• First to be set up in UK
• Branch covers large geographical patch
• Quarterly meetings are well attended

The North West Branch was founded in March 2011 and is proud to be the first IIRSM Branch to be formed within the UK.

North West England comprises the counties of Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria. This is a large, geographical patch and it is recognised that the Branch should cater for the needs and aspirations of members from across the whole region.

Since its inception, meetings have been held four times a year on the third Thursday of March, June, September and November. The meetings are held on the outskirts of Warrington and the venue is easily accessible from the motorway network and good parking facilities are available. The meetings attract members from Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire. Each meeting has a guest speaker and a variety of topics have been covered.

During 2015, the Branch held four meetings. Presentations included an introduction to the new CDM Regulations; dust, gas and vapour explosions; and orthostatic intolerance (suspension trauma), which was delivered by Branch Treasurer, Steve Nelson. In October IIRSM was well represented at the Health & Safety North exhibition at Bolton Arena. The stall was again manned by Steve, who is an excellent ambassador and has done some sterling work to promote the institute’s image. Many students enjoyed visiting the stand and were interested to find out about our free Student Membership.

The Branch meeting held in November included a presentation on occupational health and a members’ forum lead by Greg Brown, former deputy chief executive of IIRSM. A full and meaningful discussion ensued including the ways in which the institute could support local branches.

Phillip Pearson, chief executive of IIRSM, has plans to visit the North West Branch in 2016 and thank them for all their hard work. “The North West Branch delivers quality meetings year after year and we are proud that our first UK branch continues to offer this networking and CPD opportunity to the North West region,” said Phillip. “The institute really values the work the Branches undertake to increase the profile of IIRSM and I look forward to meeting all the North West Branch Members in 2016.”

The Branch Committee are working hard to bring members the best possible events while keeping costs low for individuals. The Committee aspires to offer events with improved facilities and have welcomed the increased support from head office. Member support is also needed to achieve this aspiration. Please get in touch with the Committee about your preferred location, if you can offer a meeting space or any other support you can extend. More importantly please do attend Branch meetings whenever possible. Not only do they offer a great networking space but the educational content is of an excellent standard and attendees very much enjoy the events. Remember you don’t have to be a member to attend a meeting, so please consider bringing along a colleague.

The Branch is currently planning its 2016 schedule and has already organised some interesting and very useful talks. The plan for 2016 is as follows:

                17 March 2016 – David Price, GEXCON, on dust/vapour explosion

                16 June 2016 – Ian McIntosh, Chester Zoo, on unique hazards in a zoo environment

                15 September 2016 – TBC

                17 November 2016 – TBC

The Branch Committee welcomes ideas, topic and location suggestions from members. Contact details can be found below. The Committee consists of:

Edward Blanchard (Branch Chair);

Mike Ford (Vice Chair);

Georgi Mann (Branch Secretary);

Dave Thurston (Branch Treasurer);

Steve Nelson (Executive Member).

The North West Branch email is iirsmnwbranch@sky.com.

The Branch webpage is at www.iirsm.org/branches/ north-west