Seventy years of providing health and safety services is being celebrated by one Suffolk and north Essex charity this year with a series of workshops focusing on the past, present and future of the workplace.

The Suffolk and North Essex Occupational Safety Group (SNEOSG), promotes occupational health and safety to a range of businesses in the two counties, and is marking the milestone anniversary with three events to mark changes in the health and safety industry.

On Thursday, around 20 members attended the first meeting, focused on the past at the Lieston Long Shop Museum.

SNEOSG committee member Andre Castle said: “The meeting was a chance to step back in time and meet up with past members at the famous Long shop at Garret Works. Members were given an insight into the history of the site by Anna Mercer, curator, before an excellent presentation by Barbara Back, a retired member with a life-long passion for occupational health.

“Barbara highlighted some of the milestones in occupational health and brought to life examples of industrial disease through the ages. This background really helps today’s health and safety practitioners in understanding the foundations of much of our current campaigns to improve health in the work force.”

The group will visit Sizewell power station on November 19 to celebrate present health and safety practices, and on December 17 future industry requirements will be studied at BT’s innovation centre at Adastral Park, Martlesham.

SNEOSG chairman Natasha Wales said: “They have an exhibition where they show technology into the future. We are going to look at how these things in technology affect the way that we can manage health and safety in the workplace into the future.”

The charity currently has 31 companies registered as members, who can send as many employees as desired to the charity’s committee meetings.

For more information and to join the charity, visit www.sneosg.org.uk/