James Bertram, Health, Safety and Resilience Manager
SPSA is faced with a diverse range of health and safety risks, including fire safety, driving at work, crime scene attendance, exposure to hazardous substances, probationer training and powers of arrest to name but a few. It's James job to manage these risks and make sure that all of our people have a safe and healthy working environment. James has even been nominated for an SPSA Excellence and Innovation Award for the commitment and dedication he applies to his work.
James said: "With staff based in locations from Inverness to Dumfries, the welfare of all SPSA staff is critical and part of my role is to support the business areas in ensuring a safe environment.
"Welfare covers a multitude of areas such as protective clothing, temperature of the building, rest facilities and facilities for pregnant staff and nursing mothers, as well as managing some of the risks associated with the activities SPSA colleagues undertake as part of their job roles.
"For our scene examiners in Forensic Services, a crime scene can occur almost anywhere. The only thing predictable is the unpredictability. ICT colleagues are dealing with complex technical infrastructures that can carry huge voltages as well as volume of data. And we have a fleet of over 300 vehicles used in a variety of different ways at all times of the day and night in all Scotland's many and varied geography - these too carry risks.
"As an organisation we live with risk but it is my job to make sure that we do not allow that risk to go unchecked or unplanned for.
"I help colleagues carry out inspections and risk assessments of their working environments and activities to determine the significant hazards they will face through their work. I then support them to put the correct safety procedures in place.
"Another aspect of my role is emergency planning and business continuity. I work with each of the business areas to put plans in place for all eventualities such as fires, floods and a pandemic. As a police organisation we must be prepared to deliver our services no matter what happens and have plans and procedures in place which ensure all operations continue, even in a state of emergency. I help plan internal training exercises which give us the opportunity to test these plans and I also work with the Scottish Government to take part in national emergency planning exercises with all of Scotland's emergency services.
"No two days are ever the same and I thrive on the variety and challenges in my job role. One day I can be out at a fire scene, supporting our scene examiners to assess the options for making the premises safe for evidence gathering, and the next I can be arranging ergonomic work station assessments for colleagues who are suffering from muscular skeletal pain. SPSA is open for business 24/7 and so I also provide an on call service to assist people with any queries that they might have."It's a busy job but that's what I love about it."