INTEGRITY HSE
TAILORED SOLUTIONS FOR A HEALTHIER WORKPLACE
INTEGRITY HSE
I PROFILE
248 Inside sustainability
Darrell Lines, Director of Safety & Risk Management
Shabnum Hanif, Director of Clinical Psychology
Steve Harris, Managing Director
Established to make the working environment a safer place, Integrity HSE is changing the way health is managed in professional spaces. To find out more, Hannah Barnett spoke to the firm’s three partners: Managing Director Steve Harris, Director of Safety & Risk Management Darrell Lines and Director of Clinical Psychology Shabnum Hanif. tegrity HSE is a consultancy
IN
A founding vision
with a coherent vision and
Integrity HSE has established itself as
a broad scope.
a premier global provider of efficient,
safer, healthier and more sustainable,”
and training solutions within any business
said Steve Harris Managing Director. “To
or industrial setting. The organisation has
do that, we’re going industry agnostic.
an unrivalled global reputation for client
Our foundations are anchored within in
collaboration, thanks to its ability to reveal
the energy industry, but collectively we
hidden potential and unlock marginal gains
have a wide spread of experience, trans-
in HSE and training performance.
“We are seeking to make the workplace
ferrable across sectors. We see a lot of
effective, innovative, and sustainable HSE
The company was founded in March
evidence that construction is feeling pain
2023 by Mr Harris, influenced by his
and maritime is feeling pain, along with
many years in senior positions within
many other industries. We’re here to help
high-hazard industries. He recounted the
everybody. We’ll go cross-border, cross-
frustrations he felt when going to market
industry and cross-culture, to do that.”
to find HSE and training solutions that could
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INTEGRITY HSE
I PROFILE
meet his standards. Subsequently, he
this is clear, as the UK Health and Safety
launched a consultancy dedicated to
Executive revealed that between 2021 and
meeting and exceeding those standards
2022, over half of the 1.8 million reported
whilst making the workplace safer.
cases of ill health at work were linked
“That is our vision and our mission,” said
to stress, depression and anxiety. This
Mr Harris. “Money is important, but it has
resulted in 17 million lost workdays from
nothing to do with our end goal, it simply
the UK economy.
finances our vision.”
“There’s a huge moral, legal and economic
Integrity HSE holds several accolades,
imperative for every business to suitably
one being that it is the only training provider
address the psychosocial hazards to their
in Scotland double licenced by the
workforce,” Shabnum Hanif, Director of
International Institute of Risk and Safety
Clinical Psychology, explained. “This is espe-
Management (IIRSM) and the Institute of
cially true in offshore work, where someone
Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).
leaves a normal social environment for
Thanks to the company’s focus on an unri-
a highly pressured and safety critical job.
valled customer experience and ensuring
We must consider their needs.
client relationships are at the core of every-
“It is no surprise that we are seeing an
thing it does, the initial projected first year
increase in stress, depression and anxiety
turnover of £860,000 looks set to increase
related absence, costly staff turnover and
to an impressive £1.5 million.
some serious mental health episodes.”
To help as many people as possible, it was
In Scotland, where Integrity HSE is
fundamental for Integrity HSE to address
based, one in four people experience a
mental health risks alongside more tradi-
mental health challenge every year, and
tional physical ones. The rationale behind
12% of the population are reported to be
250 Inside sustainability
on antidepressants, which only accounts for those that have been able to seek some form of help. It is likely that the true number is much higher, but many do not address the issue, which compounds the societal problem and stifles the mental health conversation.
“Integrity HSE therefore stresses the importance of having fully trained personnel on hand when approaching mental health”
Mr Harris explained how the topic is one near to his heart: “I have lost two people who were dear to me to suicide. One was a childhood friend, who killed him-
“As the onshore supervisor
self during his university years, and the other
whilst that person was at work,
committed suicide while he was working for
the responsibility for that death
me offshore in January 2019.
is mine. However, the account-
“The person who worked for me left two
ability is not on me because
suicide notes: one to his wife and one to
there was no way for me to recognise
me. The note apologised because he
what was happening. Even if I had been
didn’t know how to open up about what
trained in the signs and had been working
he was feeling. Although that person was
with him in the same location every day,
outwardly very happy, he was obviously
it is likely his pain would have still gone
a deeply troubled person, and ironically,
unnoticed. The stark reality is that we
he was the person that others would go
cannot save everyone, but as employers,
to with their problems.
we do have a legal responsibility to
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INTEGRITY HSE
I PROFILE
ensure that the risks of mental health
be a buzzword that provides very little
affliction to those in our care are kept
value beyond optics.
as low as reasonably practicable.”
“For example, let’s take the word ‘stress’,” she continued. “Stress is
A no-brainer
a mental health illness. If you were to
Integrity HSE therefore stresses the
understand what stress does, you’d say:
importance of having fully trained and
‘I’m under pressure’ or ‘I’m panicking.’
competent personnel on-hand when
Those are the emotions you’re feeling. Our
approaching mental health, and the
training is about understanding triggers
level of that competence must be
versus response, and then supporting the
commensurate with the risk.
outcomes of that.”
As Mr Harris put it: “There are people
Integrity HSE offers mental health training
who operate in this space who are not
for managers, to enable them to identify the
suitably equipped to address a potentially
actions and behaviours of somebody strug-
life-and-death subject. I would never have
gling, as well as company-wide training. This
a First Aider treat somebody suffering
is alongside periodically sending qualified
from a heart attack. That is a doctor’s job.
therapists offshore and onsite, for both
The same is true with mental health. The
individual and group counselling sessions.
issue is that sometimes we are not able
The most popular service involves creating
to see what the mental health equivalent
a company-specific strategy, including
of a heart attack may be.”
a psychosocial risk assessment.
That is where Ms Hanif’s clinical
The company has also opened a clinic in
qualifications and experience come in,
the basement of its new office in Queen’s
complemented by her experience in the
Road, Aberdeen. “That’s for people who
energy industry. She explained how it is
don’t want to make use of counselling
vital to increase education around mental
onsite. It’s a more discreet option, where
health, to prevent it simply continuing to
they can come to see myself or another
252 Inside sustainability
psychologist,” said Ms Hanif. “We’re trying
towards substantial change in the
to cover every scenario. I think people will
energy industry and beyond.
see the value and the necessity. “Deloitte conducted a survey recently
“The real driver for me has always been to help people,” Mr Lines concluded
and found that for every £1 spent by
“We’ve had quite a few situations where
an organisation on mental health, they
people have called or emailed us just
received £5.33 in return. A five to one
to ask a question. And we let them know
ratio. So, it’s a no-brainer, excuse the pun.”
what we think, on a non-commercial basis. It could lead to something, or we
A personal approach
can never hear from again, it doesn’t
This person-centred focus extends
matter. We feel that if we’ve just helped
to physical health and safety issues,
somebody that day, that’s okay. The rest
which are overseen by the Director of
will follow.”
n
Safety & Risk Management Darrell Lines. “There are set regulations about hazards in the workplace and responsibilities for people like Directors in an organisation,” he said. “They’re liable and they need to know that. It’s not to scare them, it’s to assist them. The moral part is that we’re humans, we want to help each other. And economically, what’s best for employees benefits a company too. “I have worked with some of the best organisations in the world and if I ask them to consider psychosocial hazards as part of their risk assessment, then there would be a blank page. We have to strip it back to basic hazards, before something turns into an active situation.” With such a respected reputation, innovative perspective and complementary breadth of experience on offer, Integrity HSE stands out by offering a pathway
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www.integrityhse.com