A safer work environment; InsideView With Adrian Kibbler.

A BUSINESS friend of mine was watching a contractor cut the grass outside his office.

There were two of them - one with an electric mower and the other apparently watching.

When he asked why it took two men to cut a small lawn he was told that it was Health and Safety and one of them had to watch the other in case he cut through the wire cable.

Of course many of the crazy Health and Safety stories you hear are either myths or the result of someone overinterpreting what the law requires.

Health and Safety applied with common sense is good for the employer and employee.

Some people are more at risk than others and it is welcome that the HSE is launching a vulnerable workers project in the West Midlands area.

The most vulnerable workers include the young, older people and the disabled. Also included in this at risk group are migrant workers.

A confidential helpline is available on 0845 345 0055 between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday and it has advisers who can speak more than 100 different languages.

It can seem that Health and Safety has gone mad but it is important not to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Five years ago 21 Chinese cockle fishers were drowned off Morecambe Bay; an extreme but graphic example why vulnerable workers need help and safety advice.

Adrian Kibbler is writing on behalf of the West Midlands Minority Ethnic Business Forum..