Neil Hunt - SHE Manager

What are your main responsibilities?
Ensuring the safety of site visitors and staff and overseeing human resources. It can be quite tricky as there is a lot of new legislation to keep up with. I develop policies to do with staff, discipline etc. and write the staff handbook. I carry out regular inspections and internal audits of the Manufacturing site and am responsible for ensuring all daily and weekly checks are carried out and that we keep a record of them.

Do you work alone or in a team?
As site SHE Manager my position is unique within our Manufacturing site; however I have an assistant and regularly work with other departmental managers. There are 12 major departments that I have to monitor we have up to 750 employees + agency staff on site during the day time.

What would a typical day contain for you?
There isn’t really a typical day in this job. I arrive in the morning and see what new things I have to deal with; it could be anything from a procedure draft to an accident. I also have a list of regular tasks which includes risk assessment, fire procedures and inspection of the site. I don’t know what I will have to cope with from one day to the next, I have a plan I work to but anything can happen as we are a fully functional food manufacturing site which runs 2 split shifts.   My busiest times are when we are compiling procedures to make sure that we are compliant with the latest health and safety accreditations for example, me and my assistant worked together with all department Mangers to gain site-wide OHSAS18001 accreditation for our site.

Why did you choose a career in the food manufacturing industry?
I always wanted to work in the Food sector after completing a summer placement at a Birds Eye Walls site for Unilever whilst I was still at University.  Health & Safety compliance is so prevalent in this sector and I often get to attend conferences across Europe which enables me to meet and build a network of EH&S professionals with whom to share knowledge.  In my experience many of the latest advancements in Health & Safety come from the food manufacturing industry.

What is your educational background?
I took the traditional route through University completing a degree in Health & Safety Management.  I also managed to secure my summer placement at Unilever which I arranged myself and this stood me in good stead when applying for jobs upon graduating.  In Health, Safety & Environmental world you are always learning as there are so many procedures with which you have to be compliant.  I have also taken non-compulsory assessments and a Masters Degree in Environmental Compliance as well as a NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) general certificate in occupational safety and health and then the national diploma in occupational safety and health.  Further to this I have undertaken a training qualification from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health to allow me to run food handling, fire prevention, and manual handling courses in-house and I’m also now an NVQ assessor so I can assess our staff.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
The variety of work and the chance to liaise with all departments of this busy manufacturing site.  It’s very satisfying to receive accreditations such as the ISO 12000 & OSHAS 18001 which show that we are doing a good job. The factory has a hard working atmosphere and this kind of work attracts people who want to succeed and enjoy working with people.

What do you like least?
Changes in legislation often make it hard for factories to run at full levels of productivity and can place financial constraints on them, it is my job to sit in Senior Management meetings and explain to production departments and Factory Managers why we have to follow certain courses of action.

What skills are important in your job?
Organisational skills, planning, a strong work ethic and definitely attention to detail.

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