available in occupational health and safety.”
Les Philpott, NEBOSH Chair, added: “I am delighted to welcome Andy Shenstone to NEBOSH. Andy has an excellent track-record in realising the potential of educational and charitable organisations. The NEBOSH Board is confident he will bring a strong sense of purpose and fresh direction to NEBOSH’s activities so that, through our globally recognised qualifications, we can make an even greater contribution to the management of health and safety in workplaces at home and internationally.”
Telgian Fire Safety has announced that Steve Strader has been promoted to Vice President, Business Development. In this position, Strader will be responsible for business development and sales, with a focus on providing fire and life safety inspections, testing and maintenance nationwide.
The services are available for a wide range of business sectors such as commercial real estate, warehousing and distribution, and retail spaces, among others.
Strader brings more than 20 years of industry experience to his new role. Known for providing superior quality customer service, he is an innovative problem solver who excels at troubleshooting needs and resolving issues. Strader is also adept at building trusting relationships with both clients and internal leaders and is able to facilitate discussions all levels.
Previously, a National Account Executive for Telgian Fire Safety, Strader earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Pensacola Christian College. He is a member of the Apartment Association of Tarrant County (AATC), and also sits on the organization’s Education Committee.
Senior Vice President Ryan Smith commented: “Steve has proven to be an outstanding team member for four years and this promotion is well deserved. His strategic and results-oriented approach, combined with an ability to both identify short- and long-term goals make him an incredible asset to the company as we continue to grow.”
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) has announced that broadcaster and safety campaigner Nick Ross CBE will be its new independent chair of trustees.
Ross, who has a long-standing background in public health and community safety, as well as a celebrated career in journalism, including as presenter of the BBC’s Crimewatch programme, will take up the role of independent chair for NFCC from April.
His role on public health and safety issues began by persuading ministers to adopt road safety targets in the 1980s which helped cut road deaths by more than two-thirds. He also served on several government crime prevention boards, conceived the new discipline of Crime Science and founded the Jill Dando Institute at UCL, and has taken on a range of roles, with public health, wellbeing, and safety at the heart of all his work.
Ross has worked with several chief fire officers in recent years, campaigning long before Grenfell to make sprinklers compulsory in social housing and on updating building regulations.
Since retiring from full-time broadcast journalism career, Ross has devoted much of his time to non-profit and voluntary organisations. He currently serves as chair and trustee for several organisations and has a long-serving role with the UK’s largest NHS hospital trust
Commenting on the news, Nick Ross said: ‘It is a real privilege to be the new NFCC independent chair of trustees and to help lead and support our élite fire and rescue services. I’ve been involved in fire safety campaigns for years and seen close up how they embody some of the best and bravest across the UK. I am also aware there’s a job to do.
“The sector has been humbled by Grenfell, Manchester Arena and by some of the recent disturbing culture issues. Yet firefighters and UK Fire and Rescue Services do an outstanding job and rank near the top on any international comparisons. These are going to be an exciting next few years for the NFCC and I am enthusiastic about joining’.
NFCC Chair Mark Hardingham commented: “I am incredibly pleased to welcome Nick to the role. His outstanding experience and commitment to public health and safety will bring a wealth of experience to NFCC. Nick is a renowned journalist and campaigner and his passion for fire and rescue came across very strongly.
“His knowledge of community and fire safety and the challenges we face was particularly impressive. I am confident Nick will bring valuable strategic experience and insights to the role, helping NFCC to further transform and provide support and leadership across UK fire and rescue services.”
Hardingham also paid tribute to the outgoing independent chair of NFCC trustees Teresa Budworth who has been in the role since 2017 and has played a pivotal role in transforming the organisation.
Siemens has invested in its training programme for the Cerberus PRO fire alarm system with the appointment of Justin Leeks as a new trainer.
Based out of the Siemens central training facility in Manchester, Leeks will bring a wealth of experience to the role having worked in the fire industry since 2006, including positions with a number of Siemens partners, most recently GBE Converge, a third Party (LPCB and BAFE) accredited designer, installer, commissioner and maintainer of fire protection systems.
His new title is Fire Product Trainer Cerberus PRO, drawing on his extensive experience of installing Cerberus PRO since 2011 which will be invaluable in training others on the Siemens open protocol, EN54-13 approved fire alarm system.
Telgian Fire Safety has announced that David Jensen has been promoted to Vice President, Business Development. In this position, Jensen will be responsible for implementing business development strategies and initiatives, while building strategic customer partnerships.
In his new role, Jensen will focus on providing nationwide fire and life safety inspections, testing and maintenance for an array of business sectors including multi-family housing, warehousing / distribution, retail, and commercial properties,
Jensen brings over 16 years of fire and life safety industry experience to his new position. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business with a concentration in finance from Virginia Commonwealth University. Dedicated to positive change in the industry, he is a member of the ConnexFM (formerly the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association – PRSM), the International Facility Managers Association (IFMA) and the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO).
Senior Vice President Ryan Smith commented: “David has been an exceptional team member since 2019, and this promotion to Vice President is well deserved.
“David’s consistent high performance is evidenced by his recent receipt of the company highest sales honor, the annual Top Gun award. His ability to not only achieve, but to exceed professional goals, make him invaluable to the company as it continues to expand into diverse, new verticals.”
Firefighting is the most dangerous job in the UK, with the highest injury rate
However, on average, Brits overestimate firefighters’ salaries by £7,000 a year
Construction work is the deadliest industry overall, although none of the individual jobs rank in the top 10
Police officer and warehouse workers rank second and third on the dangerous jobs index
Chefs and care workers are among the most hazardous jobs – filling out the top five
Most dangerous jobs typically only pay between £20-£30,000k
Over a third (35%) of those with a dangerous jobs don’t have life insurance
A new study by Forbes Advisor finds being a firefighter is the most dangerous job of all, with over 47,000 injuries over the past five years.
Using government data, experts at Forbes Advisor have compiled a list of the most dangerous jobs in the UK based on the number of deaths and injuries over five years in each profession.
Forbes Advisor also conducted a survey of 2,000 UK adults to ask Brits what they thought the most dangerous jobs were, as well as what they pay.
The median salary for a firefighter in the UK is £28,000, but, on average, most respondents thought a firefighter made £35,000 annually, overestimating their salary by £7,000.
Following firefighters, the study shows that the second and third dangerous jobs are police officer and storage worker, followed by chefs and care workers in fourth and fifth position.
Source: Forbes Advisor
Forbes Advisor’s study looked through data from the Health and Safety Executive and the Home Office to determine which job is the most dangerous, giving the highest weighting to deaths, followed by injuries and injury rate, between 2015 and 2020.
With regards to dangerous industries, construction heads the list, although specific professions within the sector do not feature in the top 10 dangerous jobs table, as each one separately scores less than jobs in other areas.
The three most dangerous jobs in the construction industry are tradespeople, builders, and civil engineers, totaling 181 deaths between 2015 and 2020.
While most Brits agree that people in dangerous professions should be paid more, most of the jobs that are considered dangerous do not pay above £30,000 a year, sometimes under £20,000, and lower than the national median wage of £33,000.
This is confirmed by Forbes Advisor’s survey, which asked respondents what their yearly salary was, and whether or not they considered their jobs to be dangerous.
The most common wage response (35%), for those who consider their jobs to be dangerous, was between £20,000 and £40,000 a year. Of those who made over £100,000 a year, 6% said they had a dangerous job, in contrast to 10% who said their line of work was not dangerous.
When asked what salary they would demand in order to accept a job where they have a one in four chance of getting seriously hurt or injured, the average Brit would not accept an offer under £94,000 a year, with nearly one in four (24%) saying they would not take such a risk in the first place.
For those with jobs where one might get seriously hurt or die while on the job, a life insurance policy is a good idea to make sure one’s family receives support after they die. However, more than a third (35%) of those who said their job was dangerous admitted not having life insurance.
Kevin Pratt, personal finance expert at Forbes Advisor, said: “Anyone with dependants should have life insurance, and it makes particular sense for those with high-risk occupations, whether that is a firefighter, someone on a building site, or a chef in a hectic kitchen.
“If you die without life insurance in place, your family will likely struggle with the burden of the rent or mortgage and all the other bills and expenses that families encounter. But the proceeds of a life insurance policy can make up for the loss of your income, providing a financial safety net at a time of deep distress.
“No-one likes to think of their own death, but those in high-risk occupations are reminded every day of the dangers they face. Arranging insurance cover is straightforward and relatively inexpensive – premiums reflect your age and occupation, starting at around £20 a month.
“Whatever your line of work, and even if you don’t have a traditional job beyond looking after the home and family, you should ask yourself a question: Am I guaranteed not to die before everyone who depends on me is financially self-sufficient? The answer, of course, is no. That is why life insurance is a good idea for everyone.”
Blackline Safety Corp. has announced several key promotions and changes to its executive leadership team.
Chief Growth Officer Sean Stinsonhas been promoted to the additional role of President. With this appointment, Stinson will assume the leadership of software and professional service offerings, including Blackline Vision custom analytics. He will continue to lead all revenue generating activities, including sales, customer success and channel management.
Stinson joined Blackline in 2013 and has held progressively senior roles at the Company, including sales, product, data services, user experience, client success and customer care. Prior to Blackline, Stinson held leadership roles in engineering and project management at BW Technologies and Honeywell.
Chief Marketing Officer Christine Gillies will expand her responsibilities to include Product Management in the newly expanded role of Chief Product & Marketing Officer. Having joined Blackline two years ago, Gillies has successfully led global marketing initiatives including brand, product marketing, demand generation and corporate communications.
Vice President of People Services Meaghan Whitneyhas been promoted to the role of Chief People Officer. In her new role, Whitney will be responsible for all aspects of human resources, including health and safety, talent acquisition, employee engagement, benefits, and learning and development. She will work closely with the Executive team to develop and implement strategic initiatives to support the Company’s growth and culture.
Finally, Co-founder, Brendon Cook, will take on the new role of Chief Information Officer. He will oversee information, computing and systems technologies across the company, with a focus on improving processes and efficiencies through technology. Working with compliance, security and privacy teams, Brendon will also support teams who focus on certifications and quality standards.
In addition to executive promotions, Blackline’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Brian Sweeney has departed the Company, effective February 23, 2023. With Sweeney’s departure, his duties and teams have been re-aligned within the new leadership structure.
CEO and Chair Cody Slater is taking direct oversight of the firmware and hardware teams, areas where Slater has more than 30 years of experience. The Company expects to incur modest one-time exit costs in the fiscal second quarter, with longer-term cost savings thereafter with the consolidation of the CTO role.
“I am delighted to announce the well-deserved promotions of Sean, Christine, Meaghan, and Brendon,” said Slater. “As accomplished high-impact leaders in their respective fields with proven track records at Blackline, they bring a complementary combination of strategy, technological expertise and leadership skills. These promotions reflect our culture of rewarding and growing talent at Blackline and I look forward to their continued contributions to the Company.”
Slater added: “In addition, I’d like to thank Brian for his contribution to Blackline over the last two years. We will continue to leverage the processes and discipline that Brian brought to the technology teams, while realigning the technology functions that Brian lead within our existing leadership team, including myself. We have a deep and strong culture of technological innovation and expect to continue our industry leadership in connected safety solutions as we progress on our focused path towards profitability.”
The Association for Specialist Fire Protection (ASFP) has announced that current ASFP CEO Steve Davies to step down to take up a new challenge with Corrosion Resistant Products Ltd, a division of Indutrade. The association’s Business Manager Mike Ward will be taking over as the Association’s new Managing Director.
Davies is moving on having led the Association through a period of huge development and growth over the last two years, putting down strong foundations for the future. He has presided over the largest growth in membership in the history of the Association, amounting to an increase of over 42%. Steve also put in place new resources and structures to further develop the ASFP training, events and other membership services.
He said: “I am proud to have led the ASFP through such a period of rapid change. Having had the opportunity to be involved in developing the Association’s strategy for 2023-25, I am confident that the Association will continue to meet the growing expectations of ASFP Members and the wider the passive fire sector.
“By handing on the baton to Mike, I know that the Association will remain in safe hands. I would like to thank the ASFP Council and Members of the various technical groups for their support and participation and I wish Mike and the entire ASFP team every success in the future.
“I am leaving the ASFP at an exciting time, given that ASFP will be moving into new premises with additional training capacity, which will further assist in meeting the demand of the industry.”
Ward joined the ASFP as its Business Manager in 2019 and has been fully involved in supporting the Association’s development, taking forward many initiatives on the ground.
Commenting on the news, Ward said: “I feel privileged to be given the opportunity to lead the ASFP and want to thank Steve for his diligent and expert leadership over the last two years; the Association is indeed stronger for it.
“We intend to continue the Association on this trajectory of growth, increasing membership and improving membership diversity. I am also keen to further improve skills and knowledge in passive fire protection and will continue development of the ASFP training and competency offerings. We will build on the value of ASFP membership through adding member benefits; creating new technical support assets and improving ASFP’s reach and influence.
“I will also seek to increase ASFP technical and regulatory support through the publication of best practice guidance documents in a series of new product sectors and trades, related to passive fire protection.”
Davies will remain involved with the ASFP as a non-Executive Director on the Executive Board, providing continued support and advice to Ward and the team.
Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Steve Healey, of Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, has been appointed NFCC Lead for On-call, following Chief Fire Officers Rob MacDougall and Jon Pryce stepping away to lead the People Programme.
Healey will be assisted in this role by Assistant Chief Fire Officer Andy Cole from Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service. Both Healey and Cole bring decades of experience of working with On-Call firefighters and said they are looking forward to sharing their expertise and passion, supporting the vital role that On-call firefighters undertake across the UK on a daily basis.
Healey and Cole take over the role with immediate effect and will be scoping the required work. Future work is likely to incorporate findings from the Working Patterns project, in addition to completing research and data studies in to the productivity, efficiency and sustainability of the on-call duty system.
Commenting on the news, Healey said: “I’m delighted to be leading on On-call for NFCC and for UK FRS. It’s a huge privilege to be able to influence what On-call looks like for the fire and rescue sector.
“I’m confident that together with fire and rescue services, we can strengthen our On-call offering for our existing On-call Firefighters and those who are yet to join us.
“One of our first tasks is to establish robust governance arrangements and ensure the practitioners forum is re-established, in order to share all of the good practice that is already out there.
“I’m delighted to say that Area Manager Gary Ball from West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service has volunteered to lead the practitioners forum and plans are underway to host a strategic and practitioner workshop in May, where existing research will be shared and future work plans agreed”.
RECOM Solutions has unveiled a new management team for its passive fire protection division, the group’s fastest-growing arm of the group.
RECOM Passive Fire Protection has doubled the size of its team of directly-employed installers to 40 over the past 12 months. Revenues for the division are on track to exceed £4.5m in the 12 months to April, up from £2.6m, following a series of contract wins which has seen it expand into a nationwide operation.
The team has undertaken projects at locations including NHS Trusts and hospitals, schools and universities, government offices, social housing schemes, apartment blocks and office buildings.
The management team
Sarah Leadbetter has been promoted to the newly-created role of head of the division, which will see her lead on the delivery of its commercial targets, focus on client retention and expansion, and support RECOM’s directors with their growth plans for the group.
Jay Newby has been promoted from contracts manager to the new role of operations manager for RECOM Passive Fire Protection. His new position sees him working closely with contracts managers and leading on all site operations and project delivery.
Gvidas Teresas has been promoted from supervisor to contracts manager and he will support Jay on service delivery.
Richard Green has joined RECOM Passive Fire Protection as a contracts manager from Bell Group bringing expertise in fire doors, with more than 10 years’ experience in this specialist field.
Keron Jackson has been recruited as a contracts manager for the Midlands and is based in Birmingham as a result of the division’s geographical expansion.
Nurturing talent
Jason McKnight, one of the company’s Directors said the creation of a dedicated management team for RECOM Passive Fire Protection will provide an excellent platform for further strong growth for the division: ““The market is growing rapidly amid greater awareness of the need for risk assessments, remediation work, building upgrades and ongoing maintenance in the new-build sector as well as at existing sites.
“Only recently, new fire safety regulations have come into force as the government seeks to improve fire safety in high-rise apartment blocks by implementing recommendations made by the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. This once again demonstrates how seriously the issue of fire safety and protection needs to be taken throughout the property and construction sectors.
“We have a highly-skilled and committed team and I am proud of their achievements to date. Our investment in new staff working alongside the new management team will give us the ability to take the division to the next level.
“We are continuing to expand the team by recruiting additional supervisors and contracts managers to reflect the growth we are seeing across the UK. At the same time, we are placing a lot of emphasis on nurturing talent from within, and five RECOM trainees have recently gained diplomas to qualify as passive fire installers.”
About RECOM
RECOM, which has its headquarters on the Waters Edge Business Park in Salford Quays, is an approved contractor under the UK’s Fire Accreditation Scheme (FIRAS) for its fire protection services, which include passive fire protection installation, fire door surveys and installations, repairs and upgrades, fire strategy reviews, compartmentation surveying, advice and guidance, training, development and support.
The company, which was founded in 2015 by directors Jason McKnight and Joseph Dillon, also undertakes construction project management and main contracting work across sectors including healthcare, education, retail and leisure, commercial and residential. It also provides consultancy services to assist in the design and delivery of health and safety, sustainability and cladding projects.
