How did you get involved in health & safety?
The first decade or so of my career was in risk management, which always had a strong health and safety lens. Working at Meridian Energy in the early 2000s it really came home that a well risk-managed organisation was also a safe and happy one, and generally vice versa.
What place does H&S have in your current role?
In my current role as Chief Executive of RNZCGP we’ve had a couple of years of employing first-year registrars who work in general practices all over the country. It’s an interesting HSW puzzle: how do you support people to be safe in other people’s workplaces? It’s a challenge familiar to construction companies all over the country.
What will be your biggest challenge in the next 12 months?
The health sector is in a sustained period of change and pressure, and that shows up as strain on the wellbeing and performance of the people in it. Supporting our people at the College, to support GPs and their teams through that, without adding to the load, will be a harder challenge over the next year than any single hazard.
In your H&S career to date, what has been your most satisfying achievement?
When I was working with the wonderful people at NZ Oil Services (NZOSL, or “Nozzle” as it was affectionately known) we introduced the Net Promoter Score as a measure of staff satisfaction. Over time we saw improvements in both NPS, because people were happier working there, and in safety measures, because care reflects in how people work.
In your career to date, what has been the hardest/most challenging thing you've had to do?
Working at NZ Post as head of risk during the Christchurch earthquakes, particularly February 2011. We had one fatality, who was from out of town and simply in the wrong place when the quake hit. Talking to the family about how to bring their loved one home has never left me.
In your view, what is the most important single issue (relevant to your role) facing New Zealand?
The country deserves a better, more integrated, effective national health and safety system. Our regulations, our government entities, our politicians: we don't learn from experience, which means we’re doomed to keep repeating the same lessons. Safety is not an impediment or a hindrance. It’s an enabler, a differentiator, and a precursor to longer term success.
How best to address this issue?
As a nation we need to get better at taking a longer-term view, being prepared to call out the unacceptable, stop tolerating cowboy attitudes in all walks of life, and hold ourselves to higher standards. We’ve got a first-class country and third-class H&S performance, and we should stop pretending that’s okay.
Tell us something about yourself that might surprise readers.
I cannot own a vehicle without modifying it. From my 50cc scooter to a ‘71 Mercedes, vehicles are simply unsatisfactory in their present state and must go faster, stop quicker, and handle better than when they left the factory. It’s my greatest weakness, and largest financial drain.
What is the riskiest thing you've done that you’re willing to confess to?
I have a remarkable ability to get into dicey situations on long runs, including rabid dogs, bulls, sharks (yes really), getting dangerously lost, almost freezing to death in Montana, and sliding off a cliff in the ranges above Arrowtown.
