About The Awards
Past Winners
Winners of the ACT OHS Awards 2007
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The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union Occupational Health and Safety Excellence Award for 2007
The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union Occupational Health and Safety Excellence Award for 2007
has been awarded to Construction Control Pty Ltd. The Excellence Award was chosen from the category winners
in this year’s OHS awards in recognition of outstanding achievement.
Judges’ Comments:
Construction Control has demonstrated a commitment to integrating occupational heath and safety into every
aspect of their construction business through the implementation of a comprehensive risk assessment based occupational
health and safety management system.
The system looks at safety management in not only the construction phase of a building. The system ensures safe
design, building, occupation, maintenance and demolition, thus adopting the “cradle to grave” concept of
construction as advocated in the National Construction Standard.
Construction Control has implemented tools to assist the system at all levels. This allows those involved in
construction work, from project managers to brickies labourers, to know and understand the safety requirements on the sites.
The management system is coordinated through an integrated computer program developed internally that
allows the tracking of OHS performance and analysis of risks when they are identified.
The judges spoke to a range of employees at a construction site, and it was clear that they had all adopted a
positive, proactive approach to safety on the sites as a result of the management system.
Mark Southwell, the safety and systems manager for Construction Control, has an obvious passion for safety at
the sites and has made progress in changing the safety culture not only with the company’s employees, but also
with contractors working on the site.
The winners of the ACT Occupational Health and Safety Awards 2007 were announced by the Attorney General,
Mr Simon Corbell MLA, at a function on 25 October at the Southern Cross Club, Woden. The awards are the highlight
of Health and Safety Month with the theme “Opt for Safety in October” - a month long safety awareness
campaign co-ordinated by the Office of the Occupational Health and Safety Commissioner and the Office of Regulatory Services.
The OHS Awards attracted 25 entries this year from a range of organisations reflecting the diversity
of the regional economy and business community - with entries from private companies, not-for-profit
organisations, unions and government agencies. Entries included complex OHS management systems,
creative and innovative design solutions, outstanding individual contributions and excellent health and wellbeing programs.
The Awards were established to encourage public and private workplaces throughout the
ACT to develop, implement and evaluate initiatives that help achieve a healthier and safer work environment.
The aim has been to share learning and assist the award-winning intiatives to be promoted and adopted
into ACT workplaces; and to reward ACT businesses, unions, employees and other organisations for outstanding
achievements in health and safety.
Regardless of whether they have received an award, all of this year’s entries contribute to
making workplaces healthier and safer.
The Office of the Occupational Health and Safety Commissioner and the Office of Regulatory Services
encourages all ACT businesses to look at this year’s entries to see how specific workplace health
and safety issues are being addressed, and how readily practical and effective solutions are found.
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Category 1 - Best Workplace Health and Safety Management System
Commendation - Canberra Racing Club
Canberra Racing Club operates within a sector of industry which is inherently risky. Those engaged within
the industry work in a somewhat unusual environment. The provision of a sport that engages in a range of
activities for the benefit of spectators who have professional and financial interests makes the industry unique.
The commitment of club management to identify a range of hazards and implement a safety management plan
to manage and mitigate the risks is commendable. Procedures, work practices and expected safe outcomes
have been implemented. The club has developed the first competency based training programs in
Australia for work tasks such as barrier attendants and track riders, ensuring consistency in such work
practices. Where practicable, engineering solutions were developed to reduce risks to workers working around horses.
The work done on the safety management system allowed the club to quickly respond to the outbreak of
equine influenza in Australia. The club continued to operate during the outbreak when other racing
clubs around Australia were forced to cancel race meetings.
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Category 2 - Best Solution to an Identified Health & Safety Issue
Winner - Territory and Municipal Services, Domestic Animal Services
Domestic Animal Services recognised the hazards for their field-based rangers when attending to and
transporting dogs, and dead animals from the field. The vehicles procured are not designed for the
purpose for which they were being used. The operational staff identified the hazards, which include
manual handling, contamination, visibility and equipment access.
Domestic Animal Services and the RSPCA were consulted and a cooperative venture resulted in a design
implementation and procurement of a system that migrates the risk of injury to the field officers.
The new vehicle is fitted with a ‘Pod’, which is lifted from the ground onto the
deck of the vehicle by an electric crane. The welfare of the animals is also considered and
the design results in a much safer and effective carriage of animals.
The innovation includes better lighting and visibility and storage.
The design also decreases the leasing costs of the vehicles, which provides a significant saving to the Territory.
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Category 3- Best Workplace Health and Safety Practices in Small Business
Winner - Dave Cavill N’ Co
Dave Cavill N’ Co has developed and implemented a series of procedures and tools to ensure that
employees and contractors are inducted onto their sites. Dave has ensured that employees and contractors
are fully aware of their responsibilities and requirements when on site. Dave’s approach is always
safety first and his staff are also champions of safety.
The company has a small permanent work force which ranges from 4-7 personnel, yet he has
appointed a safety practitioner to train, inspect, audit and advise employees on all
sites where they are engaged.
The company has a refreshing approach to equal opportunity and one of the permanent staff is female
and a qualified steel fixer. The company ensures that all manual handling tasks are managed well
enough so that all achieve their work without risk or injury.
Dave has also developed a number of tools to identify and rate hazards and risks, and to document issues for action.
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Category 4 - Best Workplace Health and Safety Practices in Small Business
Commendation - Roof and Balcony Solutions
Roof & Balcony Solutions has long recognised the risks involved with working at heights, hazardous
materials and manual handling. They identified that the training packages available were not specific
enough to cover their workplace hazards comprehensively.
As a result training packages, procedures and tools were developed to address and mitigate the hazards
and risks within their work sites. The systems implemented have ensured that the company employs and
reinforces the safety requirements for each individual task or site. There has been a reduction in
injuries and illness since the training and procedures have been implemented.
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Category 5 - Best Individual Contribution to Health and Safety
Winner - Jane Cullen – Department of Disability Housing and Community Services
The department has a large portfolio of responsibility in a sector with many hazards and risks.
Jane nominated herself two years ago to address the many issues faced by the staff working with a
diverse range of personnel and work places. In particular she developed an inspection checklist,
which has been of significant benefit to staff when inspecting accommodation for disabilities.
With her positive approach to ensuring staff and clients safety she has affected a change in safety
culture among her peers. Other members of staff have assumed a greater awareness and responsibility
for safety, which has resulted in a more effective and safer work place for all.
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Category 6 - Most Successful Promotion of OHS in Workplaces
No Winner
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Category 7 - Best Workplace Health and Wellbeing Program
Winner - OzHelp Foundation
OZ Help has continued to be at the forefront of health and wellbeing in the construction industry
in Canberra. The industry, being predominantly male, is not known for its approach to healthy
behaviour and positive wellbeing. The identification of physical health issues relating to poor
nutrition and the results on personal health is particularly significant among construction workers.
OZ Help seeks to raise the profile of workers health to enact positive changes from individuals
and the sector. The promotion and provision of information on health issues, particularly good
nutritional choices, is making some headway. The push for men in particular to be medically
and mentally healthy is important in an industry where males generally hold a more flippant view
on aspects of their health. The fact that the promotion of these issues also focuses on the multi
cultural aspects of the workforce is a very positive aspect of this initiative.