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Gary Carvell, group HSEQ director at Amey, will speak at Utility Week's Health and Safety Conference 2015 on 24 Novem- ber in Birmingham. What's the most important lesson/idea people should take away from your presen- tation? What you think is important, what you do makes a differ- ence. What has been the most suc- cessful or challenging experi- ence in your career and what did you learn from it? Stepping up into the group HSEQ director's role in Amey was the most daunting chal- lenge I've faced in my career so far. We had just acquired Enterprise, our business had doubled in size almost overnight and our risk profile changed significantly, in scope and scale. Despite all of this, through our Target Zero programme (and a massive amount of creative thinking and hard work) we've made a real impact in reducing harm in our business, even managing to halve our RIDDOR injury in- cidence rate in just 18 months. People & Opinion News and views Speaker's corner Gary Carvell, group HSEQ director, Amey What lessons have I learned along the way? To answer this I will take the 'PDCA' acronym many of us are familiar with but add my own twist: P – progress will only be made if you are Persistent; D – if you are working without Direction, don't be surprised if you get lost; C – be Confident in your own ability – if you aren't, nobody else will be; A – be prepared to be Accountable. Identify five people you would invite to your dream dinner party and why? The original Pythons (Cleese, Idle, Palin, Chapman and Jones), just so that I could prove to them my powers of recall of the script from the Life of Brian. UTILITY WEEK | 7TH - 13TH AUGUST 2015 | 7 T he week before Parliament goes into recess for the sum- mer is oen replete with announcements from government departments. Sometimes there is a desire to get unpopular or controversial issues out of the way. Just as oen the impetus is to get things that can be signed off, done and dusted. The flurry of activity coming from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) gave the impression of both: restricting sup- port for renewables; giving up on the Green Deal; consenting new gas-fired power stations; and a hint towards the Levy Control Frame- work beyond 2020; all while making a speech seeking to frame climate change in terms of its impact on household affordability. While the summer break will delay scrutiny of these actions, the autumn, with a new Energy Bill in motion, will provide plenty of opportunity. But as is so oen the case, incredulity about process risks masking questions of substance and the bigger picture. For almost the whole of the last Parliament, it felt as though much was on hold. Today, a single party majority, a fixed term Parliament and min- isters who have close links with both the Treasury as a department and the chancel- lor as the government's driving force, mean Amber Rudd's job is more straightforward. Having made a series of mostly unsurpris- ing (if not necessarily welcome) announce- ments, she and her advisers now have the crucial opportunity of an August at the start of a period of at least five years in office to think through their long-term objectives and how they expect to meet them. For the most part, there is no need for new legislation, but there is a pressing desire for clarity of purpose and predictability of policy. That would not preclude, for example, the reduction of financial support as costs reduce – but doing so on a clearly understood, fair and objective consideration would do less damage to the investment climate. Few will mourn the Green Deal, but the absence of a compre- hensive energy efficiency programme in its stead seems to be an expensive error. Rapid progress in storage and demand management applications mean it might be an appropriate time to revisit some of the department's underlying assumptions. Do the mounting con- cerns about Hinkley justify a change of tack on the financing model in the continued absence of an agreement? Clearly embracing car- bon capture and storage as part of the coming international climate discussions could increase the prospects of a successful conclusion. There are big and important decisions to take, and a chance to do so through setting out a clear framework for the decade ahead. It is not an opportunity afforded to many incoming secretaries of state, and certainly not in such a politically benign environment as this summer presents. Amber Rudd should make the most of her chance. Tom Greatrex, former shadow energy minister Viewpoint FOR ALMOST THE WHOLE OF THE LAST PARLIAMENT, IT FELT AS THOUGH MUCH WAS ON HOLD After five years of stasis, Amber Rudd must deliver direction and clarity to energy policy. Stay informed over the summer While Utility Week's print magazine takes a summer break for the next three weeks, we'll keep bringing you quality news, analysis and market insight online at www.utilityweek.co.uk The main event Utility Week's third annual Health & Safety Confer- ence takes place on 24 November at the Holi- day Inn, Birmingham City Centre. Keynote speakers include: • Peter Baker, Chief Inspector of Construction, Health & Safety Executive • Heather Bryant, Director of Health, Safety & Envi- ronment, Balfour Beatty • Martin Holland, Health, Safety & Environment Leader, Laing O'Rourke • Doug Wilson, Health & Safety Director, Scottish Power To find out more, visit: www.uw-hs.net