My father’s lamp from Rising Sun Colliery, Wallsend. A reminder of where I came from and why I still believe safety must be practical, honest and rooted in reality.

I started my safety career 1,000 metres below ground.

In 1987, aged 21, I became the youngest coalface manager in the UK, responsible for a £15 million longwall operation and the health, safety and welfare of 80 multi-skilled workers. I had statutory authority, real responsibility, and faced real consequences if things went wrong. That is where my understanding of safety was formed. Not in a lecture theatre.

From the pit to the public sector.

By 1993, I was Safety Engineer at Nottinghamshire County Council, helping implement the European Directive that made risk assessment a legal requirement for the first time.

I designed and delivered the process across an organisation of 44,000 people.

It was complex, unglamorous and genuinely important work. Exactly the sort of work I have always been drawn to.

Then came Covent Garden.

Before the Royal Opera House, I was Area Manager for Central UK Management Systems at Turner & Townsend. I managed a team of safety professionals working on major projects worth up to £200 million across the UK, Europe and Asia. It taught me how large organisations really work: the politics, the commercial pressures, and the gap between what is written in a policy and what happens in practice.

But after a few years, I was bored. The West End beckoned.

In 2001, I became Head of Health and Safety and Occupational Health at the Royal Opera House, shortly after its £213 million reconstruction. The result was one of the most technologically advanced opera houses in the world, particularly its moving stage systems, designed for rapid scene changes and complex productions.

Do not be fooled by the chandeliers. A working opera house can be as hazardous as any industrial site.
There were flying rigs, scenery built overseas and changed between performances, pyrotechnics, stage stunts, 900-seat audiences, and a workforce driven by artistic temperament and relentless deadlines.

I learned how to make safety land in an environment where the word itself could clear a room.

I also learned what happens when an organisation is badly run. At that time, the Royal Opera House was a masterclass in institutional chaos. Brilliant people, extraordinary culture, and governance that occasionally resembled a Puccini finale.
I took notes.

Oracle Safety Associates Ltd

I founded Oracle Safety Associates to do one thing well: provide organisations with honest, legally grounded safety advice that actually prevents incidents.

No consultancy jargon. No fashionable theories that fall apart the moment you ask for evidence. Just practical, defensible safety management rooted in law, experience and common sense.

Over more than 33 years, I have:

Trained more than 8,000 NEBOSH students
Built management systems for some of the world’s most demanding operating environments
Worked across construction, manufacturing, chemical, transport, mining, entertainment, local government and major infrastructure in the UK, Europe, USA, Middle East and Asia
Developed my own five-element Control Approach, grounded in legal duty and tested in the real world

Oracle Safety Associates is a NEBOSH Gold Learning Partner, Provider 539.

I am a Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner and have also acted as a health and safety spokesman for the BBC.

What you get

Someone who has worked at the coalface, literally, and at the highest levels of British institutional life.

Someone who understands both the law and the shop floor.

Someone who will tell you what you need to hear, not what sounds impressive in a proposal.

If you want safety management that works, I would be glad to talk.

When I am not working, I am usually on the Northumberland coast with a very long lens, photographing wildlife. Patience and precision are useful there too.

Explore our training and consultancy services, or get in touch directly to discuss your requirements. Contact us here.