Find out more about the work we do here at the Health and Safety Laboratory - who we do it for, what the results are, and what our customers say:

• Testimonials

• Publications

• Case Studies

• Health and Safety Insights

• Major Projects

Our aim is to offer you a comprehensive range of high-quality, complementary services, to help you make informed and objective decisions that will meet both your business needs and the health and safety needs of your workforce.

We will work with you to ensure that you comply with current legislation and follow best practice.

Our diverse range of facilities and expertise enables us to address issues across all industries, and we have particular expertise in the following sectors:

Welcome to the HSL Online Shop. We offer a range of products & services for purchase online.

Follow us on Twitter @HSLProducts for the latest product news and updates!

There's a lot going on in the world of health and safety, and the Health & Safety Laboratory is playing a leading role.

This page is a gateway to topical items - news about the Health & Safety Laboratory and things we're doing, conferences and events we're organising, and opportunities to meet our scientists and hear them speak.

If you'd like more details on anything here, or would like to invite a speaker to an event, please contact us.

• HSL News

  The latest items of interest about HSL, our work and our people

• Meet our people

  Opportunities to meet us, including exhibitions and conferences

HSL has been leading the way in health and safety since 1911 and our expertise in the field is internationally recognised.

What makes our health and safety training different to many other course providers is the scientists and safety experts who deliver the training. They are not only trainers; they are specialists working daily in research and incident investigation. Our aim is to ensure all your training needs are met in full.

If you would like further advice or information on general courses or bespoke training solutions, please call our Training Unit (+44) 01298 218806 or email training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk

View our:

• Training course list

• Glasgow training course list

• London training course list

• Download our training brochure

The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) is one of the world's leading providers of health and safety solutions to industry, government and professional bodies.

The main focus of our work is on understanding and reducing health and safety risks. We offer health and safety research, expert advice and consultancy, specialist training and products.

At HSL, we have been developing health and safety solutions for over 100 years. Our long history means that we're well-placed to understand the changing health and safety landscape, and anticipate future issues.

We are the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)'s Laboratory, and working with the regulator gives us a unique insight into workplace health and safety.

HSL employs over 350 scientific, medical and technical specialists, who help make working environments and working lives safer, in the UK and around the world.

From our base in Buxton, and with staff in six other locations across the UK, we focus on the development of practical solutions to workplace health and safety problems.

We have a strong international reputation for high-quality research, undertaken on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and other sponsors in government and industry.

To find out how we can help you, contact us.

The Health and Safety Laboratory (HSL) is one of the world's leading providers of workplace health and safety research, training and consultancy. We employ over 350 scientific, medical and technical specialists.

We are part of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Carrying out investigations for HSE gives us unique insight into the causes of workplace accidents and ill-health.

We know that health and safety can't be considered in isolation. Central to any business are people and their interaction with plant (the site, equipment, tools), process (how you use the plant), product (what you produce) and place (the working environment you are in).

We have been developing health and safety solutions for over 100 years, so we know what goes wrong in the workplace and why.

Our particular strength is in bringing together different disciplines and teams to create practical, innovative and useful solutions. These include:

• expert advice and consultancy
• targeted research
• testing and modelling
• tools for your organisation
• specialised training.

We take an evidence-based approach when evaluating workplace problems, drawing on our wealth of scientific research and knowledge.

We have an international reputation for high-quality research and we collaborate worldwide through a network of partnerships.

How can we help you?

• Protect your employees at work
• Provide a safe place to work
• Make health and safety work for you
• Make better decisions

HSL organises International Seminars and Conferences on a range of health and safety related topics.

Click here to see our Seminars

Click here to see our Conferences

Click here for other Events (Open Days etc)

From time to time we also host meetings for industry associations and special interest groups. Attendance at these is normally arranged by the group concerned.

If you are interested in holding a meeting here in Buxton, please contact us using the details below.

For more details, contact HSL Training and Conferences on +44 (0)1298 218806 or email training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk

Click here to see our past seminars and conferences.

Page Under Construction

For more information email events@hse.gsi.gov.uk

Prolonged use of computer workstations and display screen equipment (DSE) can be associated with neck, shoulder, back or arm pain, as well as stress, fatigue and temporary eyestrain.

These disorders can be avoided if DSE assessments are carried out, equipment is set up correctly and good practice is applied.

'Healthy Working', developed jointly by HSL and Cardinus Risk Management Ltd., is the preferred DSE assessment and management solution of many of the world's leading organisations, including FTSE 250 and Fortune 100 businesses.

This award-winning and fully customiseable DSE e-learning software gives each employee the information they need to use DSE safely and enables self-assessment, encouraging good behaviours that help to prevent DSE discomfort or injury.

DSE assessments: the business benefits

DSE is among the most widely-used work equipment.

HSE introduced The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 to protect the health of those who work with DSE.

Managing your organisation's DSE assessments with Healthy Working and its accompanying DSE Assessor training from HSL helps not only to ensure that your business meets the requirements of the regulations, but also benefits your business by:

• improving the health, wellbeing and morale of employees
• sustaining productivity as a result of reduced sickness absence
• minimising the likelihood of compensation claims for upper limb disorders (ULD)
• reducing administration costs
• encouraging positive behaviour and the adoption of DSE good practice
• contributing to an improved organisational safety culture

How 'Healthy Working' works

'Healthy Working' takes a three-step approach to minimising your DSE risk, using:

1) Ergonomics e-learning and self-assessment
Each employee receives e-learning that targets their individual needs. Expert content devised by HSL supports compliance and encourages measureable behaviour change, whilst the system's integrated DSE self-assessment provides tailored feedback.

2) User engagement
'Healthy Working' features interactive content including video-based stretching exercises, smartphone apps, hot-desking advice and real-time feedback to encourage each employee's proactive participation in DSE assessment and management.

3) Hassle-free DSE programme management
'Healthy Working' boasts a unique and powerful management module (called PACE) which provides a secure database, powerful workflow and task management tools and detailed reporting capabilities. This makes managing your DSE assessment programme easy, irrespective of the size or nature of your organisation.

Find out more about DSE assessment with 'Healthy Working' or arrange a FREE evaluation for your business by emailing healthyworking@hsl.gsi.gov.uk now.

DSE Assessor training from HSL

'Healthy Working' is complemented by HSL's Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Risk Management training.

This essential course, delivered by experienced HSL ergonomists, will provide you with an understanding of DSE risks, an approach to risk management,  and with the necessary documentation to provide your employer with risk assessments.

The course covers the key elements for office DSE risk assessment and management and provides the information and techniques required to enable anyone to become a DSE assessor.  We also discuss risk management for less common DSE issues such as hot-desking and dual screens, and mobile technology such as tablet pcs, smartphones and laptops.  Guidance on how to set up a computer workstation in the office is mirrored for home activity or when you are on the move with DSE.

Managing health at work doesn't have to be any more complicated or expensive than managing safety, yet when it comes to prioritising workplace risk, health usually takes second place.

There is much that we can - and should - be doing to prevent work related ill health and the impact it has not only on the individual, but also their family, friends and loved ones, their workplace and, ultimately, wider society.

Across industry, chronic health conditions such as asthma, COPD and silicosis are still too commonly caused by harmful work place exposures, while around 80% of new work-related conditions reported in 2014/15 were attributable to musculosleletal disorders (MSDs), stress, depression or anxiety.

It's time to focus on health at work.

Get expert help with health risk assessment and management

Often, and for valid reasons, it can be difficult to be absolutely sure that you're managing risks to health as effectively as you manage safety risks; yet both are equally important.

If you want to reduce the human, financial and productivity costs to your business caused by staff absences due to ill health,
HSL can help. Our Occupational Health experts will work with you to identify any health risks in your work environment and show you where and how improvements can be made to better protect your employees.

With specialists working in many different areas of health, we can help you to address issues with human factors (including ergonomics and DSE assessment), exposure to harmful materials or noise and vibration, occupational hygiene and more.

We'll look at your current Health and Safety policy, let you know its strengths and weaknesses and point out any areas that need attention. This will enable you to manage health risks more effectively and also to meet the requirements of relevant health and safety legislation.

How your business benefits from managing health risks

With HSL's help to assess and manage your workplace health risks you'll benefit from:

• knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your health risk controls
• fewer instances of unplanned downtime
• sustained business performance and productivity
• lower rates of illness-related staff absence
• a reduced likelihood of compensation claims for work related ill health
• assurance of good health management across your organisation, even if multi-site or international
• the enhanced reputation of a business that takes employee health seriously

Taking a proactive and balanced approach to the management of health and safety at work, in which each is treated with equal priority, is the only way to ensure that all workers are protected from both preventable injuries and illnesses.

For more information help with assessing and managing health issues in your workplace, please contact us.

Preventing occupational ill-health or injury caused by exposure to any hazardous chemical, biological and physical hazards is essential for any business.

Effective risk management helps you to maintain productivity, minimise staff absences and their associated costs, and promote employee wellbeing.

Regardless of the size or complexity of your organisation, or the business sector it occupies, HSL will work alongside you to make sure that you get your risk management right.
We can visit you at your site (or sites) to provide an impartial but expert assessment of any potential hazards in the workplace.

We'll be able to let you know just how well your current risk management controls are working and advise you where any improvements are needed and how they can be implemented. We'll help you to develop intelligent, targeted and efficient strategies to help ensure that your organisation complies with relevant health and safety law.

The benefits of managing risk

By managing risk properly your business will benefit from less staff absence and unplanned downtime, financial savings from reduced admin costs and potential insurance claims, and improved employee morale and productivity.

This enables us to identify, understand and mitigate a vast range of workplace health and safety risks.

HSL helps you to manage workplace risk

We specialise in addressing unusual, complex and hard to solve health and safety problems in sectors including
aerospace, construction, manufacturing, power and utilities, oil and gas, and transport.

We can do this because we are able to call upon and combine the expertise of specialists working in many different fields of health and safety (medicine, ergonomics, behavioural psychology, falls prevention and microbiology are just a few examples) all under the same roof.

How we'll work with you

Involving your staff at all levels we'll not only assess the effectiveness of your existing risk management controls but we'll also get a feel for how the management of health and safety risks is perceived by employees.

We'll then present our findings to you, suggest practical improvements and solutions for any issues we've identified and will, if you require us, help you to implement and periodically review them to ensure their ongoing effectiveness.

You might also be interested in:

Achieving excellence in health and safety risk management with the Risk Management Maturity Model (RM3)

For expert risk management support, contact us now

If you'd like to find out how HSL's risk management expertise can benefit your business, or have specific questions or issues and would like advice, please contact:

Matt Clay on +44 (0)1603 828047 or email matt.clay@hsl.gsi.gov.uk

HSL provides an unrivalled range of specialist testing facilities at our purpose-built laboratory and 550 acre research site near Buxton, Derbyshire.

Besides our ability to fulfil your product or equipment testing requirements, we offer a compelling business case, because:

• HSL is UK based, ensuring convenience and value for money
• all of our research and testing facilities are available within a single location
• we provide testing to British and International standards
• we can also provide bespoke testing to your specifications
• we have the year-round capacity to meet your testing schedules

You'll also benefit from our extensive experience and knowledge, much of it gained as a result of our investigative work and research on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

HSL's testing services can help you to detect and address workplace health and safety hazards; develop, improve and launch new products safely, or assess the potential impact of real-work incidents.

Find out more about specialist testing from HSL

If you'd like to know more about our extensive testing facilities or would like to discuss your product or equipment testing requirements with us, please contact:

David Johnson on +44 (0)1298 218217 or email david.johnson@hsl.gsi.gov.uk

The objective of human factors is to design systems, jobs and organisations that match human capabilities. This helps you to maximise the safety, health and efficiency of your employees and work systems.

HSL will work with you to optimise the interactions between your people, equipment and working environment.

By addressing the human factors elements that are relevant to your operation, you can:

• improve organisational performance by enhancing leadership, team culture and procedures
• achieve greater efficiency and productivity through better ergonomic design and physical work layout
• engage your employees in managing their own health and safety risks
• better manage sickness absences arising from, for example, manual handling issues, musculoskeletal disorders, stress and fatigue.

HSL's human factors specialists can help you with:

• Health and Safety leadership
• Achieving Safety Culture excellence
• Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessment
• Workplace stress
• Workplace fatigue
• Ergonomics training
• Manual Handling training
• Human performance evaluation

Need help with human factors issues? Contact HSL now

If you need information, expert advice or solutions for human factors or ergonomics issues, please contact:

Ed Corbett on +44 (0)1298 218352 or email ed.corbett@hsl.gsi.gov.uk

HSE's Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) is pleased to announce its plant protection products and biocides conference and events programme for 2016/2017.  This year we have expanded the programme to take account of stakeholder feedback obtained from the 2015/16 events programme.

We are committed to communicating effectively with our stakeholders.  One of the ways in which we are able to keep our stakeholders up to date is through the delivery of our conference and events programme.   During 2016/17, we will be hosting a wide range of events which are aimed at providing training and updates on many aspects of pesticide, biocide, and chemical regulation.

Our proposed schedule of events for 2016/17 is listed below.  If you are interested in attending any of the events or require further information please email our events team at events.CRD@hse.gov.uk.

CRD is also considering hosting events on the following topics, subject to there being a sufficient level of interest.  If you would be interested in attending an event on any of the topics listed below please email our events team at events.CRD@hse.gov.uk to register your interest.

Bespoke Training for Individual Organisations

In addition to running our general training programme, CRD also offers bespoke training for individual organisations on both technical and procedural matters. The main benefit to the delivery of bespoke training is that the training is specifically tailored to meet your organisation's individual needs and enables you to address specific problem areas that are relevant to your organisation. This training can be delivered at our offices in York, or at a location of your choice.

CRD has previously organised the following bespoke training events for various organisations and Member States:

• Co-ordination & Procedures
• Physical/Chemical Properties
• Fate & Behaviour
• Consumer Risk Assessment & Residues
• Operator Exposure
• Dermal Absorption

If you would be interested in discussing the possibility of CRD providing your organisation with a tailor-made training programme, or if you would simply like us to deliver an existing training programme at your office, please contact Jon Winfield by emailing jon.winfield@hse.gov.uk.

In accordance with our financial remit, HSE has to recover costs for the work it delivers. Consequently, a charge would have to be made for the preparation and delivery of the training, and any associated travel and subsistence costs.

Please note that CRD will not be able to provide advice on specific application work as part of the bespoke service. Such queries should be dealt with in the usual manner.

HSE's Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) is pleased to announce its plant protection products and biocides conference and events programme for 2016/2017.  This year we have expanded the programme to take account of stakeholder feedback obtained from the 2015/16 events programme.

We are committed to communicating effectively with our stakeholders.  One of the ways in which we are able to keep our stakeholders up to date is through the delivery of our conference and events programme.   During 2016/17, we will be hosting a wide range of events which are aimed at providing training and updates on many aspects of pesticide, biocide, and chemical regulation.

Our proposed schedule of events for 2016/17 is listed below.  If you are interested in attending any of the events or require further information please email our events team at events.CRD@hse.gov.uk.

CRD is also considering hosting events on the following topics, subject to there being a sufficient level of interest.  If you would be interested in attending an event on any of the topics listed below please email our events team at events.CRD@hse.gov.uk to register your interest.

Bespoke Training for Individual Organisations

In addition to running our general training programme, CRD also offers bespoke training for individual organisations on both technical and procedural matters. The main benefit to the delivery of bespoke training is that the training is specifically tailored to meet your organisation's individual needs and enables you to address specific problem areas that are relevant to your organisation. This training can be delivered at our offices in York, or at a location of your choice.

CRD has previously organised the following bespoke training events for various organisations and Member States:

• Co-ordination & Procedures
• Physical/Chemical Properties
• Fate & Behaviour
• Consumer Risk Assessment & Residues
• Operator Exposure
• Dermal Absorption

If you would be interested in discussing the possibility of CRD providing your organisation with a tailor-made training programme, or if you would simply like us to deliver an existing training programme at your office, please contact Jon Winfield by emailing jon.winfield@hse.gov.uk.

In accordance with our financial remit, HSE has to recover costs for the work it delivers. Consequently, a charge would have to be made for the preparation and delivery of the training, and any associated travel and subsistence costs.

Please note that CRD will not be able to provide advice on specific application work as part of the bespoke service. Such queries should be dealt with in the usual manner.

Healthy, stress free and productive workers are good for business.

We've made great progress in improving workplace safety, but that's only part of the story.

Evidence shows that taking an approach to worker protection that integrates employee health and wellbeing offers the greatest benefits both to the individual and to the organisation.

The secret to successfully implementing Complete Worker Health solutions is knowing where to start.

Know your issues and prioritise actions

Managing health at work need be no more challenging or costly than managing safety.

Uniquely, HSL can provide everything you need to embed effective and integrated Complete Worker Health at the heart of your health and safety management system:

• a team of hands-on experts to help you
• in-depth regulatory experience
• only the solutions you need

Our facilitated Health Management Maturity Workshop offers an accessible way to begin your journey to Complete Worker Health by helping you to assess your current health management performance, discover what 'good' health management looks like, and learn how you can get there.

How you'll benefit from Complete Worker Health solutions

The integrated approach to health and safety management advocated by our Complete Worker Health solutions provides a number of benefits, including:

• assurance that your health KPIs and risk management strategy are effective and will deliver long-term health benefits
• confidence that all of your health interventions will work together to provide the maximum return on investment
• the foundations of an organisational culture in which everyone is engaged and takes responsibility for health

HSL ensures value for money

We want to make sure that you get only the Complete Worker Health approach that you actually need, tailored to the individual requirements of your organisation.

To achieve this we would take a phased approach that acknowledges where you already are on your journey to health risk management.

Let us show you the best place to start implementing Complete Worker Health and help you to target your resources to the areas of improvement where they will have the greatest impact.

Contact us now to find out how HSL's Complete Worker Health solutions can benefit your employees and your business.

Email Clare Forshaw: clare.forshaw@hsl.gsi.gov.uk