A fundamental pillar of our brand promise is to put the safety and health of our people, our clients and our communities above all else.
Whether we are connecting ultra-fast broadband to households or responding to a traffic incident on a major motorway, our focus on safety is unwavering.
Underpinning our approach is the belief that each of us shares in the responsibility for keeping our people and the public safe, every day and in everything we do.
Being uncompromising on safety is critical in an industry such as infrastructure services, where we often need to undertake tasks that could give rise to the risk of serious injury if not clearly understood or managed.
To help us manage those risks, and to safeguard the safety of our employees and the broader community, we introduced our Critical Risk Protocols (CRPs) nearly three years ago. These are the guidelines for high-risk activities that ensure we: always put safety first; make every effort to eliminate risk; and adhere to our systems, standards and processes.
A year ago, in recognition that safety management is an ever-evolving process, we conducted an extensive review of the CRPs. As a result, we decided there was yet more we could do to embed our CRPs into the business. We also introduced a 12th CRP on Safe Driving.
We provided enhanced tools, resources and training for leaders to help them to engage more frequently and effectively with their teams on safety behaviours. We continued to ensure our robust safety systems were being delivered by conducting independent audits and other checks.
We also launched a Ventia-wide campaign to raise awareness which focused on enhancements to the CRPs, our new Safe Driving CRP and three other protocols: Working Around Live Services, Working at Height and Working In and Around Live Traffic. The campaign included emails, posters, toolbox talks, instructional videos and online articles.
In 2019 we saw our leaders focus more deeply on CRP application in the field and our SHEQ professionals embrace the new reporting tools. Pleasingly, both our lead and lag indicators are trending in the right direction. Executive General Manager SHEQ, Christian Frost says “this was a promising outcome although, of course, when you are talking about people’s safety, we must always be vigilant”.
I believe we can all be proud of the safety culture we’re building at Ventia. From our leaders to our people on the front line, there is a genuine commitment to look after the safety of each other and those whose lives we touch.
Christian Frost, Executive General Manager SHEQ
