About Balshaw Safety

Balshaw Safety is a specialist consultancy providing occupational health and safety consultancy and training services founded in 2002.

The Managing Director of Balshaw Safety is Christopher Penny. Following a successful career as an engineer Christopher became increasingly interested in how health and safety can be used to increase business effectiveness and profitability. He moved into a safety advisory position and later became the Principal Health and Safety Advisor to a major construction design company. After four years in the role, Christopher decided to become a freelance health and safety professional, and created Balshaw Safety.

Christopher has the following qualifications and professional memberships:

• Diploma in Occupational Safety and Health
• Chartered Member of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (CMIOSH)
• Honours Degree in Civil and Structural Engineering (Sheffield University)
• Chartered Engineer (C.Eng)
• Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (MICE)
• Registered Member of the Association for Project Safety (RaMPS).

Balshaw Safety provides a range of occupational health and safety services including advice, training, preparation of health and safety policies and CDM Co-ordinator role.

Christopher is also the Chairman of the Merseyside and Cheshire Construction Safety Group

Guiding Principles:

• Honesty and integrity in business
• Good value, appropriate services
• Putting the interests of the Client first

How we do business:

We believe that doing business should be simple and straightforward. We pride ourselves in maintaining long term relationships with our clients based on mutual advantage and openness.

Our method of work is always the same:

• Free initial consultation with client to establish your unique requirements
• Preparation of a formal proposal including costs and timescales*
• Preparation of detailed proposal
• On receipt of a written instruction from you, (along with any further information needed for the project) we will commence work
• Maintenance of communication with client throughout
• Completion of project, with submission of report, system etc.
• Invoicing for services within 30 days of completion.

* In some cases we may request a part payment before we undertake the work

A word about fees

Everyone wants the best deal possible for obvious reasons, and we feel the same way, although we always focus on value for money, rather and simply the cost of services.

Our guiding principle in this respect is the following quotation from John Ruskin (1819 – 1900)

It's unwise to pay too much but it's unwise to pay too little.
When you pay too much you lose a little money, that is all.
When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing you bought it to do.
The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot.
It can't be done.
If you deal with the lowest bidder, it's well to add something for the risk you run.
And if you do that,you will have enough to pay for something better!"