Central Safety Group Melbourne

August 2016

What safety success looks like – across industry sectors

Presentation by: Rocky Armstrong, Group Manager, Health, Safety, Environment and Quality, AusNet Services

Presentation package now available (members only)

What are some of the key things successful organisations do to achieve a high performance in health and safety? How would your workplace rate?
This was discussed by Rocky Armstrong, basing his observations on his experience in his current role and previous job as Asia Pacific Head of Safety with Linfox, the international logistics and supply chain company.
At Linfox, Rocky was involved with a wide range of safety programs in companies across different sectors, including BlueScope Steel, Unilever, Tesco, bhp Billiton, ExxonMobil and more.
He talked about lessons and insights this gave him on safety strategy, leadership and culture.
Rocky also provided a scorecard with key elements of success and invited the audience to participate in a self-assessment exercise based on their workplace experience.

The presenter:

He is currently Group Manager, Health, Safety, Environment and Quality with Ausnet Services, the energy delivery service business that owns and operates Victoria's largest network of electricity and gas infrastructure. He previously worked with Linfox, and was Asia Pacific Head of Health and Safety. Linfox has over 20,000 people operating in 10 countries and is exposed to a diverse risk profile. Rocky completed tertiary studies in science, occupational health and safety and management before completing his MBA at Melbourne Business School.

June 2016

Workplace aggression – prevention and management

Presentation by: Tiffany Plummer, Aggression Coordinator, St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne

Presentation package now available (members only)

Workplace aggression, or occupational violence, is an issue today for many organisations that deal with the public.
Tiffany Plummer discussed the problem and strategies to help prevent and manage it at Central Safety Group's meeting on the 14th June, 2016.
She is responsible for programs at St Vincent's to train employees in aggression prevention and management strategies, and investigates critical incidents of aggression.
Tiffany also runs programs to help strengthen the resilience of hospital employees. There is an increasing call for such programs as healthcare workers and other service providers today deal with a decline in civility by the public.
St Vincent’s Hospital has been a pioneer in strategies for dealing with occupational violence for 20 years, and Tiffany’ current role was created in 2010.

The presenter:

In addition to her role as Aggression Coordinator Tiffany is also coordinator of St Vincent's Hospital’s successful Star Program for peer-to-peer support. This program provides employees with trained colleagues to help them deal with stress in the workplace. They are available 24 hours a day to offer one-on-one support to workmates experiencing stressful events, provide information and referrals and facilitate team debriefing sessions e.g. after the death of a patient. Tiffany has been with St Vincent’s Hospital for 27 years, working as an Emergency Care nurse before moving to the OHS department.

April 2016

A more direct approach to safety (V/line and its employees)

Presentation by: Sylvia Hudson, Manager, People Safety, Health & Wellbeing, V/Line

Presentation package now available (members only)

Having a safety strategy in place is not enough – what can you do to ensure employees are aligned with it?
Sylvia Hudson outlined a different and more direct approach being taken by V/Line, Australia’s largest regional public transport operator.
She discussed her organisation’s new “Destination Zero” safety program and the reasons why it was needed. It is a program that has to serve a workforce ranging from highly skilled technical personnel at head office to drivers and signal operators and to track work gangs in remote locations across the State. Sylvia described how V/Line is working to strengthen its employees’ connection to safety, responding to issues revealed by workplace surveys. This includes using simpler language, changing the subject emphasis and balancing the human element with the focus on compliance.

The presenter:

Before joining V/Line in late 2014, Sylvia was responsible for safety at Citywide, which delivers physical services to councils, mainly along the Eastern seaboard. Prior to that she had a national safety role with Visy and has worked in a number of manufacturing organisations, such as Trico and GM Holden. Sylvia has spent time working in the warehousing, transport and distribution sector and has experience in developing a Safety Management System for a greenfield operation. Sylvia’s passion for safety first developed while working as a shoemaker in a manufacturing plant, complemented through time spent as an HSR. This led to her studying for a safety qualification and becoming a full-time safety professional in the 1990s.

February 2016

Safety compliance in the digital age

Presentation by: Glenn Parker, Civil Engineer, Donesafe

Advances in software and mobile devices are bringing a revolution to safety management systems. Just how much things have changed was discussed at Central Safety Group's meeting on 9 February, 2016, by Glenn Parker, a civil engineer and software specialist, who is responsible for taking to market the DoneSafe system for safety compliance which can be run from a mobile phone.
This Australian-developed software is now getting attention overseas as well as continuing to grow locally. Its users range from tradies to organisations with thousands of employees. Glenn talked about what inspired the system, how it works and what it covers.

The presenter:

Glenn, a civil engineer and software specialist, is responsible for taking to market the DoneSafe system for safety compliance which can be run from a mobile phone.

October 2015

What’s wrong with OHS today (and what’s right)

Presentation by: Kevin Jones, Freelance journalist, SafetyAtWorkBlog

Presentation package now available (members only)

Kevin Jones, well known for his award-winning SafetyAtWorkBlog (www.safetyatworkblog.com) led a discussion at Central Safety Group's meeting on October 13, 2015, about some of the positives and negatives of OHS today. He began by stating that one of the major problems is the excessive documentation required and this may be due to WorkSafe conditions.
Kevin believes that there is also an excess of consultation; management need to be more decisive and focus on the short term – attack the easy problems first to achieve some progress. Recurring problems are either not addressed or the controls implemented are inadequate.  Businesses need to look at the source of the problem and eliminate the hazards.
Kevin stated that there was no face associated with safety, that no-one was seen as a safety champion. There is no engagement of the media by safety groups.
He raised the issue of there being no safety economics in Australia, even though it is possible to determine the costs of safety and relate it to the benefits. Safety managers are expected to know all and be all.  However, funding is tied to the risk profile of a business and is therefore not successful.  Implementation of OHS is seen as reactive with little or no progress.
Kevin also noted that there was little talk about the ethics of safety.
He followed up the session with a blog entry (attached).

The presenter:

Kevin Jones is well known for his award-winning Safety At Work blog (http://safetyatworkblog.com) which keeps readers up-to-date with the Australian and international OHS scene. It’s a beautifully written blog, serving up a tasty mix of news, insights and fresh perspectives on a sector he knows very well.