Feature Article
Driving safety improvements through High Potential Incidents Article contributed by KEVIN BALL & BETINA DALE – SMITHBRIDGE GROUP
For over 25 years, Smithbridge Group has been known for a commitment to safety across all operations. As an organisation in a high-risk sector, the prevention of incidents and keeping the workforce safe has always been a top priority. For this reason, the Group extended its safety reporting to also focus on the potential of an incident or near miss, rather than just the outcome. This level of reporting is enabled by Smithbridge Group’s dedicated Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) team, who oversees systems, programs and processes across the global businesses. The team is complimented by locally based SHEQ teams within each business in Australia, New Zealand and Guam. 6
LIFTING MATTERS
ISSUE Q2 2021
Defining and Identifying High Potential Incidents (HPI’s) Through incident reporting and analysis processes, the Smithbridge Group determines the risk its workforce and operations are exposed to when an incident occurs by determining the most appropriate steps to take to reduce risk. This is done by applying a set of control measures consistent with the hierarchy of controls approach, common to risk management processes. As part of this “risk” approach, High Potential Incidents (HPI) are classified where an incident (including near misses) could have resulted in a serious incident if the full potential of the incident was realised. This can occur when
