Newsletter: October Newsletter

In this months newsletter….

  • A proactive approach
  • Pride comes before a fall
  • Charter Events
  • Construction Clients Group; Safety in Design Forum
  • NAWIC – growing and celebrating excellence
  • New Charter Members
  • WorkSafe launches online resource
  • Celebrate H&S Champions
  • Charter Mentoring Programme
Charter October Update
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September 2020 Update
A proactive approach……

It is almost a year since I started as General manager of the Safety Charter and my journey into the world of health and safety.  It has been a bit of a crash course getting up to speed, and I am getting to the point of not embarrassing myself too much anymore in front of the professionals in the field.  However, the one thing I struggle a bit with is the idea of risk, hazards, and controls.

On their own these seem easy to handle.  Risk is the probability something bad will happen. A hazard is something that can cause a bad thing to happen, and a control is something that you apply around a hazard to reduce the possibility of the bad thing happening.  But already we can see how the three are intertwined. Then you must consider that all hazards do not necessarily pose a risk, like an asteroid in space, and that not all risks necessarily involve hazards, like human behaviour.

Add to the mix the legislative requirement that PCBU’s must take all practicable steps to eliminate workplace risks, and if they cannot be eliminated the PCBU must implement control measures to minimise the risks.  The focus here is all about the risks, and the ability of controls to reduce the risk to an acceptable level, whatever that may be. 

The thing that is apparent to me is that both risk and hazards are not static.  They can constantly change throughout the workday depending on a variety of factors, be it environmental, physical, mechanical etc.  However, the biggest risk variability is surely the human one.  We all know that humans take a lot of factors into consideration when making decisions, and safety is only one of those.

If we accept that we cannot always manage the hazards and the risks, then we must focus our attention on the controls. A fence at the top of the cliff is worth more than the ambulance at the bottom. if we wait for a failure to tell us what needs to be better controlled, we are missing a vital point. We need to build capacity before an event occurs. Health and Safety needs to be more about designing systems and structures that can allow for the risk and hazard variability. This means designing systems that can fail in a safe manner. In other words, more proactive than reactive.

The modern car is a classic example. Telling people not to crash has not been successful in reducing accidents and harm. What has been successful is the vast array of active and passive safety features now available. I read an article about car manufacturer Volvo pledging to build a zero-fatality car by 2020.  In the UK, with 70,000 units sold, one Volvo model has not had a fatality since 2014. Look it up, it makes interesting reading.

This leads us into the area of Health and safety by design.  The upcoming workshop is a great place to start if you are interested in learning more about this.

Paul Duggan, General Manager

PRIDE COMES BEFORE A FALL…

It may be an old-fashioned adage, but when you relate it to safety in the roofing industry it is always relevant. Safety processes in the roofing industry have come a long way since I joined the industry 10 years ago.  There has been a significant improvement in the plant that is used on site; EWP’s, edge protection, scaffold, safety nets, and the list goes on. However, all that accounts for nothing if the attitudes and culture of the people involved in the project reflects a “she’ll be right” or a, “it won’t happen to me”, thought process.

Whether in the commercial or residential building sector the risks are all the same for those who work at height. We all know a fall from height can be catastrophic for everyone involved. One way to help prevent this from happening is to ensure that the workers have a self-preservation attitude. I encourage all those who work for CS Roofing Canterbury to be self-centred. I know that you are probably thinking that this is a strange thing to say, I’ll explain why…. I can provide policies and procedures, but I need them to believe that their safety really does come down to a personal level, and their desire to not get injured.

If when planning work for the day, an individual worker is thinking about plans for the weekend and looking forward to spending time with friends and family, then it would stand to reason that somewhere in the thought process they are thinking, what do I need to do today to make sure that I’m going to make it safely to the weekend?  What do I need to do for my own self-preservation?  The flow on effect of this is, when they are involved in the daily planning meeting on site they are already thinking about their own safety and then that of the team, and others on site.

I have seen a significant change in attitudes over the past 10 years, and it is pleasing to see that the Kiwi “she’ll be right” attitude is abating. However, I’m not so naive as to think that it does not exist. The challenge for us all, is to ensure that we are not the ones riding high on our own pride and putting ourselves and others at risk.  We all have limitations in our knowledge, and still have plenty of things to learn about construction safety which is improving and evolving constantly.  To acknowledge those gaps and work collaboratively with those who can provide guidance to keep you safe is an attitude asset that will serve you well.

Progressive work culture and positive attitudes from every member of the team whether on site or in the planning office will always play a part in the safety of our people. Site safety is both a team and personal journey. It is up to everyone to make sure that they don’t let their pride get in the way of their or someone else’s safety.

Jenny Maxwell, CS Roofing

LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER
Thursday, 15 October

The Canterbury Safety Charter and WorkSafe are putting on a workshop specifically for Health and Safety Representatives who are at the coal face of health and safety within their organisation. The role of an HSR is unique, and requires the ability to communicate effectively with a variety of stake-holders. An HSR also has the ability to influence health and safety outcomes from the bottom up, rather than the top down.

The purpose of the workshop is two-fold. The first is the opportunity for HSR’s to share their experiences about their role, and gain understanding through collaboration and feedback. The second aim is for WorkSafe to gain insights into the nature and challenges of being an HSR, and from this design systems and training to provide better support for HSR’s in the workplace.

The focus areas of the workshops are around the following areas. Motivation, Training, Support from PCBU, Networks, and the specific role of an HSR. The workshops will require some active participation, as well as interaction with HSR’s from a variety of organisations.

Currently the first workshop is fully subscribed, and there are limited places available for the second.

To register, click on this link.

Friday, 16 October

Demystifying the what, why, who, when and how of health and safety by design by:

  • What: Designing environments that are safer to build, occupy, maintain and deconstruct.
  • Why: Because design can make a significant difference.
  • Who: Designers, owners, users, operators, consultants, contractors, maintenance teams.
  • When: Start early, influence more.
  • How: Collaborate, consider, record, document, share.

Joining Warren and Mahoney Principals Hayley Fisher and Jonathan Coote, will be Susan Rowe, partner at Buddle Findlay and James Smith, Commercial Group Broking at Crombie Lockwood, who will share their experiences on how health and safety by design processes can affect legal compliance, insurance liability and COVID-19 considerations.

To register, click on this link



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Still Under Construction?

5 years on… from HSAW Act 2015

It has been five years since the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 following the Pike River disaster. In this workshop we will look at what changes have occurred in that time, how the courts have interpreted the legislation, and what major development have happened in health and safety since then.

Register Here

Join the Construction Clients’ Group for a Safety in Design Practice Forum.

The forum will bring stakeholder together to share, debate and develop consistency of practice for the health, safety and welfare of everyone we affect by our activities.  

When:  Thursday, 22nd October 2020

TIme.  1.00pm – 2.15pm

Where: National Virtual Event – MS Teams Link

Register me for CCG event

NAWIC is growing and celebrating excellence!

The National Association of Women in Construction is growing with a new Queenstown Lakes chapter due to launch on 15th October 2020. We are proud to be able to now include and inspire more women in the region with this expansion. If you are working, living in or just visiting Queenstown Lakes district on the night then please register to come along to the event and show your support, maybe we can inspire you to join:

In late September as celebration of the planned launch, and to inspire our members with some of the amazing things happening down south, the Canterbury Chapter of NAWIC held a Queenstown Lakes Introductory Event in conjunction with the local Annual Regional Meeting. Hosted at the Buchan offices it was a successful evening with delicious food, a few drinks and two inspiring speakers, with Rick Herd, Naylor Love’s CEO and Charlotte McLachlan, Buchan’s Senior Associate presenting. Both inspired us with presentations focussed on the Queenstown Lakes district, with Rick Herd also touching on his passion for timber construction and the Notorious RGB! He was followed by Charlotte McLachlan sharing her passion not only for great interior design, but also for living in the area.

For a number of years NAWIC have been celebrating the success of amazing women in the construction industry at the NAWIC Excellence Awards. Unfortunately, our 2020 awards had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 but we are excited to announce that our next awards will be held on the 7th May 2021 at the Royal Yacht Squadron in Auckland.

Entries are now open to the 2021 NAWIC Excellence Awards supported by BCITO! Please go to our website to nominate a NAWIC member you think is deserving, or encourage an amazing women to join NAWIC so that she can be included in the awards. All the information about the categories can be found on our website.

If you wish to learn more about NAWIC or see what events are coming up that are open to Non-members please visit the website, or follow find us on Instagram or facebook. Maybe we can inspire you to join and help us support women in construction.

Sonia Barker, Canterbury Chapter Chairperson

Welcome to New Members
Educational online game ‘Pickled’ launched
WorkSafe launches online resource

WorkSafe NZ have launched a new online game to help tackle health and safety in the workplace, they wanted to create a resource that could explain and teach the concept of risk in a simple, engaging way.

Pickled gets workplace risk education out of the binder, with bite-sized three minute mini-games designed to help workers learn and retain information faster. It’s been made and tested with people across industries, taking inspiration from workers’ on-the-job anecdotes to help craft relatable workplace scenarios.

Try Pickled now
Celebrating Health & Safety Champions

Health and safety is full of unsung heroes who work hard behind the scenes to ensure we all work safely together. 

The Charter acknowledges those people, who have demonstrated leadership to improve health & safety.  For more information follow this link.  

Charter Mentoring Programme

This mentoring is free and allows members to have an informal discussion enabling the mentor to provide advice and support to the mentee. 

If you are a Charter member, and are seeking some mentoring, or would like to offer your services as a mentor, please complete the form will be in touch.

Canterbury Safety Charter

7 Winston Ave, Papanui, Christchurch, Christchurch
New Zealand

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