The HIP: The Housing Industry Podcast
The housing crisis looms large. The UK’s crying out for housing stock, and new builds can play a huge role in the recovery. Diversity and inclusion is finally getting the attention it deserves at a strategic level. Although there’s plenty of work still to do. And environmental concerns are taking centre stage, with time running out to reach ambitious targets in net zero carbon emissions. Suffice to say, the UK housing sector is going through a period of great change right now. With everything developing at such a pace, it can be hard to keep your finger on the pulse. That’s why we’ve launched The Housing Industry Podcast. Featuring lively conversations with key leaders in the housing sector, The Housing Industry Podcast will provide real value to anyone working in the UK housing market who cares about making a difference.
The HIP: The Housing Industry Podcast
Safety and Compliance in Housing with Wayne Cole
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Safety and compliance isn’t a topic that instils excitement for a lot of people… But our guest in this episode manages to keep it compelling! We sit down with Wayne Cole, Group Director of Property Safety and Compliance for Places for People.
Places for People is the UK’s leading Social Enterprise with a very diverse group of about 18 businesses. Wayne shares with us the fascinating story of his career, from his time in the Navy to the tragedies that Wayne witnessed later on in his career that led him to safety and compliance. Wayne gives his in-depth insight into safety and compliance within the housing sector. We learn about his straightforward approach to process and how consistency is achieved across the group.
We learn about how the “Don’t Walk By” initiative is used to reduce incidents, and what the real cause of mistakes is. We also talk about culture and how harbouring a culture that promotes honesty and trust is essential in improving safety.
Wayne gives his thoughts on the state of safety and compliance in the sector and the biggest challenges that the sector is facing from a safety and compliance lens.
In this episode, we cover:
- What Wayne witnessed that led him into safety and compliance.
- The biggest difference between the private and public sectors.
- How Wayne achieves consistency of approach across the group.
- The “Don’t Walk By” initiative.
- The real cause of mistakes.
- How to harbour a culture that promotes safety.
- What would Wayne change about the sector?
- How Wayne's team is thinking about using ChatGPT to save days of labour.
- The key challenges in safety and compliance