Andrea Simon

"Andrea is responsible for health and safety at a major construction company.Andrea feel she matches well with the ‘Investigator’ type as she is naturally curious and certainly needs to be quite inquisitive in the work she does as she checks and anticipates safety issues. As the ‘Trainer’ type she is also encouraging others to behave in a safer way and is good at establishing where there is a learning need. Andrea is committed to keeping staff safe which she does by being sensible and making sure she understands requirements under health and safety law. This really fits with her ‘Quality Controller’ type."

"Andrea is responsible for health and safety at a major construction company. She heads up a team of safety advisors who ensure that construction operatives remain safe whilst at work. Building sites have a lot of high-risk activities and there are always a lot of staff carrying out a wide range of roles. It is important that everyone is kept safe and that everyone carries out, and takes responsibility for, safe working practices.Andrea manages the safety of all the sites and this includes providing training, induction, information and knowledge. She works with the client, including their managers, engineers and workforce to understand their requirements under health and safety law to keep staff safe while they are working on projects, from conception to completion. She works with her company heads to investigate and proactively improve the way they conduct their work. No two days are the same for Andrea. She can have meetings or incident reviews that need attention and she spends a lot of time travelling nationally for work. She always makes sure to check in with her team every week as it is important to be a good leader."

"All the roles that Andrea has done have had a health and safety background. Andrea found that there weren’t many female health and safety professionals when she started, and she decided that that needed to change! She trained as an apprentice in the health and safety department of a bank before taking on the role she is in now. She went on to complete her degree and a postgraduate degree in Occupational Health and Safety. The starting salary for a health and safety executive is about £18,000, going to up to about £48,000 for a health and safety manager. "

"Andrea likes going to the gym, walking with her husband and reading, as well as relaxing with friends and family. She is also very involved in Girlguiding and is a massive advocate of STEM subjects. Andrea finds visiting new places is always a joy! She travels the entire country with her work, from the Shetland Islands in the north to the Scilly Isles in the south. Through her job she has worked in India, Kenya, Belize and Dubai in the past. She spent 4 weeks doing a safety review of the Dubai airport baggage handling system. Not very glamorous but so much fun! In the future, Andrea wants to be a respected safety leader, always making a difference!"

"There is no typical day! One day she might be sitting in a leadership team meeting, another visiting a client or site. Andrea can be working with the other SHEA leads on implementing a cultural programme or investigating an accident or incident. No day is the same. "

"After her GCSE's Andrea completed a BTEC diploma whilst in her apprenticeship. She attended university where she did a business management degree. Her professional qualification is a NVQ level 6 in occupational health and safety, which is equivalent to a postgraduate degree. Andrea also has two professional chartership's linked to her work, which requires annual continuous professional development, attending seminars, courses or reading. "