A local government body responsible for delivering civic amenities from water supply and treatment facilities to libraries and art galleries, had identified that the widely varied risk profiles across their organisation were creating significant challenges.
The situation
Our client, a local government body responsible for delivering civic amenities from water supply and treatment facilities to libraries and art galleries, had identified that the widely varied risk profiles across their organisation were creating significant challenges in providing pragmatic and effective safety management.
They had recently undergone a major organisational change, with a restructure and an almost entirely new executive team as a result. Significant reliance was placed on a routine third party health and safety audit that demonstrated compliance, but it became apparent that this was not reflective of the actual performance. No coherent strategy or objective for health and safety was in place.
Approach
Starting with an Alignment Session with the executive team, our Safe Path approach was applied. The Alignment Session determined their long-term vision for health and safety and ensured the executive team’s thinking, understanding and objectives were aligned.
The General Manager – Strategy remarked that it was refreshing to have their organisational needs at the centre of the discussion and not have “yet another safety person coming in and telling us what to do.”
A diagnostic review of the organisation’s current performance against best practice followed, using our D5 Tool. This involved workshops and reviews with a broad cross-section of staff to understand the real health and safety risks of the work being undertaken.
Results
A new health and safety strategy was developed and fully aligned with the overall organisational strategy. Their safety management system was redeveloped into a flexible tool that could be customised to reflect local risks while still maintaining high standards of performance and consistency of approach.
The health and safety team was repositioned with increased capability through new recruitment. Even before the project was complete, independent feedback from the contracting supply chain commenting on the improved attitude, approach and performance of the organisation was received.
