The safety adviser/manager as agent of organisational change: a new challenge to expert training

There is a great need for health and safety advisers/managers to act as agents of change, both in respect to the technology of the company and the design of its workplaces, and in the organisation of the company health and safety management system. This article reports on the development of training to meet these increasing needs. The postgraduate masters course ‘Management of Safety, Health and Environment’ of the Delft University of Technology has now introduced a course-module of 1 week, addressing the issue of the learning organisation and the specific role of the safety adviser/manager. The course-module starts from the assumption that for a health and safety adviser/manager his or her personal effectiveness and ability to influence and stimulate others are qualities as important to a company as the quality of a safety and health management system. This paper will describe the development in the role of the safety adviser/manager and the mainstream thinking on change management and training. The consequence for the content and programme features of the course-module is presented as well as the results of the evaluation of its effectiveness.