Welcome! from the Executive Committee of the Bristol and West branch.

At a time when the Branch structure is under review and some changes are likely to be seen in the future, the Bristol and West Branch has enjoyed another year of success in 2007/08. My personal thanks go to all the volunteers who work very hard on the Executive Committee to make this possible. Looking ahead, we’re planning our third Branch conference for November 2009, in addition to the usual high calibre of monthly meetings. It promises to be an exciting year and we look forward to receiving your support in some of the initiatives we’re considering.

The Safety and Health Achievement Award competition last year resulted in some excellent entries and the three finalists gave inspiring presentations at our March 2008 meeting. Congratulations to all the finalists and well done to everyone who entered the competition. We’re running a similar competition again in 2009 and I would encourage you all to think about entering. More information about the format for this year will be sent out later and of course full details will appear on the Branch website. Once again, there will be three fantastic prizes and a trophy, to be awarded at the Branch meeting in March 2009.

We continue to look for new ways to support you in your work and help you gain knowledge. We started last year posting podcasts of speakers’ presentations on the website and we intend to extend this for the 2008/09 programme. We also aim to train mentors to provide support to members who would like access to others in the Branch who have more experience in the world of occupational safety and health. More information will be posted on the website, so please don’t forget to look at it regularly.

I look forward to seeing you at branch meetings throughout the year.

Kind regards

Kevin Bridges Dip2.OSH, CMIOSH

Branch Chairman