CPD Stars: Ensuring CPD is up-to-date is a simple but vital task which brings huge rewards

James Bourne GradIOSH, health and safety manager at Green Frog Power, says ensuring his CPD is up-to-date is a simple but vital task which brings huge rewards for himself and his organisation.

The new postcards that IOSH introduced last year to help members with logging their CPD have been a great help for me. They really help you to focus your mind on the important things and avoid writing down too much; that is key really.  Logging your CPD doesn’t have to be an activity which consumes huge chunks of your time. I set a reminder in my calendar each month to ensure I have recorded everything I have done, but I often do it as I go along; when I have completed an activity, I record it – it’s simple to do.

If any member suggests that CPD does take up too much time, that would be my response.

I actually came across someone at a recent safety and health show, who was struggling with his CPD, and I was delighted to provide some pointers to him and show how he can do it quickly and effectively. I hope my advice made a difference and he is now managing to successfully log his CPD. The CPD cards from IOSH help in a great way by focusing the mind on recording the information that is important. These A6-sized cards allow you to fill in information about the topic, venue and date and then answer some prompts on what you have learned and how you can apply it to your role. You can then scan them and upload it on the MyIOSH section of the website. Using this, it just takes a few minutes, half an hour at the most.

Some people may also ask the question why they should keep their CPD current. It is important to recognise that CPD provides structure and a way of focusing on your own development, which of course brings benefits to your own organisation. I am a one-man health and safety team at Green Frog, with assistance of our site engineers who have good safety and health knowledge and experience.  There are currently 20 sites across the UK, with more in construction and it is my role to ensure we have health and safety management systems that are efficient and that all staff adhere to them.  Having the support of everyone at IOSH is invaluable. Whenever you need support they are on hand to provide it. This is another key point: don’t be afraid to seek help if necessary.