Safety Resets Encourage Everyone to Focus on the Basics

788 employees from Oaky Creek Coal took part in a recent Safety Reset, where everyone was asked to get ‘back to basics’ when it comes to safety.

‘Safety Resets’ were introduced by government legislator, Resources Safety & Health Queensland (RSHQ) back in 2019. After seeing a spike in workplace injuries and fatalities across the industry RSHQ asked all industry operators to stop and ‘reset’ to make sure the focus on safety remained strong.

The safety of its employees is Glencore’s top priority, which is why it’s one of their core values. In line with this, and as part of their Health & Safety strategy, Glencore committed to conducting ‘Safety Resets’ every two years, not just across its Queensland operations, but those in NSW as well.

“Resets are an opportunity for us all to stop and reflect on what’s happening on site,” explains Darren Andrews, Health, Safety & Training Manager at Oaky Creek.

“They’re a chance for people to speak up and have their say, identify and address any safety issues that may be lingering, ask any questions and, ultimately, make sure our head is well and truly in the game as far as safety goes.”

The RSHQ Safety Reset theme for 2023 took everyone ‘Back to Basics’ and reflected on Oaky Creek Coal’s ‘No Plan No Work’ campaign. Combined, the message to employees was simple: before the job starts, during the job, or if the job changes, at any point, if it’s not safe or if you are remotely unsure, STOP.

“Our No Plan, No Work initiative is all about getting the basics right before you start work. We make sure everyone puts a plan together of what work they’re doing. If you don’t have a plan, you don’t do the work,” says Darren.

Over 10 sessions, six at Oaky North and four at Oaky Surface, team members reflected on why it’s vital to stop for safety and discussed the importance of reporting safety issues, hazards and concerns, as well as how to report concerns, how concerns are escalated, the support provided to those who report concerns, and the positive, life saving ripple effect reporting can have on them and their teammates. They identified and agreed on the role everyone plays in ensuring a safe working environment, including the responsibilities of Managers, Supervisors and all personnel. Then they delved into the No Plan, No Work campaign, exploring what it means to have a plan in place, the different forms a plan can take, a checklist of what makes a plan effective, what to do if things change, and lessons learnt from poor planning or deviating from the plan. The 2.5 hours sessions finished with robust discussions and in-depth Q&A.

“We’ve had really positive feedback from the 2023 Safety Reset sessions, especially for the ‘No Plan, No Work’ initiative we put in place in 2020,” says Darren. “We’ve also been able to identify areas where more work needs to be done, for example communication forums and feedback on hazards. This is something we’ll be working on going forward as part of our overall health and safety plan.”

Of course, that plan isn’t limited to the Safety Resets every two years. Oaky Creek has a workforce – a community – that wants to help each other stay safe. As such, they don’t rely only on the Safety Resets to make a difference. In addition to recommencing their monthly Safety Training days that focus on a different safety element each month, they will always stop and reassess if they see an increase in injuries.

“Unfortunately, we’ve had nine hand-related injuries this year. We stopped and reset as a group to understand what’s happening. As a result we have a dedicated campaign kicking off in December designed to ‘Give Hand Injuries The Finger,’” Darren explains.

“The aim is to raise awareness of how to proactively identify any activities or hazards that could result in a hand injury and take the steps necessary to avoid or remove them before starting work, by having a clear plan in place. Because if there’s no plan, there’s no work.”