JAW Business Solutions

Calling charities and not for profit organisations in need of fundraising opportunities

2011-06-22T12:17:00.019+01:00

For charities and not for profit, organisations, I have some opportunities that could raise a lot of awareness for your cause, and bring in some sustainable long term funding.

Please give me a call (or email me), and I would be delighted to discuss the best avenues for your cause. This article is kept purposely short, if I told you everything here, there would be nothing for us to talk about!

Last week I was delighted to lend my support to some great work that my good friend Suzanne Cree has been doing with fundraising efforts for “Help for Heroes”.

http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/

Pictured below is the cheque (well, not the real one of course), which will be handed over next weekend to “Help for Heroes”, at another fundraising event in support of the Madeleine McCann appeal.

http://www.madeleinemccann.co.uk/

Picture: Alan Gardiner (CEO of Get A Will Today), Dev Masih, and Suzanne Cree.

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

Networking Exhibition for West Midlands Businesses - FREE 17th May 2011, Bewdley, Worcs.

2011-05-11T15:21:00.002+01:00

We are exhibiting at this event:

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

ipatter.com is an online community where businesses can broadcast their news and events

2011-04-23T23:03:00.262+01:00

Launched in April 2010, ipatter.com is an online community where businesses can broadcast their news and events, and connect with their customers and each other.

ipatter.com helps businesses grow relationships with new and existing customers by providing businesses with an online profile and allowing them to post up to one message each day onto the site (for free).

Other businesses and consumers can ‘connect’ with the businesses they are interested in and keep automatically updated in one simple format. Users receive a daily email summary of the messages known as ‘patters’ posted by the businesses and organisations they have connected to.

How do you join? here are step by step instructions.

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Step 1] Go to the ipatter.com site: http://ipatter.com/?CL=4117

Or click on the picture below:

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Step 2] Enter your email address and register as broadcaster

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Step 3] Confirm sign up as a Broadcaster (for business).

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Step 4] Welcome page

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Step 5] Check your email inbox, and click on the activation tab.

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Step 6] - Register as a broadcaster

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Step 7] Create your profile, upload your logo

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Step 8] Enter your address, accept the Terms and Conditions

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Step 9] Set email preferences, then activate account

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Step 10] Log into your account

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Step 11] Account Overview

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Step 12] Click Patter manager (towards the left), then compose.

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Step 13] Create New Patter- it's as easy as writing a word document!

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Step 14] Confirm and publish

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Step 15] All done

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Take a look to see which (Broadcasters) you want to keep up to date with and add them to your ipatter world.

I've learned today new improvements and changes will be made to the site soon, to cope with increased interest and demand, so I will update this when that time comes.

If anyone needs a helping hand getting it set up, give me a shout, and I will try and help.

Maybe I should put in a caveat! There is support on the site by the way, just in case I get inundated as the support helpline!

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Contact details: Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

Website: http://www.jawbusiness.co.uk/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10475835

Homeowners and homebuyers need to be aware of this....

2011-04-20T11:19:00.054+01:00

Are you a joint homeowner, or jointly buying your house?

Do you want to avoid losing your home to pay for care home costs should that situation ever arise?

Do you want to pass on your home to your own (children) instead of someone elses children?

An affirmative answer to these questions, should prompt you to read on.

Joint Equity

The property could be leasehold or freehold. The property is either owned as :
‘joint tenants' or ‘tenants in common.

Joint Tenants:

Each of owners own the whole property 100% each. If one of the owners dies the other automatically becomes the 100% sole owner.

Tenants in Common:

Each of the owner has a share (e.g. 50% each). If one of the owners dies, his /her share of the property will pass on to whomever he/she specifies in a Will. Tenancy in common is often used between unmarried couples, business partners, etc.

Our House

As: Joint Tenants.

If one of the owners dies the other automatically becomes the 100% sole owner. If the surviving partner becomes ill and goes into
care home
, The property will be assessed for care home costs.

When the surviving partner dies, there may be inheritance tax implications for the children and beneficiaries.

As: Tenants in Common:

Each of the owner has a share (e.g . 50% each). If one of the owners dies, his /her share of the property will pass on to whomever he/she specifies in a Will.

Tenants in Common

Benefits of being Tenants in Common:

If one of the owners die....

a] If surviving spouse is taken into care, (they only own half the property), this enables you to minimise your risk for care home costs.

b] Protection of own children's inheritance against surviving spouse remarrying (and potentially re-writing a will and changing original intentions).

To become: Tenants in Common, you need to:

Severance of Tenancy;

The process of transferring ownership from: “joint tenants” to “tenants in common”.

Joint Tenants - If one of the owners dies

Tenants in Common - If one of the owner dies

LIFETIME INTEREST IN PROPERTY TRUST

This product allows the survivor (2^nd owner) to stay in the property for life, (or a set period of time).

Upon the 2^nd death (or the lapse of the set period) the property would be divided as per the Will.

Surviving partner re-marries

Possible scenario - if surviving partner re-marries

Hopefully this demonstrates the importance of having a legally binding Will that will ensure matters are conducted as you would have wished them.

COST?

Single Will - £99

or , Double Mirror Will - £149

PROTECTIVE WILL PROPERTY TRUST:

(Includes:

2 x Lifetime interest in property trust, and

1 x Severance of tenancy (for one property)

£200

I appreciate there is a lot of information to digest and for further help and guidance

and to arrange for someone to visit and explain in further detail, click link (picture) below:

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Contact details:
Dev Masih
JAW Business Solutions Limited
Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570
Email: dev@jawbusiness.co.uk
Website: http://www.jawbusiness.co.uk
Linked-In: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/devmasih

Where there's a will, there's a way

2011-04-07T20:23:00.011+01:00

Average life expectancy in the UK is 77.9 years for men, and 82 years for women:

That equates to 28,433 days (for a man), and 29,930 days (for a woman).

I resorted to the calculator, and this counter is worrying me somewhat, as it's telling me I only have around 11,000 days left to live.

Actually, reaching the ripe old age of 80 odd years could be a fair achievement, I might be happy with that! But not surprisingly, a lot of us dont know when we're going to die.

Question: What's the last thing to do before you die?

Answer: Write a will.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/jun/02/intestate-will-writing

I think most of us are likely to leave behind someone we care about, or someone that cared about us.

Question: What's one of the first things your loved ones will need to look for after you've died?

Answer: Find your will.

Why? Because it's the only document that can distribute whatever you leave behind, to wherever you intended it to be left behind. Intestacy law states that 100% of what you leave behind has got to be distributed.

Your Choices?

a) write a will to ensure what you leave behind goes to where you intend it go.

b) don't write a will and hope your loved ones end up with it.

c) don't write a will, and allow the people you had no intention of getting any of it, in with a chance of taking some or all of it.

d) don't write a will, and let the government keep it.

I had my car serviced recently, and chatting away with the mechanic, I asked him some of these questions. I noticed that he kept going out for a cigarette, and I also posed the question as to how much he spent on his cigarettes. We worked out it was around a £100 a month, and so I left him with the thought, he'd much rather spend more in a month on smokes, than on a will which would ensure his loved ones (he had a daughter) got her inheritance. I continued with some other known facts, namely the singer Bob Marley died without a will, leaving his widow a 10 year legal battle to take control of his fortune. By this time I'd noticed my mechanic had developed a nervous twitch.

Another instance, I passed over an information leaflet to an unnamed individual, he said what is it? I said some information on writing a will...he replied he's got insurance, to which I replied, "insurance against death?", he looked puzzled, and actually I left him be, before he developed a nervous twitch.

I'm having trouble understanding this obvious apathy among people who under normal circumstances I would have said were rational and intelligent individuals.

Question: By having a will, does that mean you will die?

Answer: No

Actually, a friend of mine (he's called Patrick) did some scientific research, which he allowed me to share:

Further details about spending a little thinking time now, to prevent a lot of headaches for your loved ones in the future, please click on the icon below:

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Contact details:
Dev Masih
JAW Business Solutions Limited
Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570
Email: dev@jawbusiness.co.uk
Website: http://www.jawbusiness.co.uk
Linked-In: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/devmasih

Submitting PQQ tender documents? Access to competent health and safety advice.

2011-02-20T21:40:00.018Z

For anyone considering doing business with the public sector, for example, the local council, there is an excellent short guide, called: “How to do business with the public sector", published by Wiltshire council:

http://www.buywiltshire.co.uk/local_authorities/SMEGuide.pdf

SMEGuide

Staffordshire County Council, have an example of a PQQ “Invitation to
tender” template document on their website:

http://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/

TenderTemplateAppendix2v2

On a Google search today, many of the (English) County Councils websites echoed the same compliance requirement on health and safety
matters: (Examples below)

http://www.worcester.gov.uk/index.php?id=798
http://www.south-derbys.gov.uk/
http://www.torbay.gov.uk/
http://www.castlepoint.gov.uk/
http://www.fenland.gov.uk/

Health and Safety:
We are committed to ensuring the health, safety and welfare of our employees and that of all others affected by our undertakings. Contracts to supply goods or services will only be awarded to contractors who can satisfy the council requirements in terms of resources required and their health and safety competence.

Successful contractors/suppliers are expected to demonstrate compliance with current health and safety legislation including:

• a commitment to the health and safety of its employees, clients and others
• up to date health and safety policies and procedures
• adequate risk assessment procedures
• an adequate system of monitoring and reporting accidents, incidents and ill-health
• access to competent health and safety advice

So, where do you go for “access to competent health and safety advice?”

Ask Google?

Google controls around 85% of the global search engine market, (Yahoo controls around 7%), source: Wikipedia, (December 2010) and so many of us trust and rely upon the Google results we are given.

It is safe to say we all use a Google search as our starting point for most of our online activities.

Statistically, over 90% will never surf past page 1 of a localised phrase search.

If you type "health and safety" into a Google search, you will get, in excess of 20 million search results, with the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) at page 1, position 1.

Maybe we can narrow that down a bit, by typing in “health and safety Birmingham” and from more than 590,000 search results, you will see JAW Business Solutions, on Page 1, at position 1.

Google search for - Health and safety Birmingham

Or further afield, your Google search could be for “health and safety West Midlands” and from 446,000 search results, you will find JAW Business Solutions, on Page 1, at position 1.

Google search for health and safety West Midlands

Searches were conducted on 20th February 2011.

Incidentally, the same searches conducted (today) in Yahoo, saw JAW Business Solutions in position 1 for Birmingham, and Position 2 for West Midlands.

How does Google decide which website to rank higher?

Co-founder (of Google) Larry Page described the “perfect search engine” as something that “understands exactly what you mean and gives you back exactly what you want.”

http://www.google.com/corporate/tech.html

So page ranking ranks the important websites higher?

Google describes PageRank: (source) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank

"PageRank reflects our view of the importance of web pages by considering more than 500 million variables and 2 billion terms. Pages that we believe are important pages receive a higher PageRank and are more likely to appear at the top of the search results".

Last week I was asked, who does my website, and to how much it has cost to get to number one in Google searches? I replied: I do the website, (with no website training!) and it has cost, absolutely Zero pounds.
.
He didn’t believe me, and asked how much it cost to host the website, to which I replied: absolutely Zero pounds.

Absolutely all true, the webhosting company didn’t want to lose my business (this year), so they even provided the website hosting (for 2011) for free.

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Dev Masih Finalist Midlands Business Awards 2011

Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/devmasih

Anyone want to audition for a part on BBC TV? CBBC’s New TV Show ‘Driving Academy’

2011-02-16T16:19:00.015Z

Today, I got a phone call from the CBBC (that’s Childrens BBC, for those of you that don’t watch it!).

I was speaking to Kerry Plant, Assistant Producer from CBBC Driving academy, and she told me that they were looking for children (11 to 14 years), with parents/guardians, to appear on the making of a new road safety programme series to be aired on BBC one, in the Autumn of 2011.

My immediate reaction was, where does she want the orderly queue to start from?

According to road safety statistics, in 2009, 12 children under the age of 18 were killed or seriously injured on UK roads…every day.

This unique venture and television series for CBBC will attempt to make a nation of better drivers by challenging children and their parents to learn to drive together! Yes, that means giving children the opportunity to prove to them just how easy it is to be a safe driver.

The winners (children and parents) will go through an intense fortnight of “master classes” training under the watchful eye of Approved Driving Instructors, the children and their parents will learn about all aspects of road safety and safe driving. Parents will be given expert help and training to make them better drivers and their children will also learn first-hand the importance of road safety... when they are put in the driving seat too – always under the watchful eye of the Academy’s driving professionals.

The TV series will be produced by, Lucky Day Productions which is part of the Zodiak Media Group.

Applications will be open till March 2011. Application forms to be considered for auditions can be obtained by emailing, the production company:

drivingacademy@luckydaytv.co.uk

Mention “CBBC Driving Academy” in the title of the email.

Well, it’s been 14 years since I passed my own advanced driver test, maybe I should go and brush up on my driving too!

CBBC’s New TV Show ‘Driving Academy’

Preparing for tendering opportunities - Workshop on 24 February 2011, Wolverhampton

2011-02-15T23:56:00.004Z

Preparing for tendering opportunities - Workshop on 24 February 2011, Wolverhampton

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Contact details: Dev Masih
JAW Business Solutions Limited
Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570
Email: dev@jawbusiness.co.uk
Website: http://www.jawbusiness.co.uk
Linked-In: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/devmasih

Networking with Cecil Duckworth OBE

2011-02-14T13:41:00.012Z

Cecil Duckworth OBE

This was one networking event that I, and some business colleagues and contractor engineers were really looking forward to.

http://www.wix.com/businessxchange/bxc

Cecil qualified as a Mechanical Engineer in 1961 and started his business in 1962. He had two ideas going forward:

· A self service petrol station concept, and

· A central heating boilers concept.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the resources to pursue both ideas, and despite have filed several patents, he decided the self filling petrol pump idea was too soon for that time.

So Cecil concentrated on the central heating boilers, and in 1970 launched his first gas-fired combination boiler and called this the "Combi" which revolutionised central heating boilers in this country.

The "Combi" concept has now grown to over 65% of the UK market and Worcester Bosch is by far the largest manufacturer of domestic central heating boilers in the UK. Including one Worcester Combi boiler in my house!

In 1992 the company was sold to Bosch of Germany who provided £100 million inward investment. Cecil Duckworth was appointed Chief Executive of the Heating Division of Bosch and became the first non-German to hold such a position in Bosch.

In 1998 Cecil decided to concentrate on the development of three projects :

Worcester Rugby Football Club – where Cecil is Chairman.
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust
The Duckworth Worcestershire Trust - set up in 1998 with a view to making the city of Worcester a more attractive place to live, to be cleaner and safer.

Cecil Duckworth OBE - at Sixways Stadium, Worcester

Cecil Duckworth was awarded the OBE in 2005 for his services to rugby and the environment in Worcestershire. His passion for rugby and the club has brought international rugby into the city. His vision has always been to give Worcester a legacy to be proud of and something that will enhance the city, and Cecil continues to turn a concept into reality much like he did with his boilers.

Kathy Leather, Commercial Director at the Sixways stadium, has invited me to a match later in the month. Considering my last experience of rugby was a dislocated thumb after a tackle at the age of 11, I’m much looking forward to watching it from the stands in some comfy seats.

Worcester Sixways Stadium - Match 27th February 2011

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

Birmingham Young Volunteers Adventure Camps, holidays for disadvantaged kids.

2011-02-10T12:49:00.009Z

This morning I was with my two good friends: Professor Carl Chinn MBE, historian, writer and BBC Radio broadcaster. Carl is the Patron of the Tywyn 2011 Adventure Camp, and Steven Davies is Environmental Manager for Skanska.

Carl Chinn MBE

BYV Adventure Camps (Birmingham Young volunteers) is a volunteer led local charity that has been providing camping holidays for disadvantaged children from the West Midlands for over 40 years.

http://www.BYVAdventureCamps.co.uk

http://tywyn.byvadventurecamps.co.uk/

The children who attend Adventure Camps during the school holidays are referred to the charity by organisations such as Social Services, Barnardos and local schools because they are unlikely to receive any kind of holiday during the year.

BYVAC logo

In the past the charity has been able to partly fund holidays by charging the referral organisations a nominal fee of £40 per child.

However the majority of the money needed to run a holiday comes via donations received from charitable trusts and generous local businesses. In addition volunteers actively work all year round to raise additional funds.

Cuts in public spending means the referral agencies have less money available to contribute towards the cost of the holidays. This will mean that Adventure Camps will be unable to provide holidays for as many children as in previous years.

Birmingham Young Volunteers Adventure Camps

Adventure Camps volunteers, several of who work in a professional capacity in the construction industry are lobbying the local construction community with the aim of raising enough money to run the charity’s first ‘corporately funded holiday’.

“ It still shocks me that many of the youngsters who come away with us have never ever seen the sea before. If 100 companies could support our project by donating just £60, we would have sufficient funds available to provide a week long camping holiday, organise transport and arrange outward-bound activities for up to 26 disadvantaged youngsters aged 12 to 14. We aim to set up camp at a farm near Aberdovey in Mid Wales. Professor Carl Chinn has kindly volunteered to become the patron of our first ‘corporately funded holiday’ initiative. With Carl as patron we hope to encourage more local companies to make it happen”. Steven Davis, BYV Adventure Camps, Corporate Supporter.

For more details on how to support BYV Adventure Camps ‘corporate holiday’ please contact:
Steven Davis
07875 373 857
steven.davis@skanska.co.uk

Carl Chinn will be guest speaker at supply chain events being held on 23^rd February and 10^th March 2011. To find out more see finditinsandwell.co.uk

Carl Chinn has a radio show on BBC Radio WM, and to listen to his interview with Stephen Davis, (and Ian Hassell), talking about this "make it happen" project, click link below:

<<< BYVAC Talks to Carl Chinn on BBC WM >>>

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Contact details: Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2010/coi-wm-29210.htm

Risk Assessments and staff training, are vital to an effective health and safety culture.

2011-02-06T16:40:00.011Z

Effective health and safety management is dependent on the “buy in” from management.

Six Eight Kafe, Birmingham

There was a recent case in December 2010, of the prosecution of a local University, along with an alarm installer contractor, a case whereby clearly both of these companies systems had failed.

The HSE website says: “the university failed to follow its own procedures ..... and the arrangements were unclear and not widely known within the university”.

The management of the business may not be responsible for causing health and safety issues in a business, but (senior) management is certainly accountable when matters go wrong. More and more, I’m finding that management are reacting after the event, and of course after the bad publicity, which cannot be revoked.

Training of staff is crucial to the effectiveness of a health and safety culture, and management must resist the temptation to cut back on
training, which could prove to be false economy.

Of course training staff costs money, however it is usually less than the fines that courts hand out. Why train staff?

A] The law requires that staff receive “information, instruction, and training”.

B] Prevention of an incident is always better than a cure.

C] Well trained and diligent staff, will actually assist in protecting the managements interests as staff could bring matters to managements attention before the matters become issues. I call it protecting the managements butt!


Dev Masih at Six Eight Kafe, with Lucinda, supervisor.

Last week was the official launch of a new coffee shop in Birmingham city centre: Six Eight Kafe, on Temple Row.

http://sixeightkafe.co.uk/

This venture is the growing passion of Dav, the owner, who is committed to providing the best coffee in the area, with health and safety for his site and staff foremost in the daily procedures.

Pictured here, with Dev Masih, discussing safety and training matters with Lucinda, staff and supervisor at Six Eight Kafe.

Pictures kindly supplied by: http://www.amchphotography.co.uk/

Below are some downloadable risk assessment forms:

[01] RA Checklist

[02] Hazard Identification

[03] RA Example

Dev Masih Finalist Midlands Business Awards

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

http://www.thefuturemeltingpot.co.uk/

West Midlands Local Enterprise Partnerships, Knowledge Transfer Event

2011-02-01T17:32:00.008Z

West Midlands Local Enterprise Partnerships Event January 2011

Last week, I was invited to attend the West Midlands Local Enterprise Partnerships, knowledge transfer event.

The event was co hosted by:

http://3b.org.uk/

Ethnic Minority Business Advocacy Network: http://www.emda.org.uk/businesssupport/emban.asp

The Future Melting Pot:

A slight technical computer issue prevented viewing of a presentation, however the two main speakers have sent me their presentations to promote to a wider audience:

First up, it was good to meet with Cathy Francis, who is Deputy Director, for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)

http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/

Cathy revealed a list of the 28 Local enterprise Partnerships

list of the 28 Local Enterprise Partnerships

Cathy then went on to discuss the legal status, the non directive, approach from the Government, and the encouragement of diversity in the public and private sector.

Ethnic Minority Business

Next up, was. Mark Barrow, who is Strategic Director Development, for Birmingham City Council.

Mark discussed the challenges that lay ahead, then went into greater detail with the “Birmingham Big City Plan”.

http://consult.birmingham.gov.uk/portal/ps/birmingham_big_city_plan/bcpwip?pointId=511300

Ethnic Business Forum Jan11

Big City Plan Stage 2

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

http://solihull-sustain.org.uk/solihull-together/

Masquerade Charity Ball, 15th July 2011, Solihull

2011-01-31T16:26:00.003Z

The Solihull Together campaign aims to raise awareness of Solihull-based charities and voluntary groups.

The money raised from fundraising activities goes towards a small grants fund that is available to charities and voluntary organisations that support the people of Solihull.

Masquerade Charity Ball, 15th July 2011, Solihull

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

Warwickshire Business Club

And the winner of the Midlands Business Awards 2011 is ..... Coventry and Warwickshire.

2011-01-29T03:07:00.009Z

And the winner of the Midlands Business Awards 2011 is..... Coventry and Warwickshire.

Midlands Entrepreneur of the Year - Winner is

Name

Midlands Area

Gary Summers

Coventry and Warwickshire

Midlands Young Entrepreneur of the Year - Winner is

Name

Midlands Area

Ben Hanlin

Solihull

Midlands Networker of the Year - Winner is

Name	Midlands Area
Christopher Watts	Coventry and Warwickshire

Midlands Service Provider of the Year - Winner is

Name

Midlands Area

Swanswell

Coventry and Warwickshire

Midlands Innovation of the Year - Winner is

Name

Midlands Area

Zybert Computing Ltd

Birmingham

Midlands Business Club of the Year - Winner is

Name

Midlands Area

Coventry and Warwickshire

Midlands Enterprising University of the Year - Winner is

Name

Midlands Area

Aston University

Birmingham

Midlands Exporter of the Year - Winner is

Name

Midlands Area

Waste Spectrum Environmental

Worcester

Midlands Business Person of the Year - Winner is

Name

Midlands Area

Daniel Gidney

Coventry and Warwickshire

Midlands Business Lifetime Contribution Award - Winner is

Name

Midlands Area

Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya

Coventry and Warwickshire

And the Judges of the Midlands Business Awards were:

Judge

Midlands Area

Mark Eaton	Surrey
Bill Leech	Coventry and Warwickshire
Joe Durante	Coventry and Warwickshire
Edwina Silver	Coventry and Warwickshire
Joe Elliott	Coventry and Warwickshire

And the Organisers of the Midlands Business Awards were:

Name

Midlands Area

UK Special Events	Coventry and Warwickshire
Reuben Lynch – MC on the night	Coventry and Warwickshire

To quote from my original article: The 2011, Midlands Business Awards, received a "record breaking" number of entries from across the entire Midlands region.

http://wwwjawbusinesscouk.blogspot.com/2010/10/midlands-business-awards-2011-finalists.html

Let’s hope next year, other areas aside from Coventry and Warwickshire are encouraged to enter into the Midlands Business Awards 2012.

http://www.midlandsbusinessawards.com

Guidance on Preparing a Health and Safety Policy

2011-01-28T08:09:00.006Z

The most common question I get asked is what to put in a health and safety policy document, and so I thought I'd offer some guidance.

Pondering Man

Section 2 (paragraph 3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, requires every employer with 5 or more employees to prepare and, (as often as appropriate) revise, a written statement of his/her general policy with respect to the health and safety at work of their employees.

The policy statement should be a commitment to ensure the health and safety of workers by high-level management.

The contents of the statement should reveal that management has:

A] thought about the hazards and safety needs in the workplace,

B] has decided on a policy in relation to those hazards and needs, and

C] has worked out the detailed arrangements necessary to achieve that policy.

The written policy statement should normally be in three parts:

a. General statement of policy.

b. Organisation (i.e. people and responsibilities).

c. Arrangements, i.e. systems and procedures

The statement should be signed by a senior official of the company, such as the Managing Director or Chairman. The statement should also be dated.

General Statement of Policy

The general statement of policy is a declaration of intent on the part of management. It should contain a commitment to ensure the health and safety of all employees (and others) and should reflect the requirements of the HSW Act.

The commitment should be reinforced by specific provisions and objectives relevant to the organisation, for example to;

A] allocate sufficient resources to provide and maintain safe and healthy places of work and working conditions;

B] provide appropriate instruction, training, re-training and supervision in health and safety and first aid, and to ensure that adequate publicity is given to such matters;

C] promote methods for collecting, data on accidents, sickness and incidents involving personal injury, ill health and "near miss" situations; promote employee consultation on health and safety matters.

The policy should indicate (by name and designation) the person who will be responsible overall for its implementation. They should be a senior executive of the company.

Organisation

General responsibilities for health and safety should be given to line management at successive levels, from top management down to supervisors. Such responsibilities should be clearly defined, and preferably referred to in job descriptions to prevent overlapping and confusion.

Arrangements

Employers should set down the arrangements necessary to implement the policy. The following examples of headings may be helpful:

Maintenance of plant and machinery.

Housekeeping - maintenance of floors, tidiness, etc.

Procedures for storage, transport and handling of articles and substances.

Control of, noise, dust and fumes, and monitoring of standards.

Arrangements for ensuring safety of new articles and substances.

Personal protective equipment (PPE).

Training, instruction and information about hazards.

Emergency procedures: fire, first aid.

Written procedures for routinely hazardous jobs, and for special risks, e.g. working at heights, or at night.

Collection and analysis of information: accident reporting, investigation and analysis, safety inspections and safety audits.

Consultation with workers and their representatives, and disclosure of information.

Arrangements for the carrying out of statutory examinations.

The method by which the safety policy will be communicated to employees.

Monitoring

A system of monitoring the effectiveness of the arrangements and for reviewing safety performance as a whole should be developed.

Dev Masih - Finalist Midlands Business Awards

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

http://www.printweek.com/news/1047601/Glossop-Cartons-fined-workers-death/

Environmental issues which are on the horizon for 2011

2011-01-27T14:58:00.002Z

Free Event Tuesday 8th March 2011, in West Bromwich.

Flyer BISNES Seminar March 2011

---------------------------------------------
Contact details:
Dev Masih
JAW Business Solutions Limited
Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570
Email: dev@jawbusiness.co.uk
Website: http://www.jawbusiness.co.uk
Linked-In: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/devmasih

Rules and Regulations for Contractors

2011-01-24T19:50:00.007Z

Two recent cases in the press, regarding contractors, highlighting how important health and safety measures are:


photogid=905">Image: Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

First case, last month, a contractor, electrician, doing maintenance work on a printing machine.

Somehow the machine got switch on, resulting in his death from head injuries. The print company got prosecuted for not having safe systems in place.

Second case, again only last month, Fire alarm contractor, failed to maintain a fire alarm, and got prosecuted for it. This is a landmark new precedence now set by the courts.

http://www.info4fire.com/news-content/full/fire-alarm-contractor-sentenced-under-fire-safety-order

And so, here is my guide for the assistance of contractors employed on company premises. (It is not a comprehensive statement of the obligations of a contractor).

Before an employer will allow any contractor to carry out work on its premises, the contractor (or sub-contractor) must understand that the employer has rules which it expects personnel to adhere to in the interest of health and safety.

Health and Safety Policy

The employer requires that a copy of the contractor's Health and Safety policy is supplied before commencement of work.

Entry Into Premises

The contractor's employees must report to the main reception at the employer, sign the visitor's book, and ask for the supervisor or manager of the area where work is to be undertaken before commencement of such work.

Duty of the Contractor for the Health and Safety of its Employees

Contractors must at all times provide for their employees safe and adequate means of access, working places and systems of working, competent fellow work people, adequate supervision, and adequate plant and appliances which are in good order.

Health and Safety of Employees, Customers and Third Parties

The employer expects safe working from its contractors to ensure the safety of employees, customers and third parties. Contractors must familiarise themselves with health and safety arrangements relevant to the contractor's activities.

Duties of Contractor's Employees

Under section 7 and 8 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, every employee has a duty while at work: To take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions at work.

Contractors must familiarise themselves with the employers fire precautions, means of escape and emergency evacuation procedures.

Welfare Facilities

Contractors must acquaint themselves with the first aid facilities and provisions made by the employer, and also the location of washroom facilities.

Personal Protective Equipment

Contractors must provide and ensure the use of suitable and sufficient personal protective equipment appropriate to their work.

Housekeeping

Contractors must maintain a good standard of housekeeping whilst on site and must remove from site all self generated debris.

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences

Contractors must comply fully with the requirements of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous occurrences Regulations.

Electricity

Contractors work must comply in all respects with the Institution of Electrical Engineers Regulations - current edition.

http://www.theiet.org/publishing/books/wir-reg/17th-edition.cfm

Fencing of Machinery

Contractors must ensure that dangerous parts of machinery used by them are securely fenced.

Noise and Environment Pollution

Contractors must carry out their work on site in a manner and at a time which ensures acceptable levels of noise and other environmental pollution. In particular, they must comply with the Control of Pollution Act and the Environmental Protection Act.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/43/contents

Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)

Written COSHH Assessments must be forwarded to the manufacturing engineer prior to the commencement of any working on site which involves hazardous substances/ materials.

A list of all substances/materials to be used must be available at all times.

Records of employee training must be made available on request.

All substances/materials must be stored in accordance with manufacturers information.

Insurance

The majority of local authorities and businesses will expect a contractor to be insured to a minimum of £2m for works to be undertaken at their premises.

Dev Masih - Finalist Midlands Business Awards

---------------------------------------------

Contact details:
Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

http://www.printweek.com/news/1047601/Glossop-Cartons-fined-workers-death/

Wolverhampton City Council unveil plans for the “Big Society”,

2011-01-19T15:43:00.013Z

I was delighted to have been invited to Wolverhampton council’s unveiling of their draft plans for the “Big Society” under the banner of their “Community Development Partnership”.

The coalition government has set out a commitment to the “Big Society” and it requires both active citizens and capacity to be in place for individuals and communities to take greater responsibility.

BME United and Wolverhampton Ethnic Minority Council have collaborated to provide support services to build the capacity of Ethnic Minority groups and organisations across the spectrum of Wolverhampton`s voluntary and community sector.

http://www.bmeunitedltd.co.uk/

http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/community_living/ethnic/support_groups/emc.htm

Their overall aim is to develop the infrastructure for Ethnic Minority organisations, to improve their service delivery and contribute to their long-term sustainability.

Councillor Elias Mattu started with the introductions to the packed audience.

Dev Masih with Councillor Elias Mattu

Karen Cross - Head of Community Initiatives Regeneration & Environment, continued with a detailed strategy aptly titled “Making it happen in Wolverhampton”.

Sam Axtell from Wolverhampton Strategic Partnership continued with a more detailed summary of where opportunities for Community and Voluntary sector organisations would emerge.

The Big Society BME

Paul Cave from Wolverhampton Strategic Partnership, rounded off the workshop with a lively debate on the impact on communities and the voluntary and community sector along with the challenges ahead during the transitional period.

BME United Presentation City Strategy

After the event, Helen Jones from Wolverhampton Voluntary Sector Council told me: “I was pleased to be able to speak to a few organisations I had not met before and to let people know WVSC has a volunteer service and service to support organisations look for funding for their organisations. We do much more than this, and information about our services is on our website: www.wolverhamptonvsc.org.uk

Rachel McFee, who is centre manager for OSCAR Sandwell, told me: "I do hope that we will be able to see similar events within Sandwell that will encourage and empower VCS organisations be proactive and positive in the challenging times ahead."

Dev Masih - Finalist Midlands Business Awards

---------------------------------------------
Contact details: Dev Masih
JAW Business Solutions Limited
Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570
Email: dev@jawbusiness.co.uk
Website: http://www.jawbusiness.co.uk
Linked-In: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/devmasih

Risk Control for Printing Companies

2011-01-12T13:09:00.007Z

Some companies I visit have a misguided perception that engaging sub-contractors is a form of escape from health and safety responsibilities. I do try and labour the point that the company also has a duty of care to anyone that is working on site.

I was saddened to learn of this case a couple of weeks ago, whereby a sub-contractor died after suffering head injuries when a cutting and creasing machine was inadvertently switched on while the sub-contractor was doing maintenance on it.

Coming from a print background, I know how hazardous some jobs can be, and so I resort to some risk control guidance for Printing companies:

Business Activity

Commercial printers are producers of a wide range of advertising and reading material, such as brochures, books, magazines, letterheads, business cards, posters, circulars, etc. These businesses operate from a wide variety of premises, from a large purpose built commercial building to a small shop or converted dwelling house.

Business Processes

The most common form is lithographic, which is carried out on presses which range in size from a small single colour press up to a large six (or more) colour press. Printing inks are mainly oil based and have high flash points. Inks for silk screen printing are solvent based, but generally have a flash point of above 32 degrees C.

Printing onto plastics, metals or flexible packaging materials is normally carried out by either rotogravure or flexography printing methods. Printing inks for these two methods of printing often have low flash points of below 32 degrees C, and are highly flammable. Ink drying by artificial heat may form part of certain printing methods. Cleaning of printing plates, cylinders or screens frequently involves the use of flammable solvents. Printing companies commonly carry out pre-print and print finishing processes. This can include folding, trimming, slitting, perforating or paste application. Some of the printing processes are now highly automated where printed matter can be collated, stapled and bound with the final operations involving such things as embossing, laminating and so on. The finished product is packed in paper cartons or boxes and strapped onto pallets for shipment

Environmental

In producing printing plates the use of acids for etching is common practice, which produces a hazardous stream of aqueous wastes. Modern electronic engraving has used solvents, but current practice is based in the water development of plates.

Inks are a complex mixture of organic dyes, inorganic or inorganic metallic pigments, organic resins and solvent based, subject to print requirements. The industry uses a wide variety of solvents in their processes, which are very hazardous.

Waste streams often enter drainage systems or are stored in inadequate facilities or disposed of on site.

Common Hazards

The common hazards associated with the print industry involves fork-lift trucks, electricity and flammable waste build ups.

Risk control if successful will reduce operating costs thereby contributing toward profitability. A lack of effective risk control usually results in losses in materials, personal injuries and impaired productivity.

These examples are intended to be quick and easy reference notes to help you improve your risk control activities. They should help you identify the particular problems encountered by your industry and ensure that these issues are given the appropriate priority to minimise the likelihood of their causing damage and disruption.

Alongside each of the hazards there will be controls which are effectively the steps that should be taken to avoid (or reduce the impact of) the hazard.

Printing companies - hazards and control examples

Printing companies - Risk and hazards examples

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-12153118

Risk Control for Pubs and Landlords

2011-01-11T19:11:00.006Z

I have been surprised at the amount of Pubs and Landlords that were prosecuted last year under health and safety breaches, and so I started over the weekend to put together some
guidance…. and not even 10 days into the new year, and two more pub fires:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2087916.ece

My guidance on risk control for pubs:

Business Activity

A wide range of licensed premises usually with restaurant and bar facilities, providing entertainment, with the provision of alcoholic beverages. Premises range from traditional public houses providing little in the way of food or entertainment up to large sophisticated nightclubs and discotheques, where live entertainment can often be provided.

Most medium sized public houses not only have longer hours of opening than in previous years, but also have sizeable restaurant areas, with greater emphasis on providing facilities for family groups and small functions.

As with the restaurant trade, many premises are attached to, or located within, large hotels, and may be under combined or separate ownership and control.

Business Processes

While the core activity as far as public houses are concerned is the sale of drinks and to a lesser degree food, entertainment is widely available from small stages or dance floors. The arrangements will therefore be those associated with a theatre or dance hall where artists changing facilities are provided and lighting, etc to suit their act. In discotheques power points, lighting and a small stage is all that is required where DJs are concerned. For live music more power and a large stage is necessary.

Environmental

As with hotels, restaurants and cafes, primary hazard areas of concern are the storage and use of detergents and bleaches, plus the handling, storage and disposal of all types of waste. If good working practices are adopted and implemented then these hazards will be of very low risk, including human exposure and use of detergents.

Common Hazards

The common hazards associated with these types of premises and activities would include fire, manual handling of stock used in the licensed bars and restaurant, failure to observe the smoking signs and regular maintenance of electrical installations.

Risk Control

In almost every business hazards of one type or another exist, therefore there is a need to be aware if they are to be avoided and controlled.

The following examples are intended to be quick and easy reference notes to help improve risk control activities. They should help to identify the particular problems encountered and ensure that these issues are given the appropriate priority to minimise the likelihood of their causing damage and disruption.

Alongside each of the hazards there will be controls which are effectively the steps that should be taken to avoid (or reduce the impact of) the hazard.

Pubs and clubs Hazards and controls examples

Pubs and clubs Risks and Hazards examples

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Contact details: Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

Risk Control for Bakeries and Retail Shops

2011-01-03T21:53:00.007Z

My role today consisted of accompanying and training a colleague on a current campaign, and so we were calling on retail shops in an area that has been known for failing on compliance.

We called on this one particular shop, and I usually have 4 questions, to get a gauge for if an attempt has been made to comply with fire safety regulations.

My first question is usually, have you got a fire risk assessment? The response that came back yes, it's in the back of the shop, Great start, as that was a first we had come across on the day, I said I'd look at it later, while I continued with some more questions.

"Do you have an emergency evacuation procedure?" A puzzled look back, and I showed him what one looked like. Next question: Have you appointed someone to assist you with safety matters? again a puzzled look, but still not the end of the world as that was what I was there for, and potentially take on that role.

And so I returned to: "let's take a look at the fire risk assessment to get a better understanding of what needs to be done". The reply was, it's in the back..., "yes I know that, let's go and see it", the reply came back was, "well, it looks like a bottle". I paused quite puzzled, thinking what could possibly look like a bottle... and the only thing I could think of was: "do you mean a fire extinguisher?", He nodded, and so I didn't have the heart to ask the final question, which would have been: "where are your safety training records?".

This prompted me to do this whistle stop blog, aimed at risk control for the small shops who may need some help with risk control.

Business Activity

Manufacture food stuffs from base materials, such as flour, starch, salt and sugar. The products generally being bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries and wafers mainly cooked ready for consumption. Some specialist bakeries undertake to produce products that are either uncooked or partially cooked. The premises occupied for such activities range from large commercial purpose built structures with many automatic processes to a small retail shop fronting/incorporating a small bake house.

Business Processes

Principally where bread making is concerned there are three main stages involving mixing and moulding, fermentation and finally baking. Here flour, water, salt and yeast are mixed together which makes dough. The dough is left to ferment, after which it is divided, weighed, moulded and baked. Cakes and biscuits are a little different, in that although many of the basic ingredients are the same materials such as jams, creams and the like are introduced at a later stage to enrobe the cooked product. The processes themselves can be complex and as opposed to employing automatic machinery here, a great deal of hand working takes place. The final processes for all these products includes wrapping, packing, tray loading and deliveries.

Environmental

Bulk deliveries of raw materials, flour, liquid sugar, saccharin, flavourings, preservatives and colorants can be hazardous if handled incorrectly. Flour has both the properties of a solid and those of a liquid. Loss of this material poses risk to water courses due to BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand). Most bakeries are using natural gas or electricity as sources of power and therefore substations and transformers should be assessed.

Common Hazards

The common hazards associated with commercial bakeries are mechanical handling equipment (fork-lift trucks) and electricity.

Risk Control

In almost every business hazards of one type or another exist, therefore there is a need to be aware if they are to be avoided and controlled.

Alongside each of the hazards there will be controls which are effectively the steps that should be taken to avoid (or reduce the impact of) the hazard.

Bakeries hazards and controls examples

Bakeries - Risks and hazards examples

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

http://www.hounslowchronicle.co.uk/west-london-news/local-hounslow-news/2010/12/17/greggs-in-brentford-fined-over-fire-safety-109642-27845054/

Risk control for restaurants and cafes

2010-12-27T21:28:00.009Z

I sometimes get asked for a quick answer, as to how to get law compliant, and my quick answer is usually: “do you mean how to get law compliant without spending any money?”

A couple of weeks ago Greggs were prosecuted for two fire safety breaches which has cost them £70,000….the same article says they spend over a million pounds a year on law compliance.

This has prompted me to give some quick guidance on specific trades. Today I’ll start with restaurants and cafes.

Business Activity

Covering a wide range of establishments which provide meals, snacks and beverages, for consumption on or off the premises.

Larger restaurants are usually licensed to sell alcohol, although this can often be restricted to diners only. Some premises also have lounge bar areas attached. Most small cafes are not normally licensed and some operate during day time hours only with no evening trade.

Business Processes

The range of food and drink available is quite extensive and can involve both hot and cold prepared food stuffs served in a variety of ways. From a la carte to burger and chips in a bag. Preparation of food can involve vegetable preparation which in small establishments may entail manual operations such as peeling, shredding, chipping; meat, fish, poultry preparation and dressing using hand held knives and cleavers; pastry preparation, both hand and mechanical; boiling, baking, steaming, microwaving, frying, grilling activities.

Serving can be both buffet style and table. Table serving can be busy and involve staff moving continually between preparation areas and the tables. Carvery type serving essentially means that the clientele move about the dining area between the servery and their tables. Flambe style where the meal is cooked at the table is common in most of the more reputable restaurants /establishments today. Counter work, such as in fast food type establishments, i.e. fish and chip shops, will involve staff labouring in confined spaces between the cooking range, counter and hot storage areas.

Environmental

Primary hazard areas of concern are the storage and use of detergents and bleaches, plus the handling, storage and disposal of all types of waste. If good working practices are adopted and implemented then these hazards will be very low risk, including human exposure and use of detergents.

Common Hazards

Electricity and manual handling are the most common hazards associated with this type of business.

Risk Control

In almost every business hazards of one type or another exist, therefore there is a need to be aware if they are to be avoided and controlled. Risk control if successful will reduce operating costs thereby contributing toward profitability. A lack of effective risk control usually results in losses in materials, personal injuries and impaired productivity.

Alongside each of the hazards there will be controls which are effectively the steps that should be taken to avoid (or reduce the impact of) the hazard.

Hazards and controls - example

Risks and hazards - examples

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Contact details:
Dev Masih
JAW Business Solutions Limited
Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570
Email: dev@jawbusiness.co.uk
Website: http://www.jawbusiness.co.uk
Linked-In: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/devmasih

BME - Social Enterprise Open Day 22nd December 2010 in Wolverhampton

2010-12-20T16:45:00.002Z

BME United is a social enterprise - reaching and engaging communities and assisting in building community cohesion, understanding and respect for each other.

BME United

http://www.bmeunitedltd.co.uk/

BME aims to:

· facilitate cohesion,

· enable joint working,

· promote community harmony,

· develop capacity of groups,

· encourage partnership working,

· empower individuals and involve young people in decision and policy making activities.

BME are having an open day to exhibit project works, so come along to find out more about the organisation.

I will have an exhibition stand there for anyone that wants to catch up with me.

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Contact details:

Dev Masih JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

http://www.solihull.gov.uk/democracy/mayorsoffice_3810.htm

DUDLEY HEAT OF THE BLACK COUNTRY ENTERPRISE CHALLENGE 2010

2010-12-16T19:25:00.011Z

Global Entrepreneurship Week began life as Enterprise Week in the UK back in 2004, it has since become a worldwide movement of entrepreneurial people, with millions unleashing their enterprising talents and turning their ideas into reality.

Global Entrepreneurship Week

Thursday 9th December 2010, was the Dudley heat of the Black Country Enterprise Challenge which was organised by Dudley EBP.

Eight participating Dudley Secondary Schools took part:

Crestwood
Leasowes
Thorns
Kingswinford
High Arcal
Hillcrest
Redhill
Wordsley

In this day long challenge, teams from each school were asked to form a business and design a savings account for young people. The aim was to raise awareness and encourage the development of enterprise skills, also increasing the development of economic understanding of business and monetary organisations and personal finance. Considerations were given to issues such as debt and savings.

Dudley EBP - logo

Each team worked with a business advisor and were allocated job roles, they chose their target market, designed an account to include special features/offers. They designed their bank logo and had to demonstrate how the product would be marketed. A final presentation was made to the Judges to "sell" their account and explain the reasoning behind their business proposal.

Corin Gregory from Dudley EBP, and her team worked tirelessly through the day to make sure the event went smoothly, Corin told me: “As an education business partnership, we aim to bring business into the classroom - through many inspiring and challenging ways. We couldn't do the events we do without our business supporters - so thank you!”

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council - logo

One of the Business advisors said "the event opened my eyes to the capabilities of the students compared to when I was at school - they had a really mature approach to the business world".

The prize was a place in the Final of the Black Country Challenge where two teams would be put through to compete against the winning schools from, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The finals will be held on the 26th January 2011, at Wolverhampton Molineux football ground.

Judges, from the left: Joan Rees, Michelle York, Dev Masih, Tony Seaton, Donald Campbell

The judging was a tight fought contest with the Judges having several healthy debates during the day. A mention for the Judging panel pictured above:

Joan Rees - http://www.dudley.gov.uk/
Michelle York - http://www.innovit-education.co.uk
Dev Masih - JAW Business Solutions
Tony Seaton - http://www.blueskycf.com/
Donald Campbell - http://www.birminghamchauffeurservice.co.uk/

We wish the very best of luck to the following two Dudley schools who are through to the Black Country finals next January 2011:

Crestwood [winners]
http://www.crestwood-s.dudley.gov.uk/

Leasowes [runners up]
http://www.leasowes.dudley.gov.uk/index.shtml

I have to admit, it's been a fair few years since I had any certificate from school, and even though it's making me laugh, it's great to be appreciated, and this certificate now takes pride of place in my office:

Dev Masih - Certificate of Appreciation

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Contact details:
Dev Masih
JAW Business Solutions Limited
Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570
Email: mailto:dev@jawbusiness.co.uk
Linked-In: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/devmasih

Fire Safety with the Mayor of Solihull

2010-12-08T13:45:00.018Z

The NSBF (North Solihull Business Forum) held its first Business fair last month, at The Loft, Chelmsley Wood Shopping Centre. B37 5EX.

http://nsbf.org.uk/

(From Left) Mayoress of Solihull, (Mrs Sheila Courts), The Mayor of Solihull, (Councillor Ian Courts) with Dev Masih

The Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Ian Courts and (Mayoress) Mrs Sheila Courts, were in attendance, and they both mingled with exhibitors and members of the public.

The Mayoress firstly stopped by at my exhibition stand, and she was fascinated at the community project that I was involved with earlier this year through the construction club in my own local area. The Mayoress told me it was good to see so much community spirit and camaraderie, which she wished we had more of to gell communities together. I gave her one of our brochures, which she said she would read in more detail later, and also put it across to the Mayor.

Open publication - Free publishing - More founders day

By which time the Mayor, Councillor Ian Courts, also joined us at the stand, and I made them both aware of the forthcoming Midland Business Awards, where myself and the construction club are both finalists. The Mayoress wished me luck with that, and The Mayor, a trained solicitor, told me that he was a firm advocate of fire safety, and he acknowledged the importance of my work to keep businesses law compliant.

Dev Masih - Finalist Midlands Business Awards

BCCEC finalist Midlands Business Awards

I informed the Mayor of my work with the fire protection association, by which time the photographer arrived, and without a prompt, the Mayor picked up my fire extinguisher and happily posed for a photograph. This brought about a massive smile from me, and now I’m thinking I should invite the Mayor to a West Midlands Fire Service event.

The day was very well organised by June Mole from Sustain, an organisation that helps Solihull's Voluntary and Community sector.

http://solihull-sustain.org.uk/

15 stands were exhibiting, and everyone played their part in making this an enjoyable event, with more events planned for the new year. The exhibitors all got on well exchanging details and information amongst themselves.

The exhibitors were:

Eleanor Betts - Think Financial Planning

http://www.ifa-guide.co.uk/warwickshire/solihull/think-financial-planning-29468.html

Marilyn Trevis - Moneywatch Finance

http://www.moneywatchfinance.com/

Laurie Fisher - Birmingham Hilton Metropole

http://www.birminghammetropole.com/

Dev Masih - JAW Business Solutions

http://www.jawbusiness.co.uk/

Wayne Pittam - Whitefriars Housing

http://www.whitefriarshousing.co.uk/

Richard Holt - Evans Derry Solicitors

http://www.evansderry.com/

Zoe Jones - Jamie at Home

https://www.jamieathome.com/sign-in.html

Rebecca Wilkes - Solihull College

http://www.solihull.ac.uk/

Martin Clarke - The Colebridge Trust

http://colebridge.org/

Steven Butterworth - Solihull Council

http://www.solihull.gov.uk/

Raj Kalsi - Heath Lodge Hotel

http://www.heathlodgehotel.co.uk/

Andrew Procter - AT Procter Electrical

http://www.electriciansbirmingham.net/

Clive Mason - Maurice Mason Wine Services

http://www.mmwineservices.com/

Alfred Lyons - Lyons Bookkeeping Services

http://www.lyonsbookkeepingservices.co.uk/

Gill Smith - Fairtrade Jewellery

http://www.fairtradedesign.co.uk/

Sally Lander - The Chocolate Fix

http://www.solihullforsuccess.com/north-solihull-business-fair/

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570

Dudley - Student Enterprise Challenge - 9th December 2010

2010-12-03T14:03:00.003Z

Dudley Student Enterprise Challenge

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Contact details:
Dev Masih
JAW Business Solutions Limited
Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570
Email: dev@jawbusiness.co.uk
Website: http://www.jawbusiness.co.uk

North Solihull Business Fair - 24th November 2010

2010-11-22T17:44:00.004Z

North Solihull Business Fair

Midlands Business Awards

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Contact details:

Dev Masih

JAW Business Solutions Limited

Mobile Phone: 07908 383 570