Organisation: Main Roads Western Australia
Job Title: Safety, Health and Wellbeing Consultant
Location: East Perth
Developing, implementing and measuring performance of a Safety, Health and Wellbeing program for a large and complex construction and maintenance organisation consisting of both ‘white’ and ‘blue’ collar workforce
A qualified and experienced safety professional, for the past four years I have been employed as an occupational health and safety (OHS) advisor for a range of mine sites each with approximately 300 employees and contractors, both blue and white collar, onsite. My roles have spanned all aspects of safety, health and wellbeing from pre-employment checks and induction, through to Workers’ compensation, injury prevention and emergency response. In each area of OHS I have assessed performance and developed strategies, processes and tools to reduce the risk of harm to, or improve the wellbeing of, workers on the site.
Passionate about demonstrating good practice in the field of workers’ compensation, I have strong experience in minimising lost time and time on restricted duties for injured workers. In each of my OHS roles I have monitored the current organisational performance in the realm of Workers’ compensation and implemented strategies to improve worker and company outcomes. Injury prevention represents another area of focus in my work.
In my current role with BC Iron Surface Mining, I commenced in January 2015 and immediately began assessing the performance of the injury prevention and Workers’ compensation programs that were in place. Following this assessment I developed and implemented an injury prevention strategy to reduce risks to worker safety and wellbeing. One of the key components of this strategy was to introduce a new layer in the personnel selection process where certain criteria needed to be met before site access is granted. As a result of these initiatives, the number of onsite injuries resulting in Workers’ compensation intervention is currently two, compared to fourteen for the same time last year.
My current and previous OHS roles have seen me responsible for developing and implementing site emergency response plans, from assembling and training an Emergency Response Team (ERT) to coordinating incident responses when an emergency occurs. In my position as OHS Advisor at Midwest Vanadium Open Pit Mining, I found myself the first responder on the site of a severe $100 million fire in the beneficiation plant. Through my coordination of the response to this fire utilising the ERT which I had assembled, prepared and trained, this fire was extinguished within six hours, resulted in no injuries and was limited in damage to a single structure. Without an immediate and appropriate response from a trained ERT, this fire had potential to cause far greater damage and injury.
Interpreting and implementing the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety, Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Acts and Legislation
With a solid understanding of the requirements of the employer’s duty of care under OHS legislation and codes of conduct, I am experienced in implementing processes and strategies to appropriately fulfil this duty. In previous roles I have demonstrated my ability to implement change management systems and effective safety management systems in order to comply with legislative obligations.
Mindful of the duty of an organisation to not just provide OHS information, but to provide it in an appropriate way that will be understood by its workforce, I developed a new OHS training program during my time at Norilsk Nickel Underground Mining. In designing this program, I was mindful of the fact that different people learn best in different ways (for example by visual or verbal demonstrations). Additionally, I identified that different segments of the workforce were motivated by different things and had different attitudes to their work, including OHS requirements. In particular I was aware that two segments in particular were not as intrinsically motivated to perform good work or impress their management team. For these workers, it was essential that I cultivate a rapport and earn respect in order to make them receptive to OHS messages; this required a different approach to that used with members of a segment who were eager to retain their positions and keen to impress. I used this understanding to create an engaging and interesting induction program and introduction to OHS matters onsite. By ensuring that a worker’s commencement on the site demonstrated a serious commitment on behalf of the employer to fulfil OHS obligations, a foundation of safety awareness was established from the outset.
I am experienced in designing processes which fulfil the employer’s obligations under Workers’ compensation legislation and coordinating statutory rehabilitation and return to work programs. In order to fulfil the requirements of assisting injured employees with their return to work, I undertake a three stage process in overseeing the return. In the establishment phase, I liaise with the employee and their medical care providers to develop a return to work program which is appropriate for them; in this process I am always mindful of the psychological, as well as physical, components of the recovery. In this stage I am careful to ensure proper documentation of the plan in accordance with legislation. Following the establishment phase, I move on to a continual system of implementation, with a repeated assessment and modification phase as required. In this way I ensure that my organisation is meeting its obligations to appropriately support injured workers in their return. I place a strong emphasis of moving workplace culture away from the view that Workers’ compensation has negative connotations, focusing instead on the message that it is a legitimate support mechanism for those who have been injured. In this way I create an increase in the willingness of employees to report injuries, allowing the employer to better support its workforce in compliance with legal requirements.
Developing and implementing a sustainable Safety, Health and Wellbeing governance practice that provides for effective decision making
Experienced in implementing new systems and processes in the OHS context, I am adept at coordinating large-scale system implementations to better support OHS analysis and decision making. During my tenure at Norilsk nickel mine, I drove the implementation of a new OHS management software package called INX. This package featured two modules, INX InControl and INX InTuition. InControl functions as an incident management system, allowing incident reporting, injury management and return to work plans to be collated, referenced and reported on. InTuition is a training management tool, allowing recording of formal and onsite training undertaken by workers.
Driving the implementation of the INX system, I was set a timeframe of six months to roll-out the system. Facing a degree of opposition from some workers of long tenure, the practical components of changing over to this system were undertaken alongside a cultural change management process to create buy-in and acceptance amongst the staff who would be required to deal with this system. By working with all stakeholders and demonstrating the benefits of the system, I was able to successfully commence system use inside the six month deadline.
The INX software included a system of reminders which would automatically be deployed to prompt personnel in the OHS chain to complete outstanding tasks in relation to an incident, for example to enter a return to work plan or follow up an incident report. Additionally it allowed for real-time notification of site incidents to relevant stakeholders, replacing the prior system of manual production and distribution of a site notice. This allowed for immediate decision making by managers regarding the reduction of ongoing risk. A major outcome of introducing the INX system was to provide better reporting functionality to form the basis for OHS decision making. By allowing incidents to be tracked by factors such as location, time of day or task, trends could be identified and acted upon. Through identification of the highest risk situations in the workplace, decisions were able to be made about the allocation of resources, the need for training, or the methods of work. In this way the system provided information that supported informed decision making to reduce overall risk in the workplace.
Building and enhancing stakeholder relationships
In my OHS advisory career, I have been required to establish and cultivate relationships with work groups traditionally perceived as being challenging to work with. For example in my role with Norilsk, I worked in the realm of underground mining onsite with many highly experienced contract staff who had a reputation for being resistant to OHS compliance. In order to successfully perform my role, it was essential that I build rapport with the Project Manager and the contract staff for whose safety and wellbeing I was responsible. By being a visible presence on the site and demonstrating that I was approachable, flexible and professional in manner, I was able to build a successful relationship with the Project Manager during my tenure. By using humour and understanding, I encouraged a culture of involving, rather than excluding, the OHS function in work activities. Through successfully building this relationship, the Project Manager responded by being open and transparent and, crucially for improving site safety, open to suggestion and advice.
My recent roles have included responsibility as the site medic as well as OHS advisor. In this role I am required to attend to and build relationships with people from all layers of the business, from the top of the organisational chart to the bottom. It is essential in this role that I am adept at building relationships due to the sensitive nature of the matters I am dealing with; often the matters people seek my assistance with contain a psychological element and only through creating an environment of trust are people comfortable with allowing me to assist them. In particular, I am often called on to assist with matters involving bullying, harassment or intimidation; without successfully maintaining a relationship with the workers who approach me I am restricted in my ability to understand the issue and offer treatment.
Externally to the organisations I work for, I additionally build relationships with external stakeholders such as insurance companies, medical providers and Workers’ compensation statutory bodies. Effective relationships with these bodies are required to ensure fulfilment of my employer’s OHS obligations. Another stakeholder relationship which enhances safety onsite is the relationship between the site I work for and other nearby mining sites. Through successful cultivation of relationships with neighbouring mines, I have enhanced my organisation’s ability to respond to emergency incidents by providing for support and backup to be called upon.
Developing, facilitating and delivering training workshops
With strong communication skills and the ability to convey messages clearly and concisely, I have a demonstrated record of successfully delivering training and workshops. I currently conduct weekly emergency response training for a group of up to 27 people who form the emergency response team, and have conducted similar training throughout my OHS roles. Through this training I impart the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively respond to critical site incidents. The development of this training is my responsibility, and I create lesson plans around identified gaps in training, devoting highest priority to areas of highest risk – depending on the work involved on a particular site this may be something like working at heights, or onsite vehicle accidents. I develop these plans with an identified goal in mind – often to take the team from a certain level of competence or readiness to a specified higher level of achievement.
Being specific about the desired outcome allows me to tailor my training around specific goals, ensuring the training is of most benefit to participants. My success in training emergency response teams was demonstrated in the management of the severe fire we responded to on the Midwest Windimurra site, where a rapid and coordinated response limited both property damage and risk to personnel safety.
Another form of training I facilitate and deliver is via the weekly safety toolbox meeting I conduct. In developing content for these meetings, I draw content from the latest Australian and worldwide mining safety incidents. This adds relevance to my content, which engages the audience and allows for better comprehension and retention of information. My facilitation also focuses on encouraging participation from the workers, which again enhances the level of information that is absorbed.
My rollout of the INX safety management system on the Norilsk site involved providing training to key personnel throughout the site which would allow them to use and draw value from the new system. Following a period of external training for myself, I was required to determine which components of the new system were relevant to each key member of personnel, and provide them with training around their particular needs. By tailoring this training to individual needs, I allowed relevant information to be more readily understood and retained, leading to the successful utilisation of the system after roll-out.
Knowledge of policies and practices on EEO, diversity and equity
In my role as the medic on a mine site, I am often the first person that a worker approached when they have an issue which is affecting them at work. It has been my experience that matters such as bullying, harassment, intimidation or discrimination in the workplace can cause psychological effects which manifest as physical symptoms. A worker may approach me for assistance with treating a physical ailment, but in discussing their work environment and potential causes it sometimes becomes evident that the behaviour of work colleagues is contributing to or causing the symptoms. It is regrettably common in my line of work to come across incidences of age discrimination, both from young managers towards older workers and from older workers towards new, younger colleagues. Discrimination, bullying and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation has also unfortunately been an issue on sites I have worked on.
In aiming to treat workers seeking my assistance, I am ever watchful for indications of incidences of workplace behaviours which are unlawful or against company equal opportunity or anti‑discrimination policy. This requires a sound knowledge of policy and procedure relating to these matters in order to me to firstly identify an incident or situation which is in contravention of policy and secondly to advise the employee what steps are available to them under company policy or procedure to resolve the issue.
My knowledge of organisational policy in relation to equal opportunity, diversity or prevention of discrimination are also important in allowing me to determine what records and documentation may be required to be made or kept when such matters arise. In addition, I maintain knowledge of my obligations under company policy to report or act on knowledge of improper behaviour, which I must balance with my obligations of confidentiality in my position as a medic.
In aiming to reduce risk of injury on the mine site, in my current role I have introduced additional pre-employment screening to prevent high risk individuals from gaining site access. Doing this successfully has required me to have knowledge of and ensure adherence to equal employment policies and legislation, to enable me to balance safety concerns with anti-discrimination requirements.
Possession of a C Class Western Australian Drivers Licence
I hold a current C Class licence.
