Workplace safety is no accident!

Over 240 delegates attended the Safeguard National Health & Safety Conference at the SKYCITY Convention Centre on the 1st and 2nd of June 2011.

It was great to see so many delegates return again this year confirming this event is becoming the annual get together for likeminded health & safety professionals from all over the country.

The feedback from our delegates was again fantastic with 92% of the delegates who completed the evaluation forms rating ‘the conference overall’ as excellent or very good.

In the words of one of our delegates “excellent venue, top presenters and relevant subjects - this is my third year to a Safeguard Conference and this was possibly the best year”.

Here’s a snippet of what the delegates experienced over the two days:

The first of our International Keynotes, Professor Patrick Hudson, Delft University of Technology & Leiden University, The Netherlands, opened the conference with a session on Rethinking Safety Science in the 21st Century.

There were the customary updates from the Department of Labour and ACC and Garth Gallaway from Duncan Cotterill revisited some interesting HS&E legal cases.

Chris Meade, Downer EDI Works presented a case study on how four years of workplace literacy training has made the company a healthier, safe and more productive place to work.

Alison Pitman shared the story of BeST, a collaboration of Taranaki industries who along with the support of government agencies, local government and safer community organisations are working collectively towards a “Zero Harm” goal.

Denva Galloway, Progressive Enterprises, gave delegates an update on the Business Leaders Forum and two projects – the health & safety benchmarking initiative and the CEO leadership assessment tool.

Our second International Keynote Genevieve Hawkins, WSP Group closed day one with an energetic and engaging session titled Questions vs. Rules - It’s not all black and white, which gave delegates food for thought and practical examples to take back to their workplaces.

Day two started with a networking breakfast and an opening address from the Minister of Labour, the Honourable Kate Wilkinson.

Our third International Keynote Dr Rod Gutierrez, DuPont Sustainable Solutions presented a valuable session on Why don’t people follow the rules, looking into the psychology elements important in shifting safety culture.

Dr Kathleen Callaghan, Human Factors Group, University of Auckland followed on with a thought provoking session on what barriers need to be overcome so we can make speaking up about safety the norm at both personal and organisational levels.

Dr Wallace Bain, Regional Coroner – Bay of Plenty, presented a fascinating session on the effects of alcohol on the body.

Dr David Beaumont, Chair AFOEM Policy and Advocacy Committee and Medical Director Fit for Work presented a session on the Health Benefits of Working, where he explained that work, in general is good for people’s health and wellbeing. He looked at the role of GPs in understanding and helping people stay in work and encouraging them to return to work promptly after illness or injury and how this can speed up patient’s recovery.

Lee Polychronopoulos, BSS New Zealand, presented a session on fatigue management, sleep and health. She provided delegates with practical tips, tools and resources to equip delegates to better manage this area in their workplaces.

To close the conference international Keynote Professor Patrick Hudson presented a session on Just and Fair Culture: becoming a culture of safety. He explained how advanced safety cultures require a culture of open reporting to know what really happens and how people achieve their goals.

We look forward to seeing you all again at the 2012 conference!