With over 39 certifications, licenses and accreditations, two separate WHS management systems, four self-insurance programs and 331 WHS team resources to unite, the challenge was on for our Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) team when two large organisations came together as one over the past two years. 

Bringing together these two organisations and unifying all the systems and processes that go along with that, was seen as an opportunity for the SHEQ team who have built a suite of complementary systems and tools to enable robust management of workplace health and safety.

We were proud to have our efforts recognised as winner for the Best Continuous Improvement of a WHS Management System at the 2022 National Safety Awards. 

Group Executive, SHEQ Christian Frost says people are at the heart of our success, which is why we put safety and health above all else. 

"The commitment to leading a culture where our people feel safe comes right from the top of our organisation," Christian says.

I am proud to be part of a team helping us deliver services safely and sustainably.

Christian says the guiding principles of the approach included that it be evidence based, meet our business' needs, reduce clutter, reduce the compliance burden, provide better field tools and importantly, excite and empower our community of change champions. 

"Our unified system enables important workplace health and safety programs and campaign," Christian says. "But for me what's key is that we're engaging the hearts and minds of our workforce."
 

^{Our efforts have been recognised as the 2022 winner for the Best Continuous Improvement of a WHS Management System.} 

Robust management system delivering positive outcomes

The continuous improvement of our management system has resulted in a solid foundation, delivering positive outcomes. 

We have reduced the number of documents in the system from 4,000+ to around 700. We've seen increased compliance and regulatory alignment, and a reduced training and administration burden on our SHEQ people. 

We've trained over 700 frontline leaders to build their capability.

"As a result, we're seeing a significant reduction in time to close out high potential actions and a 20% reduction in high potential events occurring," Christian explains.

These results are also being recognised by our clients, as we have been noted as the number one safety supplier to nbn, and Transpower in New Zealand named Ventia as the winner of their safety innovation award earlier this year. 
 

National Safety Awards of Excellence 2022

The NSCA Foundation and GIO Workers Compensation's 29th National Safety Awards of Excellence is Australia's longest running and independent awards that recognises outstanding work health and safety initiatives. For the 29th year, these awards continue to celebrate organisations and people that actively promote workplace health and safety as a cornerstone of elite business performance.

The awards are open to any Australian operating business, organisation, alliance or individual in the public or private sector.

Interested in joining our award winning SHEQ team? See our current available SHEQ roles here. 

^{Top image: Members of our talented Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) team.}