London SLC Showcase: 19 Organisations Experience Our Flagship Safety Training in London
On 8 October, 26 operational and safety leaders from 19 organisations joined us at the London Safety Leadership Centre in London for a special Showcase event. Attendees joined from a range of industries: construction, energy, insurance, and beyond.
The London Safety Leadership Centre (previously known as EPIC) was our first-ever centre, forming the blueprint for those we have opened since. It first opened its doors in 2015 to facilitate the training of more than 25,000 staff and contractors involved in the Thames Tideway Tunnel, a project to build a new 25km “Super Sewer” under London over 10 years.
As this project drew to a close, with a safety record the Tideway CEO described as “astonishing”, we gradually began opening the doors to other organisations who wanted to experience what the Centre does best: award-winning safety training. Since then, a further 5,000+ people have attended.
We often suggest that you won’t fully ‘get’ our training until you experience it for yourself, and our Showcase events are a chance for safety leaders to do exactly that: a morning taster of the full day’s programme, with the chance to ask us questions afterwards.
After breakfast, we first moved through our immersive safety story. Together, we witnessed a site incident unfold, saw the human cost and consequences that followed, and watched the pivotal moments when it could have been prevented. After a short break, our attendees were put in the driving seat; with the help of our expert facilitators and each other, they rewrote the story.
Emotional impact and realism aren’t things people typically expect when they attend safety training, but it’s feedback we consistently receive from attendees, with this event being no different.
Stephen Heath, Director of Health & Safety Transformation at Royal Mail, said: “It’s the best I’ve ever seen. Quite often safety training is robotic. This immersive experience, and using emotions to cut through to behaviour change, is clearly the most effective way to do it, but it’s not easy or straightforward – it takes a special place to deliver it.”
This is by design. The science tells us that emotion is a key part of why immersive training is ‘stickier’ than other forms. When participants feel it, we know they’re more likely to remember it.
As Sophie Bevington, Head of Health and Safety for Mace Consult, shared: “you’re going to be thinking about it days, weeks, months afterwards”
“There’s no doubt that this would be the best programme around behavioural safety that you could possibly wish for. This is the gold standard.”
The discussions throughout the day, both facilitated and casual, are such an important part of our Showcases. These events are a safe and encouraging space for safety leaders to share with their peers, and to realise that they’re not alone in the challenges they face in their roles. Thank you to everyone who attended this Showcase event and shared their experiences so candidly.
If you would like to join us for a future showcase, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest news on upcoming events.
