Transforming Safety into Strategic Business through HSE

Mike Box is Group Health, Safety and Environmental Director at IMI plc, a global engineering company specializing in fluid and motion control. With experience across oil and gas, aviation and automotive sectors, he has expertise in ISO 14001, industrial hygiene, workplace safety and occupational health systems. Mike holds a postgraduate degree in Health and Safety Management from the University of Portsmouth. Throughout his career, he has focused on embedding HSE into core business operations, ensuring safety, sustainability and operational excellence at all levels.

A Journey from Early Impressions to Enduring Purpose

For me, HSE is more of a mission than a career. My father was a coal miner—one of the most dangerous professions in the world. As a child, I saw him come home several times with serious injuries, including crushed limbs and broken bones. That left a lasting impression on me. I often wondered: How can people go to work and get hurt?

When I began my own career in operations, eventually becoming a supervisor and manager, I felt a deep responsibility for the safety of my team. That’s when I started to study Health, Safety and Environment seriously. I transitioned fully into HSE 20 years ago, driven by a desire to be the best I could be in this field. I committed to continuous learning— earning Chartered Safety Professional status in 2009 and a postgraduate degree in Occupational Health & Safety Management six years later.

Between 2005 and 2025, I progressed through increasingly senior roles across high-risk industries, gaining valuable insight and refining my leadership approach.

A People-Focused Approach to Embedding HSE Standards

HSE must be embedded into the way a business operates—not treated as a standalone function. That means integrating HSE into every operational review and decision-making process. We use visual management tools like the SQDCP model (Safety, Quality, Delivery, Cost, People) to ensure HSE is visible, measurable and actionable.

There’s a strong correlation between safety and operational excellence. Safer operations tend to be more efficient, experience less downtime and foster a more engaged workforce. This translates directly into better value for customers—through improved delivery performance, product quality and firstpass yield.

We’ve developed an HSE Excellence Management System that integrates environmental management (air, water, waste), industrial hygiene and occupational health. What sets our system apart is its emphasis on evidence-based validation. We don’t just ask sites to tell us what they’ve done, we ask them to show us. This includes documentation reviews and random employee interviews to verify that practices are embedded and understood at all levels. It’s a practical, peoplefocused approach that ensures standards are not only met but lived.

Harnessing Technology While Preserving the Human Core of HSE

Automation and AI are reshaping the landscape. We’re seeing opportunities to automate hazardous tasks, reducing human exposure and using AI for field inspections and virtual reality training. These technologies will soon become standard practice.

At the same time, the nature of work is evolving. New risks are emerging—from autonomous vehicles to collaborative robots (co-bots) working alongside humans. HSE professionals will need to adapt, but I firmly believe there will always be a vital role for us wherever people are involved in work.

A Roadmap for Aspiring HSE Leaders

My advice is simple: crawl, walk, run.

• Crawl: Learn your craft. Study broadly and gain hands-on experience.

• Walk: Build confidence. Speak up and be a voice in the room.

• Run: Hone your leadership skills. Develop your personal brand. Above all, be authentic, informed and reliable. These qualities will serve you well as you grow into leadership roles.