In opening in the conference, Chair of the UK Chamber Health and Safety Sub-Committee, and event Chair, Mike Bradshaw set a clear and confident focus - highlighting the vital nature of the discussions on people, learning and practical application. His remarks combined humour with sharp leadership insight, all firmly grounded in operational reality. 

The conference quickly moved into its external perspectives, beginning with Phoebe Smith of the Health and Safety Executive, who challenged delegates to look beyond traditional boundaries of roles and remits. Her contribution underscored that enclosed space fatalities are not confined to ships and that workplace stress must be recognised as an integral part of the Safety Management System. 

This theme of expanding thinking was reinforced by Petar Modev from the UK P&I Club, who highlighted the enduring importance of seafarers in an increasingly automated environment. He emphasised the need for proactive risk control and systemic responses to incidents, rather than reliance on reactive, quick fixes.

A particularly engaging session followed from Marcus Peters of Hearts and Minds, who explored how mindset shapes behaviour. Through practical examples, he demonstrated how even poor decisions can make sense in the moment. His message to organisations was clear: rules should be actively reviewed and, where they have lost relevance, retired, rather than leave them to languish. 

Alongside these sessions, the UK Chamber team, as well as members of its committees and working groups, showcased the breadth of work underway to advance safety culture across the sector.

One of the standout moments of the conference came in the form of Safety on Trial, delivered by Brodies LLP. This interactive mock prosecution brought issues of investigation, corporate responsibility and blame culture into sharp focus. By immersing delegates in a realistic scenario, the session encouraged frank reflection on how leadership decisions influence both incidents and their aftermath.

As the day drew on, Milas Green advanced the conversation further by making the case for a shift away from traditional KPIs towards Performance-Influencing Factors, challenging organisations to measure what truly drives outcomes. 

This set the stage for UK Chamber CEO Rhett Hatcher’s closing remarks he highlighted the need for cross sector collaboration and shared learning to truly build a stronger safety culture within the industry, and noted the how the evolving nature of technology, training and operational reality makes culture ever more vital. 

It is something we build collectively—through the expectations we set, the behaviours we model, and the systems we design to support people to do the right thing. 

Day two carried this momentum forward, with Craig Wiggins leading an interactive session that revealed the diversity of views across the room on what constitutes a just and fair culture. These discussions were complemented by Georg Smefjell’s insights into DNV’s approach to re-framing audits as tools for learning, rather than compliance alone, and by Cerian Mellor’s renewed call to place learning at the heart of safety culture.

The conference concluded with reflections from CalMac CEO Duncan Mackison, who spoke to the depth and quality of discussion across both days and the value of bringing the industry together in this way. 

The event was made possible through the support of our sponsors; Caledonian MacBrayne, UK P&I Club, ABS, Shell and City of Glasgow College, and we are grateful for the engagement and expertise of all presenters and delegates.