MAKING fun out of barmy health and safety rules has been a sport enjoyed by journalists over the last few years.

I admit I too have indulged, taking pleasure in stories that give the jobsworth regulations a good kicking. And there have been a few of note in this area over the last few years. The one that most springs to mind came in 2008 when new safety costs put High Wycombe’s Remembrance Day parade under threat.

An insistence that expensive barriers were needed almost meant the ceremony was cancelled, and it was only saved when town worthies stepped in after publicity in the Bucks Free Press.

We expressed suitable outrage and pointed out this event had been going successfully for donkeys years without a problem. Lots of people, me included, scoff at demands for stewards, barriers and risk assessments at such traditional events.

But today I have a confession to make: I have partially crossed to the other side because I now admit there is some good sense in health and safety.

My epiphany came last month when my bosses sent me on a four day course in London on H&S management and systems.

My first and lingering thought about the whole thing was that it’s making a science out of common sense.

But the trouble is that some firms and organisations show such a lack of common-sense that staff end up getting badly injured, or even killed. Yes, it sounds like paranoia, especially in an office environment, but it was sobering to hear the many tales of woe and tragedy.

We saw a fictional film on how a young girl’s life was ruined when she broke her back falling down some stairs due to cleaning fluid being left on the ground.

We also watched a true-life account of how a factory worker was blinded for life after wrongly mixing-up cleaning chemicals which exploded in his face.

He had shown diligence by trying to clean up after a day’s shift, despite not being trained to do so. Colleagues let him get on with it, with horrific consequences.

In an office, there’s less to worry about. But how about crippling back injuries from faulty postures at your PC? Laugh if you want, but I suffered horrible pain and sciatica in the 1990s from foolishly working on two desks at the same time and constantly twisting and turning my body. It took years to rid myself of the problem, which could have been completely avoided.

Then there are injuries from lifting and handling, or falling over obstacles. These are more common than you think.

And, of course, in most offices, people drive to jobs, mostly in a hurry under pressure.

Our reporters and photographers are constantly on the go, and often work alone late at night at events.

It struck me a while ago that a lone young reporter could crash their car into a ditch on a quiet country road on the way back from a late council meeting. They could be lying there badly injured but, because they lived in shared digs, they may not be missed until the next morning – with terrible consequences.

So we instituted a simple system where reporters now text their manager when they get home, so that at least we know they are safe and can take appropriate steps if they go missing.

You could call it molly-coddling, but as employers we do have a responsibility for our staff when we send them out late at night.

We also insist reasonable personal safety has to come before anything, even for a journalist looking for an exclusive. Of course, risks do come with our job and it would be wrong and impossible to manage them all out otherwise we’d never write any difficult stories.

But we tell our journalists it’s better to be alive than be recklessly stupid in the pursuit of a good story.

During my course, I read so many horror stories of how firms had messed up with simple safety. In the end, their lack of foresight and care brought disastrous consequences – including jail sentences in some cases for bosses.

I am not telling you all to go crazy in the name of safety. But simple systems, and a bit of care, may save the health or life of you and your staff.

Health and safety has been ridiculed as a joke in recent years – but, take it from me, no one is laughing when it all goes wrong.