Expert Health & Safety Management Consultants

At Finch Consulting, we support organisations facing complex health and safety challenges where independent judgement, technical expertise and practical experience are critical. We help clients understand their exposure, strengthen decision-making and implement proportionate, effective controls that work in practice.

Our consultants bring decades of experience across complex, high-hazard and highly regulated engineering environments. They have held senior roles within industry and regulatory bodies and have contributed to national policy and standards. All Finch Health & Safety Consultants also act as Expert Witnesses for the courts.

That breadth of experience gives us a perspective that extends beyond compliance. We understand not only what the law requires, but how organisations operate, how risk is managed in practice, and how decisions are scrutinised when things go wrong.

Whether advising senior leaders, reviewing governance arrangements, investigating a serious incident or developing occupational health strategies, our work is grounded in independence, clarity and practical application.

Why organisations choose Finch

Every organisation manages risk. The difference lies in how well decisions stand up under scrutiny.

Clients engage Finch when they need more than technical answers. They need experienced advisers who can navigate complexity, challenge assumptions and provide clear, evidence-based recommendations.

We help organisations reduce their exposure to harm, regulatory intervention, enforcement action, civil claims and reputational damage by focusing on the active effectiveness of risk management rather than simply the presence of systems or documentation.

Our approach is collaborative and grounded in reality. We seek to understand how work is actually carried out, how decisions are made and where organisational factors influence performance. This allows us to deliver advice that is both technically robust and workable in practice.

Our Areas of Expertise

Strategic Leadership, Governance and Assurance

Strong health and safety performance begins with effective leadership and clear governance.

We support Boards, Directors and Duty Holders in understanding their legal responsibilities, strengthening oversight and gaining assurance that critical risks are being managed effectively across their organisation.

Our work includes independent assurance reviews, governance assessments, organisational capability reviews, regulatory engagement and support following enforcement action. We provide clear, defensible advice that enables informed and proportionate decision-making.

Risk Management and Independent Assurance

Effective risk management is about more than producing risk assessments; it is about ensuring that critical risks are understood and controlled in practice.

We help organisations test whether their controls are working as intended and whether management systems deliver meaningful outcomes.

Our work includes independent reviews of health and safety management systems, operational assurance, verification of critical risk controls, contractor management and safe systems of work.

The focus is not on adding process, but on building confidence that risk is being managed effectively and consistently.

Occupational Health Risk Management

Occupational disease remains one of the most significant health and safety challenges facing UK industry.

We support organisations in identifying, assessing and controlling exposure to hazardous substances and harmful workplace agents, with a focus on long-term workforce health.

Our expertise includes COSHH management, health risk assessment programmes, airborne contaminants (including dusts, fumes and fibres), physical agents such as noise and vibration, biological hazards, dermal exposure and ergonomic risk factors.

Our approach is practical and proportionate, helping organisations implement controls that protect workers throughout their careers.

Incident Investigation and Organisational Learning

Understanding what happened after a serious incident is only the starting point.

Organisations and legal advisers regularly instruct Finch to conduct independent investigations following serious and catastrophic events. These are often undertaken under Legal Professional Privilege.

Our investigations examine not only the immediate causes, but also the organisational, managerial and systemic factors that created the conditions for failure.

We support clients in developing regulatory and legal strategies, identifying meaningful learning and implementing improvements that strengthen corporate resilience, enhance defensibility and reduce legal exposure.

Leadership Support and Executive Development

The expectations placed on senior leaders and Duty Holders continue to increase.

We deliver tailored executive development programmes designed for those responsible for high-consequence decisions. These are not generic training courses; they are built around the organisation’s operating context, governance structures and risk profile.

Topics include Duty Holder responsibilities, governance, regulatory expectations, incident preparedness, organisational learning and effective decision-making under uncertainty.

Drawing on our consultancy and Expert Witness experience, these programmes challenge thinking, encourage informed discussion and build confidence in leadership roles.

How we deliver Health & Safety Management

Health, safety and risk management

Health and safety management systems

In-house and external compliance auditing

Machinery & workplace transport injuries

Falls and falling object injuries

Hazardous substances & biological exposures

Musculoskeletal Disorders

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL)

Vibration injury (HAVS, CTS, Whole body)

Acoustic Injury

Major hazards (COMAH)

Construction safety (CDM)

Our Consultancy Model

Expert Advisor

We provide independent advice at critical moments, supporting organisations and leaders when significant decisions need to be made.

Consultancy

We work alongside clients to strengthen governance, improve operational performance and develop practical, sustainable solutions.

Expert Witness

We deliver independent expert opinion to courts, legal teams, insurers and organisations involved in civil, criminal and regulatory proceedings.

Our consultancy and Expert Witness work are closely connected. Experience gained through investigating serious incidents and supporting legal proceedings continually informs the advice we provide to help our clients prevent incidents rather than respond to them.

Health & Safety Learning Cards

Click the link below to download the first set of Occupational Health Learning Cards, developed by Finch in partnership with ABMEC. The cards have been designed to improve understanding of occupational health and hygiene compliance requirements by simplifying complex duties into practical actions and checks.

Download Here

Health & Safety Management Brochure

View our Health & Safety Management Brochure where you will find information on our Health & Safety Management Services and our expertise in this area.

Health & Safety Management Brochure

Benchmarks for Occupational Noise - Risk Assessment

Check your business using this benchmark document. How are you doing in controlling noise, meeting your legal obligations, and preventing harm to your workers?

Read about our Benchmarking document

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you provide Expert Witness services?

Yes. Expert Witness work is a core part of Finch Consulting’s practice. Our consultants are regularly instructed by solicitors, insurers and organisations involved in civil litigation, criminal proceedings and regulatory investigations.

We provide independent expert reports, investigate serious incidents and deliver objective technical opinion across occupational health, workplace safety, machinery safety, process safety and wider risk management matters.

The rigour, objectivity and analytical standards required of an Expert Witness are the same standards we bring to every consultancy project.

How is Finch Consulting different from other health and safety consultancies?

Many health and safety consultancies focus primarily on compliance documentation, audits and meeting statutory requirements. While compliance is essential, we believe organisations achieve better outcomes when health and safety is fully integrated into operational performance.

Finch Consulting combines extensive operational experience with specialist expertise in occupational health, hygiene and major hazard risk. Our consultants are also regularly instructed as Expert Witnesses in civil and criminal proceedings, providing independent technical opinion to solicitors and the courts. That same evidence-based, analytical approach underpins every consultancy assignment we undertake.

Can Finch support organisations operating in high-hazard or technically complex environments?

Yes. Many of our consultants have spent decades working in industries where the consequences of failure are significant, including manufacturing, energy, defence, pharmaceuticals, food production, logistics and major capital projects.

We are frequently engaged where organisations need specialist advice on complex occupational health risks, machinery and process safety, hazardous substances, regulatory intervention or the management of major operational risks. These are often situations where standard compliance advice alone is not enough.

Can Finch help organisations improve their health and safety performance?

Absolutely. Many of our clients already have established health and safety management systems. They engage Finch because they want to strengthen organisational capability, improve governance, reduce occupational health risks, prepare for growth or gain an objective assessment of how effectively risk is being managed.

Rather than simply identifying non-conformities, we help organisations understand why risks exist, what influences performance and how sustainable improvements can be achieved.

Can you work alongside our existing health and safety team?

Absolutely. We are not a replacement for competent in-house health and safety professionals, we complement them.

Many organisations engage Finch because they require additional capability, specialist technical knowledge or an independent perspective on particularly challenging issues. We work collaboratively with internal teams, sharing knowledge and supporting them to build lasting organisational capability.

What industries does Finch Consulting work with?

Our consultants have experience across a broad range of sectors, including manufacturing, food and drink, energy, defence, utilities, engineering, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, logistics, construction and infrastructure.

Although every industry presents different challenges, our approach remains consistent: understanding how work is actually carried out, identifying the factors that create risk and developing practical, proportionate solutions that improve both safety and operational performance.

Can Finch help if the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) becomes involved?

Yes. We regularly support organisations following HSE inspections, Improvement Notices, Prohibition Notices, enforcement action and serious workplace incidents.

Our focus extends beyond resolving the immediate issue. We help organisations understand the technical, organisational and cultural factors that contributed to the problem, enabling them not only to satisfy regulatory requirements but also to strengthen the resilience of their health and safety management systems.

What type of organisations do you typically work with?

We support organisations ranging from growing businesses to multinational companies operating in technically demanding and high-risk environments.

Our clients value specialist expertise, objective advice and long-term partnerships. They engage Finch when the challenges they face require experienced advisers who can understand complex risks, provide credible technical insight and help leaders make confident, well-informed decisions.