I heard John Harper-Slade form the Construction Safety Council NZ speak last Monday at our monthly Central Otago HSE Meeting, and he reminded me of just how complex construction is:
“If you stand next to a construction site and close your eyes, for just ten minutes, when you open them again the hole being dug is going to be deeper, the roof higher, it’s all constantly changing which is why staying aware is so important.’
With this in mind, I got rather excited about Arrow International’s Safety WingmanCampaign: Taking Construction Safety to New Heights. The video is definitely worth watching if you want to see what best practice worker engagement can look like.
What?
Wingman 3 is a joint initiative between Wellington International Airport Ltd (WIAL) and Arrow International centred on the construction of the134-bedroom Rydges Hotel at the airport. Work began at the end of May 2017 and at its peak, the 18-month project will see 200 workers on site.
Key Focus:
The key focus is on getting people to share their ideas and give feedback on how things can be even better. Kiwi adventurer and TV presenter, Jamie Fitzgerald is fronting the project which ensures workers
- Put safety first
- Look out for their colleagues
- Get home safe
How is this improving Construction Safety?
The three pillars of the project are:
- Teamwork
- Awareness
- Equipment
They have created a purpose-built Safety Hub on site that doubles as a smoko area. It’s bright, colourful, and has all sorts of goodies:
- Sunscreen
- Hydration system and free water bottles
- Project Updates
- First aid supplies
- Flat screen TV (for conducting inductions)
- Permit wall with Permit to Work and HSE forms
The idea is to create a site less ordinary and enable workers to focus on”
- Preparation and planning
- Using the right equipment
- Being aware of hazards
- Looking out for your mates
- Rewarding safe behaviour at monthly full site toolbox meetings
Every worker is issued with a Hi-Vis vest that has a number on the back of it and anytime someone is caught doing something right they can get nominated for leadership award at each monthly toolbox meeting. This also allows for ease of Near Miss reporting.
What can you do?
You may not be able to create a purpose-built safety space; however, there are few things you can do improve your safety engagement:
- Get feedback from customers and feed it back to workers
- Play the “I noticed game”: tell people when they are doing a good job
- Make the most of toolbox topics by highlighting live issues that are happening real time
- Have HSE resources readily available (suntan lotion, water bottles, first aid kits, HSE Forms)
- Focus on capturing the learnings from Near Miss’s (What Happened? How did it happen? How can we stop it happening again?)
Have a safe and productive week and let me know about your construction safety success stories.
SB