HSEQ industry leaders unite to hack a robust and cost-effective communication framework.
Beyond HSEQ returned this week for its third event in the series, Beyond HSEQ: The Hackathon.
Hosted this time around by Director of HSE and Risk Management Jay Vekaria at Visa Europe,‘ The Hackathon’ was a first in the industry for HSEQ and has been hailed a huge success.
With over 50 attendees representing a wide range of different sectors including Energy, Manufacturing, FM, Construction and more, Jay said:
“Looking around the room it’s great to see such a combination of professionals from the industry and a real mixture of diversity, gender and sectors represented. It’s also great to see the Professor and students from Middlesex University. I truly believe that’s where it all starts.”
Beyond HSEQ: The Hackathon
HSEQ Hackathon
Attendees to the third Beyond HSEQ event were tasked with a real-life and topical scenario and then encouraged to ‘think outside of the box’ and work collaboratively with their team to solve the problem.
Taking into consideration the UK’s financial situation, economic pressure and rising inflation and interest rates, they needed to compile a robust and cost-effective communication framework to ensure HSEQ standards are not compromised, despite financial constraints.
Chief Creative Officer and Co-Founder at The Speakers’ Gym™ Christopher Wickenden FRSA spoke about ‘embracing uncertainty’ and asked teams to not be too reliant on what they already know.
He also asked them to consider 8 key components to creative flow including: having clear goals; giving immediate feedback; balanced opportunities and capacity; deep concentration; being in the present; control; altered sense of time and egolessness. Read more about this here: https://www.thespeakersgym.com/blog/how-to-create-more-by-doing-less/
For 75-minutes, each team were then asked to ‘hack’ a solution before presenting their final thoughts to the group.
Diversity and collaboration
During the feedback stage, each team relayed their thoughts on what would make a robust and cost-effective communication framework and explored three questions: ‘what they will stop doing, what will they do differently and what they will carry on with’.
Key themes during reflections included the importance of creativity, recognising your purpose, measurables, feedback and the role of AI and technology.
James Hymers, National Discipline Director at Pick Everard said:
“Great day at Beyond HSEQ. As a bit of a twist to a normal H&S CPD session we engaged in a Hackathon. Thinking back to today, not once did anyone labour the legal duties. The focus was defiantly on managing the risk and building resilience!”
Group Health, Safety and Environment Manager at Farnborough International, Delwynne Cuttilansaid:
“As always, being in a room with a bunch of people who are keen to share, challenge and grow, has left me buzzing with ideas.”
Jay Vekaria summarised the day and said:
“Reflecting on our recent Beyond HSEQ event at Visa, I’m grateful for the insights and innovation our professionals brought to the table. The diversity and collaboration across sectors and levels were inspiring. Together, we’re shaping the future of our industry.”
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About Beyond HSEQ
Since it’s inaugural event in November 2022, Beyond HSEQ has since brought together over 150 HSEQ Directors and leading industry minds.
With a clear focus on purpose, communication, understanding and influence, it offers senior professionals the opportunity to grow themselves, their organisations, and the wider profession.
Co-created by FROM:TODAY and Shirley Parsons, Beyond HSEQ is also steered by ‘The Steering Group,’ a committee of senior HSEQ professionals and, will celebrate its 12-month anniversary later this year.
Beyond HSEQ: The Hackathon followed in the footsteps of previous events hosted by James Pomeroy at Arup, the SHP News team at Informa, and the keynote theatre session at Safety & Health Expo.
To find out more about Beyond HSEQ, or if you’re interested in attending future events, please fill out the form below.