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I come originally from an emergency nursing background. I moved to Queenstown, but nursing positions were hard to come by, so ended up working in a medical position on a ski-field. I became the manager of four alpine medical centres and became exposed to health and safety as a PCBU. I was responsible for the training of 50 overseas workers, each season, in all aspects of health and safety and implementation of our operations on the mountain. I spent four years in Queenstown, before taking a position as a Health and Safety coordinator with Cook Brothers.
2. How has your health and safety journey progressed?
I was very lucky that Cook Brothers tends to hire the person, rather than the position. I came on board with only my PCBU experience in health and safety, but with good people and management skills and a willingness to learn. My first Health and Safety Manager, Mel Dunstan, was integral to my understanding of health and safety. She really took me under her wing and let me live in her pocket for the first six months. I learnt so much about how she dealt with people, and how people responded to her. When she left, I moved into her position as the National Health and Safety Manager, responsible for 150 employees across 4 locations.
Managing this role has seen my perspectives change. I now see Health and Safety’s role as more holistic in business operations and I have seen significant personal growth in my management ability. I now manage a team of three, with two Regional Coordinators, and oversee a National Health and Safety Committee and Representatives. I have also taken on a senior management position on the Executive Team which allows me to ensure Health and Safety is at the forefront of both planning and strategy, which is a huge advantage.
3. Were there any specific people or organisations who helped you on your journey?
Both Cook Brothers and Mel Dunstan were fantastic when I came on board. They provided guidance and support, but the Cook Brothers ethos also gives people room to find their own way, to make mistakes and grow and develop. External study in the Site Safe Certificate of Construction and SIT Graduate Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety Management has also provided a grounding in health and safety management. I really enjoy learning, so these studies along with numerous technical construction courses and health and safety conferences have really helped my journey.
4. How has your role in Health and Safety Changed over the last few years
For me personally it has progressed from operations to management to governance. This has required constant learning and growth, but is something that I have enjoyed. The amount of compliance required in the construction industry continues to grow, as has the expectation of the quality of the health and safety systems that organisations must have in place. It’s great to see the focus of tenders start to become heavily weighted towards non-price instead of price. This emphasis from our clients ensures further progression within the health and safety space.
5. What are the biggest challenges you now face?
Currently I am very focused on ensuring my team receive effective support and guidance. I am very aware of the support and training I was given when I first started, and really want to do the same for the members of my team. There is also the company growth and taking on bigger projects and ensuring we have consistency of response across all our sites and regions.
The exciting challenge for us currently is around integrating health and safety, sustainability, and quality, and how these factors can be viewed with the same risk approach as health and safety. All three are intertwined, and aligning them provides positive economic, social, and environmental outcomes. A lot of responsibility is put on the Site Manager to be experts in all these fields. If we can align the processes, which we have done by using the ISO standards, and ensure they are not competing for Site Manager’s time, then it will improve the outcomes of all three departments.
6. How has the Cook Brothers Health and Safety Culture developed over your time with the company?
Cook Brothers Construction have always had a great health and safety culture even before I started. They view health and safety as an integrated part of the business with accountability all individuals associated with our site activities. Our health and safety team are there for strategy, advice and support. We have two Health and Safety Representatives per region, and we have put processes in place to ensure they can report directly to the Board, filtering out the miscommunications that can occur when feedback is fed up with multiple levels of management.
What I have noticed over my time here is how the conversations have changed within the Health and Safety Committees and site management teams. It started with “we need more safety glasses” and has progressed to “what can we do to influence and improve the wellbeing of our people”. The drivers for health and safety have changed from top down to bottom up.
7. Where do you see the industry heading in the next three years?
I see more and more glimpses of innovation, and I hope this trend continues. At present the procurement process is a bit behind, in that most clients require documentation that I feel does not reflect the current state of health and safety in our business. An example of this is that tenders still request evidence of the lag indicators rather than the lead indicators or tender and prequalification documentation does not allow for innovative initiatives that do not fit the generic expectations. As more innovation occurs within businesses and a Safety II mindset becomes more integrated across the board, I hope the requirement for generic documentation doesn’t slow this shift.
8. Any advice for someone wanting to start a career in health and safety.
Be proactive, be prepared and willing to learn. If you can develop relationships and you’re not afraid to ask questions you are halfway there.
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