Health and Safety
The University of Exeter is committed to ensuring the health and safety of all staff, students, visitors, and contractors.
As part of that, the Health and Safety Team advise, monitor, audit, and review safety issues across at least 50 different areas involving all areas of the University activities.
We support Faculty and Professional Services Directors Teams by advising advise on what and how to undertake and deliver their health and safety duties. This will ensure they manage, support and keep safe all those persons who may be affected by the work being undertaken.
About us and the work we do
The Health and Safety Team comprise a number of centrally appointed professional health, safety and fire safety advisors. We support the University to provide safe working environments, provide technical advice, training and support, to help those with a duty to ensure anyone who carries out or may be affected by the University's undertaking remains safe and healthy, and consequently ensures the University meets all of its health and safety legal requirements.
We have adopted a health and safety management system that aligns to the HSE’s HSG65. The system utilises a continual cycles approach to all health and safety activities, the basis of this being Planning, Doing, Checking and Acting.
We understand and appreciate some of these requirements may appear challenging to some of the individuals with a health and safety duty. Our focus is to support these people in any way we can to get to a place of safety for anyone undertaking or being affected by this work.
Bryan Underdown - Health and Safety Advisor
Bryan joined the team in November 2024 and is a Chartered member of IOSH with an extensive consultative experience in safety management. He is also an experienced safety trainer and auditor.
Having advised many specialist contractor companies, Bryan is able to provide support and advice on a wide range of safety issues based on practical experience.
He is the lead for laser safety and the contact for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences (HLS).
Rachel Rollinson - Deputy Health and Safety Advisor
Rachel joined the Health & Safety team in 2021 and is the main contact for queries relating to the Noise, Vibration, Confined Spaces, LEV, Animals on Campus, and New and Expectant Mothers safety standards. She has undertaken IOSH qualifications for Noise and Vibration monitoring since joining the team and can be contacted with requests for these services.
A resident of Cornwall, Rachel also provides an on the ground presence at the Penryn campus for part of the week.
Phill Windsor - Deputy Health and Safety Advisor
Phill joined the team in November 2021 and is the main contact for workshop health and safety matters. This includes providing support around machinery, including lifting equipment, dust/fumes and local exhaust ventilation, manual handling and noise and vibration.
Phill’s early career was in mineral and environmental engineering. He has worked widely in industry in waste and energy management and safety engineering roles.
Dr Russell Leek - Deputy Health and Safety Advisor
Russ is one of the University’s Biological Safety Officers and joined the Safety Team at Exeter in 2022. Russ has worked for several British universities during his career including Cardiff, London, and Oxford. Russ started his research career at Oxford University in 1990, working for the Imperial Cancer Research Fund which later became Cancer Research UK. He has published research covering angiogenesis, cytokine networks and tumour metabolism, mainly in the area of breast cancer. In 2015, he transitioned from research to specialise in laboratory health and safety management.
Sara Wortley - Safety Systems Developer and Administrator
Sara is team lead for developing and administering digital solutions and database management and is the initial contact for data requests and reports.
Andy Lee - Head of Health and Safety
Andy joined the team in January 2026 to take the mature safety management system currently in place further, to provide more assurance and integration. Andy has over 30 years of experience working in the Higher Education sector in both technical and pure safety roles. He has a degree in Biomedical Sciences from Nottingham Trent University and an MRes in Oncology from the University of Nottingham.
Andy’s main duties include:
- managing and supporting the central team of Health, Safety and Fire Safety Advisors
- chairing the University GM and the University Ionising Radiation Committees
- overseeing the University Health and Safety Management Systems and with the help of the wider team ensure compliance levels are checked, maintained and if required improved
- being the primary contact for external regulators, ensuring any visits and actions are managed through the appropriate channels within the University’s structures
- supporting the University’s health and safety strategic direction.
Andy Lee
Head of Health and Safety
Andy joined the team in January 2026 to take the mature safety management system currently in place further, to provide more assurance and integration. Andy has over 30 years of experience working in the Higher Education sector in both technical and pure safety roles. He has a degree in Biomedical Sciences from Nottingham Trent University and an MRes in Oncology from the University of Nottingham.
Andy’s main duties include:
- managing and supporting the central team of Health, Safety and Fire Safety Advisors
- chairing the University GM and the University Ionising Radiation Committees
- overseeing the University Health and Safety Management Systems and with the help of the wider team ensure compliance levels are checked, maintained and if required improved
- being the primary contact for external regulators, ensuring any visits and actions are managed through the appropriate channels within the University’s structures
- supporting the University’s health and safety strategic direction.