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25 November 2019
Last month the Australian and New Zealand offices took part in the National Safe Work Month from Safe Work Australia organisation. Our HSEQ Department supported the safety campaign to emphasise that we are all responsible for being a champion when it comes to safety.
This year’s theme, Be a Safety Champion, demonstrated that anyone, both employers and workers from any occupation or industry can be a champion for work health and safety.
Our Senior HSEQ Advisor, Bevan Draaijer, organised a challenge for the West Perth and New Plymouth offices employees. Staff were split into teams and points were awarded for:
- Safe practice
- Health practice
- Activity for personal well-being
5 weeks of safety challenge
In week one we focussed on how we each play a collective part in managing not just our own health, safety, and well-being, but the health, safety, and well-being of our peers. Teams were introduced to the Company core values and behaviours of Courage, Integrity, and Commitment and the role they play in establishing a culture from which we build a foundation to operate from. We then moved on to the Atlas Professionals life-saving rules, which set limits and parameters for what we recognise as acceptable behaviours and how we can use these to mitigate hazards to ALARP. We briefly looked at how we can manage risk through identification and mitigation, before moving into week two where we were introduced instruments from the “Safety Champion” toolbox such as hierarchy of controls, stop work obligation, and continual improvement, which was then encased in a brief introduction to our minds and how conscious and subconscious decision making influences EVERYTHING that we do.
Week three focussed on reaction to incidents, accidents and near misses, and the obligation we have as “Safety Champions” to manage leading and lagging indicators in order to review the present, learn from the past and protect ourselves into the future. The focus then moved into our well-being, and strategies we can execute to increase health awareness, while looking at how small changes to your life style (i.e. exercise and healthy eating) can have positive effects to your overall health and eventual well-being.
In Week four Bevan hand-picked a few relevant accidents from the Oil and Gas industry and the impact these had on the industry and sometimes even certain individuals we may know!
The final week, was the final review to look at the responsibilities that the company Atlas Professionals has to its staff’s health, safety, and well-being, and what actions Atlas Professionals takes as an employer to promote health, safety, and well-being for its people.
Well done to all involved!
Thank you to all that took part in October Safety Month! Whether you’ve made changes to eating habits, increased your awareness of safe systems of work, or become more active by changing activities in your day to day lives (THE STAIRS FOR EXAMPLE - WELL DONE NZ!!), any positive change is a big deal that can be the catalyst to something bigger. As “Safety Champions” we each must realise we have a responsibility to ourselves and each other, and by working together and looking out for our peers, we become a safer, more effective and efficient organisation. Please note safety doesn’t stop at the end of October, as it should be embedded in everything we do, every day.
This challenge will be developed with our professionals offshore and ultimately with our clients.
