Terminal 5 - Lessons learned

The last two weeks have been nothing less than a disaster for British Airways and BAA. The launch of Terminal 5 will doubtless become a case study in bad project and operational management at business schools for many years to come. The article chosen here does not dwell too much on the mistakes, but rather focusses on four areas where lessons can be learned from the chaos.

Read Charlie McLean-Bristol's article in Continuity Central here

New Corporate Manslaughter Act - what it means

On the 6th of April, the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act came into force. The Act has far reaching consequences in every organisation in the UK. Companies are now potentially liable if they do not have comprehensive safety policies. For an easy to follow review of the new legislation, read Gary Slapper's article here:

From the high wire to the kitchen - reducing the risk of away days

With the onset of the new Corporate Manslaughter Act (see above) the attraction of sending your office team bungee jumping or paint balling is on the wane, according to cookery school Venturi's Table. Managers are choosing low adrenaline activities such as cookery days as a safer alternative. Read the Management Today story here

(Presumably the presence of large knives and untrained kitchen hands does not pose a risk?)

11 Tips for a Healthy Workspace

If you spend too long at your desk, and feel your work is making you ill, then these simple common-sense tips may help you reduce physical and mental stress.

Just don't tell the boss you have become more comfortable and more productive - or you may be chained to your desk for even longer!

Read the Medical Health article from Google here:

docleaf Briefs

British PM and schmoozer Gordon Brown and first lady of France Carla Bruni-Sarkozy last week re-ignited the old debate - Kiss or Handshake?

According to a study released last week, workers are "safer" to greet colleagues of the opposite sex with a handshake than a kiss, a common greeting in many parts of Europe. (AFP)

A survey of 1,200 workers by UK recruitment firm Office Angels said some became because so anxious while deciding whether to kiss or shake hands that one in eight forgot the name of the person they were greeting. One fifth had an embarrassing clash of faces as they tried to kiss, and one in 10 became so flustered they resorted to waving instead.

And in the worst-case scenario, a red-faced few ended up accidentally groping a colleague or client after opting for a kiss while the opposite party attempted to shake hands.

David Clubb, managing director of Office Angels, said: "If you feel struck by the kiss/shake dilemma, take your lead from the most senior person in the room. My advice would always be, if in any doubt, go for a handshake. A handshake is always considered professional and courteous, and being on the safe side of formal is never a bad thing in a workplace situation."

And finally.... Relief is in sight for Britain's hard-working beach donkeys -- from now on they will be spared the burden of carrying the more rotund children visiting the seaside. (Reuters)

Nor will they have to work more than six days a week, under a new national code of practice unveiled on Friday.

The charter from the Donkey Sanctuary charity says anyone over the eight-stone (51 kg) limit will not be able to ride the 850 resort animals -- and that includes overweight children.

The new rules come as the problem of obesity is growing. A recent UK government study predicted that half the population could be obese within 25 years while experts believe one million children will be overweight in a decade.

The Sanctuary's head of welfare, Martin Taggart, said the rules were designed to remind people about the laws against animal cruelty. "There are some people that love to subject the donkey to some ridicule," he told Reuters. "We are trying to protect the donkey from that."