Three years ago, the Land and Housing Contract (LAHC) Team faced increasing safety challenges related to working-at-height practices.
With several near misses, the team's management was concerned and knew something needed to change.
To address these challenges, the team developed a highly impactful safety campaign, that has seen the contract achieve zero Lost Time Injuries and Medical Treatment Injuries in the past 12 months (2022 calendar year).
With 4,000 subcontracted tradespeople completing three million hours in 2022 - and 13,000 work orders relating to roof repair alone - this result is truly incredible and far exceeds the industry norm (SafeWork Australia states average rate of serious incidents is 8.8 per one million hours worked).
The successful campaign was deliberately designed to be highly interactive and collaborative, to create buy-in from all contractor companies and tradespeople. The aim of all activities was two-way discussions, and a constant sharing of knowledge.
Pictured: Iconic Building Company encouraging safe work practices in their team.
The first task was forming a working-at-heights panel of approved contractors. Contractors were invited to apply and only accepted after demonstrating genuine commitment to and consistent undertaking of fundamental safety planning activities.
Other activities included interactive forums, masterclasses, and information sessions with guest speakers talking about legal obligations and implications, the NSW Safety Regulator, and most powerfully, people who have suffered life-changing injuries from workplace accidents.
LAHC Project Director, Ian Ryles, said the campaign's success is due largely to the entire team's ongoing drive and positive mindset.
'The commitment to this safety campaign is driven by every single person across Land and Housing,' he said.
This is not just a one-off campaign for us, it is a mindset - an ongoing process of continuous improvement.