Wellbeing Within Construction (virtual event)
2025-11-13 12:00 - 13:30 (Europe/London) | Online-only Event
IOSH Highlands & Islands
This session delves into the challenges faced by the construction industry – from the complexities of remote working and demanding long hours to the growing concern of workforce isolation.
Drawing on his experience as an Army Commando and over 13 years in construction, Mick shares his personal journey into health and wellbeing and why it became such a passion. He reflects on the strong parallels between the military and construction sectors, both built on teamwork, resilience, and shared purpose, and how lessons from one can strengthen the other. With honesty and authenticity, Mick discusses the people at the heart of the industry, highlighting common struggles, success stories, and setbacks.
Attendees will gain insight into practical approaches for improving wellbeing, connection and support across construction teams.
For more information and to register please click the link below.
This free, online event is open to members and non-members of IOSH.

Green Hydrogen Projects (IOSH)
2021-11-11 15:00 - 16:30 | Online-only Event
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) Ltd has expanded from wave and tidal generation to include green hydrogen R&D production.
The talk will describe the hydrogen path EMEC has taken and a sample of the many hydrogen projects ongoing at present.
Online webinar presentation by Jonathan Lindsay –
Currently the Operations & Technology Director at EMEC, Jonathan is an experienced Manager and Subsea Engineer who worked in the oil and gas industry for 25 years before moving to marine renewable energy full time in 2017. Jonathan has worked in multinational companies such as McDermott Inc and Wood Group as well as smaller consultancies in the UK. Jonathan also chairs the BSi Steering Committee overseeing UK input to IEC Wave & Tidal Energy standards.
This IOSH Highlands & Islands Branch meeting is also open to members of the Energy Institute and also free to any interested non-members wishing to attend. Pre-registration is essential on: https://iosh.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_f_ljv37HRAeYdUkWqUS3kA

Improved Driving (IOSH)
2021-10-21 14:00 - 15:30 | Online-only Event
This online session will cover ScORSA’s current campaigns + Tips to improve driving skills, managing road-based conflicts, driving in the Highlands, speeding, distractions & frustration.
The Scottish Occupational Road Safety Alliance (ScORSA) was created to raise awareness of managing occupational road risk and to promote occupational road safety within Scotland through promoting the positive benefits of risk management.
ScORSA brings together employers, trade unions, local authorities, emergency services, safety organisations, professional and trade associations.
Presented by Dr. Karen McDonnell, past President of IOSH.
This IOSH Highlands & Islands Branch meeting is also open to non-members.
Pre-registration is essential via this link: https://iosh.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErc-ygrDgpGdW1C03myazIHSWESRdUP_sA

Health & Safety aspects of Controlled Collapse Demolition
2021-06-03 14:00 - 15:00 | Online-only Event
Online joint meeting between IOSH Highlands & Islands branch and IOSH Construction Group.
All welcome to this presentation by Bob Johnstone, MD of Keltbray Decommissioning.
A development of last year’s successful CPDC James Attwood Shield lecture by the same speaker.
Focussing on the health and safety aspects which underpin all such risk management challenges.
Free registration available on https://iosh.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAscO2urDotHd0g0qMJ9eO58FFWYWAQouiS

Water hygiene safety
2021-03-30 15:00 - 16:00 | Online-only Event
Pete Tyson of the Water Hygiene Centre will present the ‘5 Top Tips to Water Safety’.
This one hour briefing aims to provide some hard hitting facts and published stats on reported cases of illness associated with waterborne pathogens detailing those who are most susceptible. Having set the scene on these outcomes related to water, the briefing starts to outline 5 practical steps on what an organisation needs to really consider with the management of water safety.
Hosted by IOSH Highlands and Islands Branch:
Register here to join the event: https://iosh.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsd-GsqDgiGdMC1gEsIc2wATM9hmhm_3oz

Women in Safety
2021-03-08 18:00 - 19:30 | Online-only Event
To coincide with International Women’s Day, IOSH are excited to host a powerful panel discussion with some of the finest women in Health and Safety, CSR and Humanity. We will explore some of the challenges within industries today, as well as some of the inspirations and advice that many women including our panel have faced at one time or another. We will also focus on women in health and safety and anyone thinking about a career in our profession.
Now is the #TimeToChallenge and we are looking forward to welcoming everyone to this webinar. The format of this event will be a Q&A session around celebrating women in our industry, discussing issues around FIR, EDI, and how we can continue to engage and encourage women into our profession.
The panel line up include:
Bev Messinger – CEO of IOSH
Louise Hosking – Business Owner and IOSH President Elect
Anne Isaacs – Estate Manager and IOSH Council Member
Caroline Kannwischer – Drilling/Field Engineer & HSEQ Professional
Michelle Mills-Porter – Managing Director, Keynote Speaker, and Transformational Trainer
Yvonne Gilfillan – CSR Professional for McLaughlin and Harvey and Business Owner of Infinite Fusion
We are also delighted to be joined by Trevor Stone, Learning & Development Business Partner at VolkerStevin and is an advocate for Fairness, Inclusion and Respect and Equality and Diversity Respect.
IOSH Highlands & Islands Branch are supporting the North East of Scotland’s Webinar on International Women’s Day.
Free registration available on https://iosh.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cEZ5mb14TpOPqAT0r-U4kA

GDPR - Data Protection and Privacy
2020-11-19 15:00 - 16:00 | Online-only Event
Presenter: Hayley Jaffrey of the Quality Atlas Ltd.
Virtual meeting hosted by IOSH Highlands & Islands Branch.
See IOSH website (Events section) for free registration details.

Health & Safety Legal Update
2020-10-08 15:00 - 16:00 | Online-only Event
Presenter: Natalie Walker of Pinsent Masons
Virtual meeting hosted by IOSH Highlands & Islands Branch.
See IOSH website (Events section) for free registration details.

Working at Height overview
2020-09-03 15:00 - 16:00 | Online-only Event
Presenter: Lee Fleming of IATS Ltd.
Virtual meeting hosted by IOSH Highlands & Islands Branch.
See IOSH website (Events section) for free registration details.

NOW POSTPONED- Extreme Risk Management
2020-06-04 15:00 - 17:00 | Fairways, Castle Heather,, Inverness, IV2 6AA
Postponed due to COVID-19 – Further information to follow in due course.
To be presented by Scottish Ambulance Service and Mountain Rescue.

Presidential Team Update
2020-05-27 15:00 - 16:00 | Online-only Event
Presenter: IOSH presidential team, followed by Inverness Chamber of Commerce
Virtual meeting hosted by IOSH Highlands & Islands Branch.
See IOSH website (Events section) for free registration details.

NOW POSTPONED - Renewable energy initiatives in Orkney
2020-05-07 15:00 - 17:00 | Fairways, Castle Heather,, Inverness, IV2 6AA
Postponed due to COVID-19. Further information to follow at a later date.

NOW POSTPONED - Building Mental Health
2020-04-02 15:00 - 17:00 | Fairways, Castle Heather,, Inverness, IV2 6AA
Note: Postponed in accordance with IOSH policy on COVID-19 situation.
Speaker: Martin Coyd OBE, formerly of MACE Construction.
Thought provoking discussion of Mental Health First Aid issues.
All welcome – also includes brief AGM.
Further information to follow.

NOW POSTPONED - Working Safely with SSE Renewables
2020-03-12 18:00 - 19:00 | Fairways, Castle Heather,, Inverness, IV2 6AA
IMPORTANT NOTE – this meeting has been postponed as SSE speakers are currently unavailable due to COVID-19 priorities.
A revised date will be notified in due course.

Joint meeting between IOSH & ICE – also relevant to other professions!

Presenters:

Clare Ireland, Operations Hydro SHE Manager of SSE, based in Perth – who is a Chartered Fellow Environmental Health Officer, and
Alasdair Couttie, Lead Engineer North, SSE Renewables Programmes (and current Chair of ICE Highlands & Islands Branch).

The speakers will discuss what is expected of SSE Renewables contractors etc and describe Safety Initiatives presently being undertaken.
Considering Human Factors which affect Risk Perception, and how to develop Safe Behaviours and effective teamwork.
Attendance should be of benefit to safety professionals, operational colleagues and others who may get involved in renewable energy projects, large or small.

Please note change from usual IOSH start time and date – refreshments from 5.30pm.
Joint meeting between IOSH & ICE – all welcome.

Festive Lunch
2019-12-05 12:00 - 15:00 | Fairways, Castle Heather,, Inverness, IV2 6AA
IOSH members only – pre-booking essential

Health & Safety topic
2019-11-07 16:30 - 18:00 | Fairways, Castle Heather,, Inverness, IV2 6AA
Amended due to unavailability of planned speaker – Further details to follow.
Light refreshments from 4pm – all welcome!

Legal Update
2019-10-03 16:30 - 18:00 | Fairways, Castle Heather,, Inverness, IV2 6AA
Health & Safety – Legal update:
This year Natalie Walker of Pinsent Masons will be discussing the following topics:

The Scottish Sentencing Guidelines and a look at trends in sentencing in Scottish Health and Safety cases.
Fire Safety in Scotland: The Hackitt Report and what the future of fire safety might look like in Scotland.

Natalie Walker is an associate based in Pinsent Masons’ Aberdeen office in the litigation and regulatory team. She has experience in dealing with personal injury claims and advising clients on a regular basis on their health and safety obligations and in relation to the defence of any enforcement action taken by the HSE. She underwent a secondment at an oil and gas operator in 2014 working in their health and safety department.
Light refreshments from 4pm – all welcome!

Management of Vibration
2019-09-05 16:30 - 18:00 | Fairways, Castle Heather,, Inverness, IV2 6AA
Presenter: John Ireland,
Forestry and Land Management Scotland.
Health & Safety topic – open to all interested persons.

Site visit to new Justice Centre, Inverness
2019-06-06 15:00 - 17:00
Site Visit – Inverness Justice Centre, Longman Road, Inverness (Next to old Inverness College Site).
Client – Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service; Value – £24m; Opening – Autumn 2019;
Contractor – Robertson Northern;
The justice centre will have six new courtrooms that will incorporate the very latest digital technologies to simplify and enhance the experience for all users of the justice system. Separate and discrete areas will be created for jurors, witnesses and the local faculty. Facilities for video links and recording of evidence for children and vulnerable witnesses are included. Within the court complex, criminal courts are located on the first floor and civil courts and tribunal spaces on the ground floor, segregating building users.
Construction floor area amounts to approximately 6500m2 over 3 storeys using concrete frame, precast concrete cladding and curtain walling.
The visit will consist of a presentation in the site offices hosted by the Project Managers, followed by an accompanied tour of the site. Visitors will require to bring Safety Helmet, Safety Footwear and Hi-Vis Vest. Gloves and Safety Glasses are also required but a limited number are available on site for those without.
Due to operational constraints, numbers are limited and restricted only to those who have a confirmed place after pre-booking – please contact highlands@ioshnetworks.co.uk

Blueprint
2019-05-02 16:30 - 18:00 | Inverness College UHI, 1 Inverness Campus, Inverness, IV2 5NA, United Kingdom
Guest speaker
Emmeline Heaphy
Professional Development Co-ordinator, IOSH

Focussing on professional development of IOSH members (and potential members)

Includes CPD & IPD update – one to one advice available at end of presentation

At the Lecture Theatre, Inverness College UHI, Inverness Campus, IV2 5NA –
IOSH meeting – open to all – refreshments from 4.00pm

IOSH Motivational Speaker (and AGM)
2019-04-04 15:00 - 17:00 | Kingsmills Hotel, Culcabock Road, Inverness, IV2 3LP
Red Széll is a writer, broadcaster and extreme sports enthusiast who refuses to allow blindness to stand in his way.
A published author himself, he presents Read on Air, RNIB Connect Radio’s weekly show for those passionate about books and reading.

In 2013 Red became the first blind person to climb the Old Man of Hoy (the tallest sea-stack in the Northern Hemisphere and Britain’s most iconic pinnacle) – a feat that was captured by top-adventure cameraman Keith Partridge (Touching the Void, The Beckoning Silence) in a BBC TV documentary.
Red recorded a TED Talk and continues to work as a motivational speaker, talking about his experience of sight loss and encouraging others to see that assisting the visually impaired is as much about raising expectations as about fundraising. To this end he has appeared in Run Your Race, a short RNIB film promoting active participation in sport by blind people, and starred in Fight For Sight’s Look Me In The Eye TV advertising campaign in 2017. It’s a message he also promotes in his regular appearances on BBC Radio 4’s In Touch programme and in the wide-range of newspaper, magazine and blog articles he writes.
A year-round open water swimmer Red has won medals at The 2015 Big Chill Swim and the Christmas Day 2014 Highgate Men’s Pond swim and completed the Henley Mile in June 2015, the first blind competitor to do so. The same month he also became the first blind person to complete the gruelling 100 mile South Downs Way on a tandem (the route takes in 11,000 feet of hill climbs and he and his sighted tandem partner hit speeds of up to 50mph on the downhill sections!)

Note- Refreshments from 2.30pm, brief AGM at 3.00pm, followed by motivational speaker (all welcome!)

Risk Management and New Technologies
2019-03-07 16:30 - 18:00 | Inverness College UHI, 1 Inverness Campus, Inverness, IV2 5NA, United Kingdom
Speaker: Mark Jenkins, UK & IE Risk Manager for Siemens, Chair of IOSH Offshore Group.
At the Lecture Theatre, Inverness College UHI, Inverness Campus, IV2 5NA –
IOSH meeting – open to all – refreshments from 4.00pm

The Elephant in the Room
2018-12-06 12:00 - 15:00 | Kingsmills Hotel, Culcabock Road, Inverness, IV2 3LP
IOSH Christmas Lunch and entertainment- pre-booking is essential
Presented by Dr Alan Curley, Director of UC Mind Solutions, Addictions and Sports Psychology Centre in Glasgow.

Agile working - moving and handling
2018-11-01 16:30 - 18:00 | Inverness College UHI, 1 Inverness Campus, Inverness, IV2 5NA, United Kingdom
The presentation will provide clarity on what Agile Working is,the potential challenges and health and wellbeing health benefits. This wide-ranging topic will focus on six main elements on getting the best out of digital advances and new ways of working.
Presented by Neil Shave of Posturite Ltd
At the Lecture Theatre, Inverness College UHI, Inverness Campus, IV2 5NA –
IOSH meeting – open to all – refreshments from 4.00pm

Mock Trial & health and safety legal update
2018-10-04 16:30 - 18:00 | Inverness College UHI, 1 Inverness Campus, Inverness, IV2 5NA, United Kingdom
Presented by Pinsent Masons, an international law firm.
At the Lecture Theatre, Inverness College UHI, Inverness Campus, IV2 5NA.
IOSH meeting – open to all!

New Health and Safety management system - ISO 45001
2018-09-06 16:30 - 17:30 | Inverness College UHI, 1 Inverness Campus, Inverness, IV2 5NA, United Kingdom
Joint meeting between IOSH and Highlands and Islands Construction Safety Forum (HICSF):

Presentation on ISO 45001:2018 – a new international standard for H&S management, adaptable for any organisation
Speaker – Dr Karen McDonnell, member of BSI’s HS/1 committee and Past President of IOSH

At main Lecture Theatre, Inverness College UHI at Inverness Campus, Inverness IV2 5NA
Refreshments from 4.00pm, meeting from 4.30pm until approx 5.30pm

For remote participants, option of linking up from other UHI centres (if arranged/confirmed in advance)
