Sheila Pantry OBE

Sheila Pantry worked in a variety of major industries, but her primary focus was the development of electronic products in health, safety and fire. Through embracing leading-edge technology, she ensured that evidence-based information overcame geographical boundaries, influencing OSH and fire professionals worldwide.

Sheila joined the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 1977, developing and managing its world-renowned Information Service, and over many years developed a number of computerised services, pioneering health & safety and fire information via compact disc technology and the Internet.

In 1986, Sheila was instrumental in aligning Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO) (now The Stationery Office (TSO)), SilverPlatter and HSE to publish all the then available HSE information on CD-ROM. This represented a step change in information-sharing and demonstrated her impact on the OSH community.

Sheila wrote and edited extensively for the health, safety and fire press as well as for the information industry. She gave many talks and seminars in the UK and internationally on all aspects of information management, staff training and development, and the use of health, safety and fire information. She also ran seminars and conferences on all aspects of health, safety and fire. In addition she was a role model and mentor to many, instilling the importance of the evidence base and undertaking research rather than taking things at face value.

For decades, Sheila was an active member of the UK Fire Information Group, the UK Fire and Rescue Statistics User Group and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) National Occupational Health and Safety Committee (NOSHC).

Sheila embedded the importance of a collective mind in OSH and learning from what has gone before in her work, and in association with NOSHC, she created the Workers Memorial Day website in 2010 to help commemorate the thousands of people who have been killed, disabled, seriously injured or made ill through their work. With the help of members of the NOSHC, Sheila created this History of Occupational Safety and Health website in 2014.

Sheila was awarded the OBE by HM The Queen in 1993 for services to the health and safety information industry.

In 2000, RoSPA awarded Sheila its Distinguished Service Award in recognition of her personal contributions in the field of occupational safety & health and Sheila received the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.

More information: https://www.sheilapantry.com/about.html