Clear Consultation
Charge of the Light Brigade
People using the expression: “to charge like the light brigade” are referring to a heroic but almost-suicidal attack by British light cavalry against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, 1854.
Commander-In-Chief, Lord Raglan, sent an order for Lieutenant General George Bingham’s Light Brigade of 600 cavalrymen to attack Russian artillery positions (which he, Raglan, could see clearly from his high vantage point).
An intermediary lower down the valley, however, pointed out the wrong position, resulting in the Light Brigade launching its now infamous headlong charge against a well dug-in, alerted, enemy. Almost straight away, the British troops realised the folly of their attack, but bravely pressed on, to the astonishment of the Russian defenders. A few even managed to briefly drive away the Russian artillerymen, although too few got through to hold the advantage for long.
Learning lessons
Two learning lessons fall out of this sorry debacle in British military history:
· Instructions need to be unambiguous.
· Workers can be amazingly committed to getting the job done, and will sometimes muddle on with little regard for their own safety.
Not for the first time
Last year, Shetland-based G & A Leask Limited was fined £9,000 after pleading guilty at Lerwick Sheriff Court to a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
It seems that a 22-year-old worker and a co-worker were sent to repair roof tiles on the sloped roof of a house when one of them fell over the unprotected gable end.
Mr Thomas Marshall suffered a severe traumatic brain injury along with vertebrae fractures and a broken collar bone because of his fall. He is said to continue to suffer ongoing effects due to the head injury and recently settled a civil action in relation to the incident.
Pleasingly, The Health and Safety Executive found the company had well-trained and well-equipped employees but in this instance, the company had failed in their duty to clarify with their employees that using scaffolding was a direction rather than a suggestion. (Arinite’s November 2019 Blog explains why falls from height are the number one killer).
Since the accident, the company has stated that work is now more closely supervised, and it has altered job sheets to include specific risks and instructions which employees must acknowledge as being understood.
Feedback
Much has been written about the art of communication, and Arinite has a factsheet entitled: “Communication” for issue to clients. The factsheet makes the point that a lack of communication is one of the key underlying causes of workplace accidents.
The Health & Safety Executive also has a helpful page on the law applying to health & safety consultation with employees.
My favourite definition of good communication is not how clearly you think you sent your message, but how accurately it was received.
There is a very good way to check: ask the recipient for feedback on what they have understood by your instruction. Remember, background noise and people’s personal preconceptions will always serve to disrupt your message.
Contact us
Arinite clients worldwide appreciate we provide practical, no-nonsense advice about what you need to do to establish and maintain a safe and healthy working environment.
Our team of health and safety consultants take pride in keeping health and safety simple.
If you need to call upon our expert assistance, or just for an informal chat, please call our office +44 207 947 9581, or type an enquiry to: https://www.arinite.com/contact-us/.
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