The Global Safety Podcast
The Global Safety Podcast explores how engineers and scientists are making the world a safer place.
The Global Safety Podcast investigates the biggest safety issues facing the planet and looks at the latest science and innovations being developed to safeguard our future in an unpredictable world. How can we feed a growing population, whilst still ensuring that food is safe to eat? And how can we keep people safe with more and more robots in the workplace and driverless cars soon to become a reality?
Series 1
Tom Heap asks a panel of experts whether there's a danger that the world could run out of food. When rising to the challenge of feeding a growing world population, with over 7 1/2 billion hungry mouths, how can we do so safely without putting live at risk? The panel discusses solutions that can help reduce the deaths, illnesses and malnourishment across the globe.
Tom is joined by:
- Tim Slingsby, Director of Skills and Education at Lloyds Register Foundation
- Markus Lipp, Senior Food Safety Officer from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation
- Jonathan Horrell, Director Sustainability at Mondelez International
- Dr Morgaine Gaye, Food futurologist
Listen to the episode here.
With almost everything we do nowadays taking place on-line, Tom Heap asks just how secure cyberspace is to users. He discovers how the 'internet of things' has evolved into the 'industrial internet of things', transforming the way we live our lives, taking technology beyond the public domain and into the wider realms of transport, energy, manufacturing and infrastructure and looking at ways in which the technology links up. With the on-line world dominating our lives Tom discusses with an expert panel the various ways we can safeguard our world and our data.
Tom is joined by a panel of world renowned experts:
- Sadie Creese, a Professor of Cyber Security in the Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford
- Robert Hannigan, Former Director General of GCHQ, the UK's intelligence and security agency. He also set up the National Cyber Security Centre.
- Roland Johnson, founder of Nettitude which is now the cybersecurity division of the Lloyd's Register Group
- Ruth Boumphrey, Chief Executive, Lloyds Register Foundation (formerly Director of Research)
Listen to the episode here.
Lloyd's Register Foundation, working alongside Gallup have produced a complete and global picture of the differences between people’s thoughts about, and experiences of risk.
The Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll spoke to over 150,000 people in 142 countries, which has enabled the creation of two new indexes: The World Worry Index, which shows the countries who worry the most, and which everyday risk they worry about; and the Experience of Harm Index which lists countries by level of experienced everyday risk.
Tom Heap is joined by:
- Dr Sarah Cumbers from Lloyd's Register Foundation
- Andrew Rzepa from Gallup
- Manal Azzi from the International Labour Organization
- Tracey Brown from Sense About Science
Listen to the episode here.
When an unknown illness first appeared in China at the end of 2019, little did we know how devastating its impact on the whole world would be. Countries around the world went into lockdown to try and stem the spread of covid-19. Livelihoods have been damaged, careers ended, infrastructure disrupted.
And so in this edition of the Global Safety Podcast we’ll be looking at ways in which we can engineer ways to safeguard against future pandemics.
Tom Heap is joined by:
- Professor Richard Clegg, Lloyd's Register Foundation
- Dr Juliet Mian, ARUP
- Dr Neil Dhir, The Alan Turing Institute
- Dr Claire Pekcan, CHIRP Maritime
Listen to the episode here.
Each year an estimated 2.8 million people die from accidents in the workplace or from work related illnesses and a significantly higher number are injured. The subsequent fall-out can be very damaging. Reputations can be ruined overnight, share prices crash and consumer confidence tumbles.
So in this edition of the Global Safety Podcast, Tom Heap explores the world of Safetytech: technology being applied to safety solutions. It’s a sector with a huge opportunities for growth. It’s estimated that the potential market in developing and creating new ‘safetytech’ is worth somewhere in the region of $863 billion by 2023!
Tom is joined by:
- Jan Przydatek, Director of Technologies, Lloyd's Register Foundation
- Kyle DuPont, CEO, Ohalo
- Stuart Feffer, Co-founder and CEO, Reality AI
Listen to the episode here.
Series 2
Crossing the road should not be an act of bravery. That’s according to Chris Boardman, Olympic Cycling gold medalist and now Cycling and Walking Commissioner for Greater Manchester.
Chris is one of Tom Heap’s panelists in the latest edition of the Global Safety Podcast brought to you by Lloyd's Register Foundation. Oscar Edmundo Diaz worked for the mayor of Bogota in Columbia and he was responsible for reducing road deaths in the city by taking some simple steps that could be adopted around the world.
Juliet Adu is from the African charity Amend, aiming to improve safety for those wanting to live a fulfilled life without the risk of being another road traffic accident statistic and Natalie Draisin is from the FIA (Action for Road Safety). Natalie shares her experiences of loss and campaigning for safer roads for all.
Listen to the episode here.
In this episode Tom Heap examines the impact of global food fraud. How exactly are criminals exploiting our post-covid world? And what can we do about it? The panel shed light on some shocking practices of food adulteration, and we hear from the people fighting back against the highly organised criminal networks responsible for food crime.
This week's panel includes:
- Professor Chris Elliot, Director of the Institute for Global Food Safety, Queen's University Belfast
- Dr John Spink, anti counterfeit packaging and food fraud prevention expert
- Professor Louise Manning, Director of Knowledge Exchange, Royal Agricultural University
- Kimberly Coffin, Global Technical Director, Lloyd's Register
Listen to the episode here.
With net zero targets for the shipping industry looming, how can we deliver innovative and long lasting solutions to decarbonise the maritime industry? In this episode of The Global Safety Podcast, Tom Heap and his panel of experts explore what we need to do to make our oceans safer, cleaner and more sustainable. We hear from industry thought leaders on safety of seafarers and what is needed to safeguard workers at sea, insights from underwater cameraman Doug Allan on how overfishing is destroying ocean life and how to reverse habitat destruction, and Ben Fogle on experiencing the power of the oceans first hand when rowing across the Atlantic.
Listen to the episode here.
Findings from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll indicate that in some countries, as many as 75 per cent of female workers are concerned about violence and harassment in the workplace. For the latest episode of The Global Safety Podcast, Tom Heap is joined by a stellar all female panel including Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding, Jess Phillips, to discuss this significant threat to workplace safety. They delve into the shocking scale of harassment at work both in the UK and globally, address the likely causes and the issues women face when speaking out against perpetrators. We hear the voices of women who have been harassed and abused at work, and, with representation from the ILO and the UN, the panelists identify the most effective ways to bring about much needed and overdue culture change in this area.
Listen to the episode here.
We’re still in the dark about the full impact the last 18 months has had on our mental health, but the chances are that juggling home schooling with work, blurred boundaries between home and work life, isolation and loneliness and increased workload for our key workers will at some point take its toll. In this episode of The Global Safety Podcast the panel discuss mental health at work. With Sandra Kerr CBE, Dr Olivia Swift, Neil Laybourn, Carlo Caponecchia and BBC Radio 1’s Dr Radha, Tom Heap explores the main causes of mental ill health at work and learns how businesses can culture-build to make their workplaces a safe place for their staff.
Listen to the episode here.
The impact of climate change is already being felt, causing more extreme and more frequent weather events all over the world, and particularly vulnerable are those communities living in coastal towns, cities and villages. With sea level rise inevitable and in fact already happening at an alarming rate, many coastal communities are already facing the impossible choice: relocate or lose their homes.
In episode 6 of the Global Safety Podcast, Tom Heap and the panel discuss how coastal communities can build resilience and what the rest of the world can learn from them. Joining Tom are Suzanne Johnson, a Senior Advisor to the UN Global Compact's Sustainable Ocean Business platform, and head of the Lloyd's Register Foundation's Sustainability Program; Dr Michael Bruno, Provost at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Rocky Sanchez Tirona, Managing Director of Rare’s global Fish Forever coastal fisheries program and Professor Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development and Professor at the Independent University Bangladesh.
Listen to the episode here.
Artificial Intelligence is all around us: it’s in our phones, our cars and our computers. Police departments, governments and hospitals use it, as do marketing companies, recruitment agencies, news sites and social media. The development and adoption of artificial intelligence is accelerating significantly, but the big question now is how do we maximise it’s benefits while avoiding its biggest risks? From robotic surgery to prevention of modern slavery, this episode of The Global Safety Podcast will be exploring ways in which AI is making the world a safer place,and the challenges and dangers faced in an era defined by rapid technological change.
Listen to the episode here.
Series 3
Covid-19 has changed the world in many ways - crucially, it’s heightened our awareness of the unpredictability of life on this planet and the risks we face. But how much do we – the public – understand about risk? Are risks explained to us by Governments and scientists in a way that we all understand?
In this episode of The Global Safety Podcast, our host Professor Danielle George explores how risk is communicated, what we've learnt from the pandemic, and how to ensure those learnings make the world a safer and more resilient place.
Listen to the episode here.
Professor Danielle George explores the rise of social purpose businesses and asks whether profit and social purpose can go hand in hand.
She’s joined by a panel of experts who will put forward the business case as well as the moral case for an economy based on positive societal impact putting people before profits, and discuss what the future holds for businesses in light of impending global challenges.
Listen to the episode here.
Professor Danielle George explores the world's most hazardous workplace - the ocean. By 2030 the oceans will provide direct employment for 40 million jobs. But those who work at sea have some of the most dangerous professions on the planet. With the help of a panel of experts, Danielle explores what’s needed to keep people who risk their lives at sea every day, safer.
Listen to the episode here.
The impact of the climate crisis is evident – heatwaves, wildfires, floods and other weather events are increasing in frequency and severity… But is our infrastructure up to the job of protecting us? In this episode, Professor Danielle George explores what needs to be done to ensure our future infrastructure is safe, sustainable, and resilient to the effects of climate change.
Listen to the episode here.
Data is shared 24hrs a day, 7 days a week – by everyone and increasingly by ‘everything’. So, in a world that is driven by data, how do we make sure that we’re safe? Mistakes can occur in even the safest systems. Machines can break down and cyber-attacks are becoming an increasing threat. And how do we ensure that we keep a close eye on the autonomous technology such as robots, co-bots and self-driving cars?
Listen to the episode here.
We need a skilled workforce of engineers to meet the challenges we’ll collectively face in the coming decades as we strive towards a net zero economy. But right now, there is a problem: we don’t have enough engineers to futureproof the planet. Recent data suggests that the UK alone is several hundred thousand engineers short, and each of the required engineers needs to be trained to the right level.
In this episode of the Global Safety Podcast from Lloyd’s Register Foundation, Danielle George asks a panel of experts ’where have all the engineers gone’. Tim Slingsby from Lloyds Register Foundation, civile engineer and ICE STEM ambassador Virtue Igbokwuwe, and CEO of Engineering UK, Hilary Leevers discuss ways to attract and inspire our next generation of engineers.
Listen to the episode here.