Cross Compliance and Health and Safety consultancy, CXCS, has announced the appointment of Darren Owens as its Head of Health and Safety.
Mr Owens’ role at the Herefordshire based company will involve advising the agricultural industry across mainland UK on Health and Safety regulations and compliance. His particular focus will be the danger of injuries that occur with the management of livestock; with working at heights; with machinery; and with substances hazardous to health
Karen Powell, Managing Director of CXCS, said of the appointment: “Darren brings an extensive knowledge of working within Health and Safety to CXCS. His hands-on experience of working in-house adds another dimension to our team of experts allowing us to utilise his skills to educate our customers as we strive to make agriculture a safer environment to work in.”
Darren will oversee an established team that encompasses a range of specialities within the Health and Safety remit including quality control, and yard and asbestos mapping.
Over the past 16 years, Darren has held various Health and Safety roles for companies in the agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors, including GlaxoSmithKline, where he undertook his NCRQ level 6 diploma in Health and Safety. He is also an IOSH graduate member.
Having a background in the military, serving as a Lance Corporal in the Grenadier Guards, and spending 18 years in the prison service, Mr Owens’ approach is based on ‘getting the basics right and working upwards from there’.
He says: “I am very passionate about Health and Safety, and realistic about my role. I’m not here to stop the farmer doing his job, but to ensure he does it safely and that his employees are safe too”.
Established in 2009, CXCS provides a Health and Safety service alongside its cross compliance solutions and assurance record keeping services, supporting farmers on inspections from the Rural Payments Agency and the Environment Agency, Red Tractor and LEAF. Guaranteeing that their cross compliance paperwork will pass any inspection.
