OHS Professional Magazine March 2024

PROFESSIONAL

Richard de Crespigny

The former Qantas A380 captain on managing a mid-flight safety crisis

Safe Work Australia’s CEO Marie Boland on the future of safety and work

The art of influencing: an essential skill for OHS professionals

How Coles Group manages and mitigates supply chain safety risks

OHS Professional

Published by the Australian Institute of Health & Safety (AIHS) Ltd. ACN 151 339 329

The AIHS publishes OHS Professional magazine, which is published quarterly and distributed to members of the AIHS. The AIHS is Australia’s professional body for health & safety professionals. With more than 70 years’ experience and a membership base of 4000, the AIHS aims to develop, maintain and promote a body of knowledge that defines professional practice in OHS.

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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect AIHS opinion or policy.

The art of influencing – an essential skill for OHS professionals: Influencing skills are critical for OHS professionals to gain buy-in, drive change and achieve safety goals

Richard De Crespigny on managing a midair safety crisis: When the former Qantas A380 captain experienced a mid-air engine explosion, teamwork, leadership, crisis management and years of training played a critical role

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The gap between safety theory and practice

There are many theories, frameworks and models in the OHS world, but some of them may be found to be lacking when put to the test, writes Craig Donaldson

Craig Donaldson, editor, OHS Professional

There is much debate in safety circles about the most effective theories and frameworks. Some of these have been around for a long time, such as James Reason’s Swiss Cheese model of accident causation. This likens human system defences to slices of Swiss cheese with randomly placed holes, which, if in alignment, can lead to a potential incident. Another model is Human Factors, which focuses on understanding and managing the capabilities and limitations of people in order to improve reliability, reduce error and mitigate risk.

Both of these models are discussed in this edition’s cover story, which features former Qantas pilot, Richard de Crespigny, who helped lead the safe landing of Qantas flight QF32 in 2010 after an extraordinary mid-flight crisis that put 460 passengers and crew in jeopardy. The incident serves as a compelling backdrop to scrutinise the real human experience in the face of unanticipated challenges, the effectiveness of safety theories and the broader implica-

tions for industries operating in high-risk environments. Having lived through a near mass fatality incident, de Crespigny discusses the pros and cons of different safety models in critical incidents and high-risk environments, as well as how to go about building resilience at team, organisational and even national levels. For the full story, turn to page 16.

Also in the regulatory feature (beginning page 26) for this issue, the new CEO of Safe Work Australia, Marie Boland, outlines her vision for the agency and highlights the need for tailored protections and cultural shifts to address emerging challenges. As a veteran in the WHS field, Boland’s 35-year career spans WHS policy and management, industrial relations and cultural and community development. She discusses important issues, including how emerging trends may impact on the health and safety of workers. She also highlighted the importance of addressing ongoing and emerging challenges in WHS, including managing psychosocial risks, better protecting vulnerable workers, risks arising from climate change and emerging green technologies, occupational diseases, new types of work including gig work, and the rise of artificial intelligence, automation and related technologies. “These are all priorities for SWA to address over the next decade,” she says.

This edition’s OHS Body of Knowledge feature focuses on influencing for OHS professionals, which will be the subject of a forthcoming chapter in the OHS Body of Knowledge, scheduled for publishing later this year. The chapter, which will cover topics such as cultural and emotional intelligence, mentoring and coaching tools for influencing, will be co-authored by

The OHS Professional editorial board 2024

several experts – a number of whom discuss the theory and practice of influencing in this feature (beginning page 22). “There are plenty of OHS professionals who have gained the trust of their employers, clients, workmates or others they work with,” states Greg Dearsly, one of the co-authors and board member of the International Network of Safety and Health Professional Organisations. “But it’s an often-repeated story from the OHS profession about how it can be a struggle to convince a manager or a worker to implement OHS initiatives.”

Lastly, the opinion piece for this edition is authored by Richard Coleman, former GM OHS at Boral, Telstra, Asciano and more recently Laing O’Rourke Australia. In this thought-provoking opinion, he examines ways in which safety professionals could benefit from adopting some of the practices employed by their counterparts in medical research. As part of his studies in epidemiology through his Master’s Degree at Sydney University’s School of Public Health, Coleman gained valuable insights into how medical trials are run. “In the intervening 20-plus years, I’ve heard the statement ‘we’re trialling that’ in relation to safety, HR and operational issues more times than I care to remember,” he says. “What’s clear to me is that in business, a trial often just looks at how well tolerated something is by the people in a business, or how well it ‘works’ at a very high level. Often, these questions are asked without defining what ‘works’ means in this context.” By comparison, he notes that medical researchers approach trials with a broader scope and define success criteria before implementation. To read his full opinion piece, turn to page 7. ■

Stronger together: the power of collaboration

In the field of health and safety, collaboration is the foundation of our progress towards becoming a truly recognised profession, writes Cameron Montgomery

Whether in workplaces, communities or global initiatives, the power of working together cannot be understated. Take, for example, the successful 23rd World Congress on Safety and Health at Work held in Sydney, which brought together health and safety professionals and practitioners from around the globe. Here, we witnessed the creation of new connections willing to share best practices and cultivate a culture of safety that crosses industry and geographical borders, and at the heart of it, collaboration towards a shared vision of positively affecting workers’ physical and mental wellbeing in a changing world of work.

It was at the World Congress that AIHS CEO Julia Whitford and I were fortunate enough to meet with several representatives from the International Network of Safety and Health Professional Organisations (INSHPO) to discuss our challenges and advance discussion on collaborative efforts such as furthering the OHS Body of Knowledge and its potential for better utility internationally. The OHS Body of Knowledge is an outstanding example of collaboration drawing on diverse specialties, from industrial hygiene to ergonomics, risk management, psychology and beyond. As such, it is evident that only some individuals can possess expertise in all these areas.

Collaboration allows health and safety professionals and practitioners to pool

their knowledge and skills, fill gaps ensure comprehensive risk assessments and management strategies, and, most importantly, when to seek expertise outside of their collective experience. When different specialists come together, they bring unique perspectives and insights, enriching the collective understanding of workplace hazards and effective mitigation measures. A recent practical example of this was through joint advocacy by the AIHS, unions, public health organisations and work health and safety specialists calling for the ban of all engineered stone products. As a result, Australia became the first country to announce a ban on engineered stone that will commence on July 1 2024 in most states and territories. Most importantly, thousands of workers and workplaces will be made safer thanks to collective activism.

“It is evident that collaboration is indispensable to the advancement of health and safety as a profession”

Through its strategic plan, Vision 2026, the AIHS has a clear direction to elevate and execute a strong policy agenda. In the coming months, we will seek views from you, our members, on what policy areas are important to you. In addition, we will continue engaging with industry, regulators and other professional bodies to seek opportunities to join forces toward positively influencing contemporary health and safety policy and practice in Australian workplaces.

As we continue to focus our collective efforts, the AIHS Board met in February to review our strategic plan. I am pleased to report that the board reconfirmed support

for the direction and efforts that enhance our member experience with our digital transformation and delivery of a program of events, training and webinars that support the growth of the skills and capability of the profession. One such event will be the delivery of the National Health & Safety Conference to be held 21-23 May 2024 in Melbourne, with the theme ‘Stronger Together’.

This year’s National Health & Safety Conference coincides with National Volunteer Week, to be held 20-26 May, and I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the approximately 200 amazing volunteers who support the operations of the AIHS. To those serving on Branches and Committees, contributing to policy and standards representation, and running events and activities: thank you.

Over the past 75 years, it is through the collaborative efforts of volunteers that the AIHS has truly made a difference towards positively shaping workplace health and safety. One such volunteer was Gill Ross, who passed recently. In the spirit of our value of legacy, we pause to reflect and recognise his contribution. Gill was awarded a Life Membership, having served passionately on the South Australian branch, including as its President and National President between 1994-1996. On behalf of the AIHS, we acknowledge his tireless efforts in supporting the institute’s aims. Vale Gill Ross.

Be it through coming together to share best practices, joining forces to advocate for better health and safety conditions in workplaces or the collective efforts of volunteers, it is evident that collaboration is indispensable to the advancement of health and safety as a profession. By harnessing the collective expertise, creativity and resources of diverse stakeholders, health and safety professionals and practitioners can tackle complex challenges, advocate for safer workplaces and ultimately protect the health and wellbeing of workers. As we continue to navigate an ever-evolving landscape of occupational hazards, let us remember that we are genuinely stronger together. ■

Cameron Montgomery, Chair of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety

“More ambition” is needed to improve workplace wellbeing

There is no evidence that individual-level mental health interventions such as mindfulness, resilience and stress management, relaxation classes and wellbeing apps improve workplace wellbeing, according to recent research. Instead, deeper organisational changes – such as flexibility of scheduling, management practices, staff resources, performance review or job design – are likely to play a greater role in improving wellbeing at work. “There’s growing consensus that organisations have to change the workplace and not just the worker,” said Dr William Fleming, Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre and author of the large-scale study of 46,336 workers in 233 UK organisations. Fleming said “we need more ambition” to improve employee wellbeing, as the research indicated no difference between participants and non-participants when it came to relaxation practices, time management, coaching, financial wellbeing programmes, wellbeing apps, online coaching, sleep apps and sleep events.

One in five workers have experienced violence and harassment

More than one in five workers have experienced violence and harassment and OHS plays a key role in helping mitigate and manage associated risks, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Violence and harassment can affect all types of workplaces and can also occur during commutes, work-related trips, events, digital communications, social activities and home-based offices. According to an ILO report, Preventing and addressing violence and harassment in the world of work through occupational safety and health measures, OHS frameworks tackle root causes of violence and harassment by addressing underlying risks such as inadequate work organisation, factors related to specific tasks (such as working alone or constantly interacting with third parties), and working conditions that produce high stress levels that in turn lead to violence and harassment. The report said OHS represents one of the most direct entry points for addressing the problem of violence and harassment in the world of work.

Corporate Members

Amazon Avetta

CleanSpace Technology

HSI Donesafe

Milwaukee Tools

Australian

Australian Unity

Brisbane Catholic Education

Clough Projects Australia

Cm3 Contractor Management

CodeSafe Solutions

Compita Consulting

Convergint

Curtin University

Downer EDI

Ecoportal FIFO Focus

Fusion Safety Management

Guardian Angel Safety

Herbert Smith Freehills

Hitachi Rail STS

Programmed SAI360/Evotix Sentis

Woolworths Group Zenergy

HOK Talent Solutions

Pilz Australia

Pocketknife Group

Port of Newcastle Operations

RiskTalk

Safesearch

Safetysure

The Safe Step

Trainwest Safety Institute

Transurban UnitingSA

Virgin Australia Airlines

Workwear Direct

Zinfra

“Right to disconnect” law passes parliament

Workers will be able to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact from their employer as part of a new law which grants them the “right to disconnect” from work outside of normal working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable. The Closing Loopholes Bill No. 2, which was recently passed by federal parliament, was one of the more contentious rights granted under the legislative changes. The new “right to disconnect” law contains important exemptions for employers where after-hours contact would be considered reasonable. In certain industries and occupations, the right of disconnect will be limited because of the need to monitor certain work-related communications. In taking into account whether a refusal by an employee is unreasonable, a number of employee-related matters must also be considered, including the nature of the employee’s role and the employee’s level of responsibility, and the employee’s personal circumstances (including family or caring responsibilities).

Rest in peace Gill Ross

The AIHS acknowledges with great sadness the passing of Gill Ross. Gill was a Fellow and Life Member of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety. He was part of the seventh intake of students for the Graduate Diploma of Hazard Management at Ballarat University in 1985. He was actively involved in the SIA and became president of the South Australian Branch of the SIA, before becoming Federal (National) president from 1994 to 1996. Gill was passionate about all forms of safety including OHS and road safety, and spent many years serving the SA Branch and the national committees of management. Gill also served as the safety officer for Shell Australia until he retired, when he became a safety consultant with his good friend and fellow SIA member Ken Kelman. Gill was very well respected as a gentleman who had the ability to calmly convey his point of view. He is survived by his wife Ann, who was a great support to Gill in both work and life. Vale Gill Ross.

Group

Defence Housing Australia

Federation University

Jones Lang LaSalle (NSW)

Kitney OHS

Liontown Resources

Metcash Limited

MinterEllison Lawyers

Teamcare Insurance Brokers

SafeWork

Trials and tribulations

Safety professionals can learn much from their counterparts in medical research when it comes to robust safety trials, writes Richard Coleman

In safety and medical research, ‘trial’ and ‘trialling’ mean very different things.

This article aims to explore and compare how these two fields utilise these terms, shed light on the differences, and suggest ways in which safety professionals could benefit from adopting some of the practices employed by their counterparts in medical research.

I did my Master’s Degree through the School of Public Health at Sydney University. As part of my studies in epidemiology, I gained insight into how medical trials are run. In the intervening 20-plus years, I’ve heard the statement ‘we’re trialling that’ in relation to safety, HR and operational issues more times than I care to remember. What’s clear to me is that in business, a trial often just looks at how well tolerated something is by the people in a business or how well it ‘works’ at a very high level. Frequently, these questions are asked without defining what ‘works’ is in this context.

By comparison, medical researchers approach trials with a broader scope and define success criteria before implementation.

Safety trials

In the safety sector, a ‘trial’ typically refers to implementing a new control measure or safety procedure within a workplace. It is generally a pragmatic approach to gauge how well employees will comply with the introduced safety measures. The focus is often on the behavioural aspect – will employees follow the new procedure, use the safety equipment or adhere to the designated safety zones?

In safety, the term ‘trialling’ is often synonymous with experimentation. It involves introducing a new safety protocol or control measure on a small scale to assess its feasibility, effectiveness and the likelihood of employee compliance. The trial’s success is often judged based on whether the workforce embraces and follows the new safety measure.

Safety professionals frequently embark on trials without a clear and predefined set of success metrics. Feasibility, effectiveness and likelihood of employee buy-in are important; however, success in relation to these things is rarely, if ever, defined beforehand. If I implement a new process and no one complains, is that a success? If 40 per cent of people I ask like it and believe it helps, is that success? So, what is effectiveness, and how is that measured?

At the risk of being provocative, safety trials are often a fancy way of saying ‘we’ll suck it and see’. The ‘suck it and see’ approach is not going to get you medical research funding.

Medical trials

Medical researchers approach trials with a holistic and meticulous mindset. Before implementing a trial, researchers carefully define the success criteria by outlining specific, measurable and attainable goals. This approach allows for a comprehensive evaluation of the trial’s outcomes, providing a basis for determining its overall success or failure.

In medical research, a trial is not solely about experimentation; it is a systematic and methodical process. Researchers establish a hypothesis, design the trial based on predetermined success criteria, and then execute the trial, carefully collecting and analysing data throughout. Success in medical research concerns whether the treatment worked on a small scale and whether it meets predefined benchmarks that contribute to the broader understanding of the subject.

Learning from medical research

Safety professionals can significantly benefit from adopting certain practices employed by their counterparts in medical research. Introducing predefined success criteria before implementing safety trials would elevate the effectiveness and depth of safety measures.

Define clear objectives: Safety professionals should approach trials with well-defined objectives beyond mere compliance. What specific outcomes are expected from the trial? These outcomes should cover feasibility, effectiveness and employee perceptions of the change.

Plan the trial: The trial needs a plan. How long will it go for? How might you cut it short? When might you choose to extend

the trial, and why? If the trial is a success, what is next? If it doesn’t meet the criteria, what will you do instead?

Measurable metrics: In line with medical research, safety trials should include measurable metrics that evaluate success quantitatively. Whether it’s a reduction in incidents, improved response times or increased employee engagement with safety measures, the metrics should be clearly established beforehand.

Comprehensive data collection: Safety trials should involve comprehensive data collection methods, including surveys, incident reports and real-time observations. This data-driven approach will provide a more nuanced understanding of the trial’s impact.

Continuous evaluation: Safety professionals should adopt a continuous evaluation approach rather than assessing success solely at the end of a trial period. Regularly reviewing progress allows for adaptive decision-making, ensuring safety measures remain effective and relevant.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the differences in how safety professionals and medical researchers approach trials highlight a critical gap in the safety industry. While safety trials run by the OHS profession typically focus on compliance and behavioural aspects, medical research trials adopt a more comprehensive and systematic approach and define success criteria from the outset.

Safety professionals stand to gain by incorporating elements of the medical research model into their practices. Safety trials can become more sophisticated and effective by defining clear objectives, implementing measurable metrics, adopting comprehensive data collection methods and committing to continuous evaluation.

Ultimately, this shift towards a more methodical and data-driven approach to safety trials is not about being critical of current practices but about embracing an opportunity for growth and improvement. It calls for safety professionals to learn from their counterparts in medical research and elevate safety impact.

Richard Coleman MAICD MOHS is an AIHS Board Director, the MD of Culturology and a Senior Consultant with the LJM Group. Richard is the former GM OHS at Boral, Telstra, Asciano and more recently Laing O’Rourke Australia.

Meeting the big challenges in WHS

WHS is facing a number of significant but common challenges across multiple industries, which often require different approaches to those used in the past

Organisations are facing a range of significant WHS-related challenges, from understanding and implementing meaningful safety metrics, to improving leadership capability and leading workforces with diverse and changing workforces. One of the more notable challenges involves resetting safety metrics to provide more helpful data as to whether organisations are performing or not around safety, according to Anthony Gibbs, CEO of Sentis, a leading consulting firm that helps organisations break through safety plateaus and achieve positive safety culture change.

There are a range of issues associated with these challenges, according to Gibbs, who observes that transitioning boards and leadership and teams from LTI to other safety metrics is a significant challenge across industries. “It’s one that’s causing a lot of noise and disruption, and one that a lot of businesses are really struggling to find a practical answer to. The downstream effects of not getting that right can have big cultural ramifications, and create indecision and a lack of clear vision for businesses,” he said.

Another significant challenge revolves around leadership capability, particularly when many organisations are struggling with resourcing their operations with enough people. “We’re finding that a lot of people are getting promoted faster and earlier in their career, and without necessarily having the experience that they once would have needed to have,” said Gibbs.

“They’re often leading older demographics and older workforces, and they’re moving through different roles and taking on more responsibility. It does create challenges and obviously, if organisations aren’t equipped with the right tools to influence, coach and guide teams appropriately, that can have significant team ramifications and safety impacts in the long term.”

In Australia particularly, Gibbs noted that there is a newfound appreciation and recognition of the challenges attached to supporting organisations. “This means we’re seeing businesses considering not only

physical safety but also psychological and social connections within the workplace as well,” said Gibbs, who explained that this is an area that many leaders and individuals are grappling with.

“Unfortunately, a lot of organisations zero in on the frontline leader and put a lot of pressure on the person at the front, instead of looking at the organisational elements involved as well. It’s a tricky time for those leaders to be effective and manage all the competing demands coming their way,” he said.

Strategies for addressing challenges

Organisations are adopting a range of strategies to address these challenges. On the safety metrics front, Gibbs said a lot of organisations are distracted by the desire to be benchmarked across the industry. “They feel that lost time injuries provide them with the industry level benchmark

they’re looking for and that gives them a sense of comfort. That’s a difficult idea to get the board to let go of,” he said. “We need to put less value on that. Moving away from LTI is a real mindset shift and it has a significant trickle-down effect.”

On the leadership front, Gibbs said organisations need more than just technical expertise when it comes to requirements from leaders. “We are really requiring them to step up and think more broadly about safety within their team. Again, that’s not only physical safety but also psychological and social safety,” he explained.

“That’s a new skillset, not only for newer, younger leaders but for all leaders. It’s a completely different world and mindset around work and expectations, and what you’re willing to tolerate and not tolerate as an employee. That has shifted quite quickly in a post-COVID world, and it takes some adaption for leaders.”

Sentis is supporting organisations to adapt to these challenges in a range of ways, according to Gibbs. In the metric space, the firm helps organisations to rethink the way they measure safety, success and safety performance. The first step in this process is flipping the conversation from looking at the absence of harm to the presence of safety.

“Now, the way we do that is by looking at how organisations gather and use data effectively within their business. One tool that provides that is the Safety Climate Survey (SCS). It’s a really good lead indicator that will tell you where people have the tools, equipment and things they need to stay safe. The results also show you where things are lacking, so organisations can proactively support people where they need it most,” he said.

“The second way we do that is through our Incident Analysis process. This involves getting organisations’ own incident data and helping them understand the high-potential incident profile that they have. We look at the most significant critical risks in the business, how frequently they’re occurring and how effective the controls that they have in place are in supporting people to

Anthony Gibbs, CEO of Sentis, says businesses are considering not only physical safety but also psychological and social connections within the workplace

manage safety in those circumstances. It’s an interesting process – we’ve supported a lot of organisations to transition from lost time injury frequency rates to high potential frequency rates,” said Gibbs, who explained that the process not only reorientates where people put their resources but also helps their culture down the line.

In the psychosocial space, Sentis is advising organisations to take a slightly different approach to how they look at safety. “Safety is a circular process,” said Gibbs. “We’re challenging organisations to look at the definition of safety as being not just physical but also psychological and social. There is an interplay between these three elements.”

“If we can create greater psychological safety and trust, we get better. We get better reporting rates and we get better quality conversations with better quality collaboration. We also get more data to be able to make more productive decisions to prevent physical injury. So, it’s just kind of a circular thing. If you disjoin the three elements, then you’re losing the opportunity to get maximum value.”

Gibbs said there is both good news and bad news in this. “All roads lead back to leadership,” he said. “We see consistently that there is a very strong correlation between the maturity and strength of safety leadership and what an organisation’s safety culture and safety results look like. We’re challenging organisations to see psychosocial safety not as an ‘add on’, but rather as part of being an effective safety leader who gets the best out of their people.”

The concept and practice of “positive safety”

Positive safety is a concept that involves focusing on proactive safety measures and having a helpful and positive attitude. According to Gibbs, this approach can guide organisations in creating a culture of trust, growth and excellence. “This kind of culture ultimately results in safer outcomes,” he said.

“They feel that lost time injuries provide them with the industry level benchmark they’re looking for and that gives them a sense of comfort. That’s a difficult idea to get the board to let go of”

Over the last 20 years, he said Sentis has consistently identified that a number of organisations get stuck at a public compliance level of safety culture maturity. Public compliance means workers only work safely because they face consequences personally or professionally if they don’t.

“We’ve identified that if we want people to go beyond this, to get individual and

organisational buy-in, then we need to create a sense of trust between teams and leaders. We need to build that psychological safety. We need to build social connections in the workforce. We need people to work together as humans. We need people to look out for each other. We want people to share their ideas, innovations and vulnerabilities at work,” he said. “We’re not going to achieve that if people’s only motivation for being safe is because they get a voucher at the end of the month.”

He explained that organisations that get positive safety right shift their mindset, and instead of seeing safety as a cost, see it as a currency. “Cost means ‘it costs me time, money, effort and energy’, but currency means ‘investing in safety means we’re going to get positive outcomes’. It means seeing the value in safety, both personally and professionally, because it helps us get positive results across the business,” he said.

“Our partners will regularly report that they’re having less high potential incidents and fewer incidents overall. They’re getting fewer workers’ compensation claims and it’s positively impacting on their turnover. It makes them a more attractive employer. They see the value and because things keep ticking along, they continue to invest in upholding a positive safety approach as opposed to just investing once. After all, it’s a begrudging purchase; things might get better momentarily, but three years later, you have to start from square one again.”

Sentis is a diamond member of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety.

The big WHS picture: trends, challenges and solutions

WHS has a significant opportunity to drive business outcomes in ESG, corporate risk and supply chain management, while managing risks associated with artificial intelligence

Programmed is a leading provider of staffing, facility management, maintenance and care services. It employs more than 30,000 people across a broad range of industries and partners with more than 10,000 customers across a range of sectors including mining and resources, oil and gas, government and defence, education, aviation, health, infrastructure, manufacturing, transport and logistics.

Shah Abdul-Rahman serves as group general manager risk & compliance ANZ for Programmed. He explained that one of the benefits of working for the business is the extensive exposure to industry trends, challenges and solutions from working with customers, both large and small, across all industry sectors. “This exposure provides us with great insight into organisational culture, client WHS management systems and related risk management governance practices. From my experience we’ve seen real differences in WHS and governance maturity levels across the board,” he said.

“For instance, we’ve seen large multinational organisations with very mature WHS system frameworks in place, but these can lack stickiness or engagement in their application amongst their employees and sites.

On the flip side, we’ve also seen examples of clients with mature risk-based thinking and care-for-people attitudes working off pretty rudimentary management systems. Importantly though, I think most organisations we work with tend to have reasonably good foundational WHS risk and governance frameworks in place.”

More broadly, Abdul-Rahman observed some organisations are grappling with the pace and volume of legislative reform. Managing WHS legislation on its own is one thing; however, he said that concurrently dealing with a range of significant new legislative reforms, such as the Closing the Loophole bill, Unfair Contract Terms, the AASB non-financial sustainability disclosures, AI ethics guidelines, privacy and cyber security reforms, is a much bigger task. What’s important for the WHS profession to note is that all of these reforms have some form of direct and indirect connection to WHS risk and governance. AbdulRahman said some organisations are now

shifting and realigning roles and responsibilities, structures, and upskilling WHS functions to better respond – particularly in areas where there is an evolving overlay with other functional support groups such as psychosocial risk management and ESG.

Three significant organisational priorities

Abdul-Rahman also observed there are three significant areas that organisations have started to work on or are looking to do more in at present – the first of which is digitisation and technology adoption. While some organisations have been progressing in leaps and bounds in digitising WHS, he said some organisations are still trying to figure out what their future WHS technology architecture looks like and how to effectively migrate off the manual systems they have in place.

“WHS technology has dramatically progressed in recent years, and there is always the daunting challenge of selecting the right platform, building the best user experience, having robust training and creating the right integrations with other operational technologies and workflows to minimise duplication of data entry. Programmed has been on a digitisation journey of our WHS management systems and tools for the last several years which has been a great success in its adoption,” he

said. “We learnt that starting off small with a great user experience for our teams on the ground is the most important element when implementing a new tech stack. It just meant there was an immediate appetite to implement more functionality after it was launched”.

The second area that organisations are focused on is the WHS function itself, according to Abdul-Rahman. “I think the WHS function is beginning to extend beyond the traditional sphere of WHS. While organisations are always continuously seeking new pathways to optimise and improve operational and support structures, more recently, I see that the expectations of the traditional WHS profession are continuing to evolve,” he said.

The profession’s responsibilities are now extending into wheelhouses that sit beyond the traditional WHS remit. Contributing to or, in some cases, being responsible for key processes such as business continuity planning, Environment Social and Governance (ESG), corporate risk, quality, modern slavery and supply chain management are examples of what organisations are now looking for from experienced WHS professionals. “I think investing in the talent pool should be seen as a key priority,” AbdulRahman affirmed.

The third significant focus for organisations revolves around data security and privacy. Organisations are now using WHS technology more than ever for WHS compliance, workplace monitoring and data collection, and Abdul-Rahman explained that organisations are trying to navigate the balance between using data for WHS improvement and compliance activities and protecting employee and contractor privacy in line with current privacy laws.

“Traditionally, the WHS function has tended to save all records, from sensitive personal information such as contractor high-risk work licenses to sensitive medical data such as pre-employment health screening records, just in case it may be needed for historical claims or unreported incidents. Re-evaluating what data is required to be collected and how long it reasonably ought to be retained to accommodate WHS and privacy laws respectively is critically important,” he said.

Shah Abdul-Rahman, group general manager risk & compliance ANZ for Programmed, says digitisation and technology adoption is a priority for many organisations

Identifying common challenges and gaps

In relation to the third point above, AbdulRahman said one of the more significant emerging challenges that many organisations face lies in automation, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). While automation and robotics brings improved productivity, it also introduces new complexity and a range of new risks between the human and machine interface. Abdul-Rahman said the need for specialised training, advanced risk assessment and reliance on control testing is becoming increasingly important.

“AI is playing an enormous role in providing innovative and automated applications to operational workflows and processes; however, it also brings with it a raft of new and unconsidered WHS challenges in its design and implementation. Algorithmic biases, ethical considerations, job displacement anxiety, over-reliance on AI and lack of oversight on outputs are key challenges that WHS professionals will now need to consider when introducing AI into their work environment,” he said.

Another significant challenge facing organisations relates to their structures and their ability to create and deliver an effective ESG strategy. WHS, HR, environment, risk and legal functions are fast becoming co-creators of a sustainable and socially responsible corporate ethos, according to Abdul-Rahman. Traditionally, he said many organisations ran these functions in parallel, but with a larger focus from various global, government and industry bodies, organisations are yet to tackle ESG in a transformative and collaborative manner that transcends traditional silos.

“HR functions are now much more active contributors in the WHS arena - for example, managing psychosocial risk. Similarly, risk management functions also now transcend their financial origins to encompass a broader spectrum of organisational risks, including those related to public health crises such as COVID-19, modern slavery, information and cybersecurity. Legislative reforms, such as the introduction of non-financial sustainability-related disclosures under the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), is an example of how ESG is fast becoming a consolidated framework,” Abdul-Rahman explained.

Another challenge for organisations is supply chain risk. Disruptions in organisational supply chains can have a dramatic impact, not just on the availability of essential resources and materials to keep operations running but also on services, Abdul-Rahman said. These events can lead

to a range of unexpected WHS challenges.

“Geopolitical events, natural disasters and other disruptive events, such as the Suez Canal obstruction incident in 2021, had enormous impacts on global supply chains. Closer to home, the cyber-attack on the Australian ports or the telecommunication network outage are recent examples that caused significant operational disruptions, which also had a flow-on effect to customers and communities,” he said.

Addressing organisations challenges and gaps

AI has swiftly been adopted across many organisations, including Programmed, according to Abdul-Rahman. However, he observed the rate at which organisations have embraced AI has been quicker than the establishment of formalised company guidelines or boundaries for how the AI is applied. “Leveraging Australia’s AI ethics framework and Australian Privacy Principles is a great starting point for ensuring that AI does not inadvertently create unintended WHS or other consequences. Comprehending these consequences should involve the formalisation and execution of a comprehensive risk assessment,” he said.

This process will ensure that there is a better understanding of how WHS risks may be implicated and determine the necessary control measures. Ultimately, AbdulRahman said the pace and advancement of AI will mean it will constantly build and grow within the workplace and will need to be subject to more regular and stringent reviews than what we’ve been traditionally used to.

For organisations that are looking to embrace ESG, he recommended that they look to strategically align their internal structures to effectively address these multifaceted challenges and ensure ESG considerations are built into the core of decision-making processes from the top down. “The key lies in the effective integration across departments. Collaboration between sustainability teams, risk management, human resources and other relevant units is what fosters a holistic approach,” said Abdul-Rahman.

“Like many organisations, Programmed is no different. We see opportunities to build on our ESG capability and are also working to provide more clarity especially where functional roles and responsibilities are overlaid. Benchmarking and monitoring global ESG and sustainability reporting frameworks and trends to understand how these may affect the organisation’s operations in the short to medium term is also important.”

In relation to supply chain disruptions,

Advice for WHS leaders in tackling today’s challenges

WHS leaders play a crucial role in supporting operational leaders, employees and vendors in coaching, identifying, assessing and mitigating WHS risk, according to Abdul-Rahman. “There are some key areas that WHS professionals should consider if they’re not doing so already,” he said.

“One of the most important things is staying informed. On top of monitoring industry trends, regulatory changes and emerging risks specific to the WHS context, it is important to broaden one’s knowledge and skill base to other related areas such as environment and sustainability, privacy, cyber security and business continuity.”

Understanding organisational risk more broadly will also assist in enabling WHS leaders to be more effective leaders when working alongside other integrated functions, Abdul-Rahman noted. “Joining risk-based industry associations, attending conferences, training and subscribing to updates from regulatory bodies and legal firms is also a great start. WHS leaders also have a great comprehension of influencing change, performing risk assessments and building WHS management systems and controls,” he said.

Abdul-Rahman said the recent examples of cyberattacks, network outages, data breaches and natural disaster events are rightly compelling organisations to re-evaluate their risk management and business continuity strategies more comprehensively. “Generally speaking, I feel that organisations have historically taken quite a cursory approach to continuity. During 2023, Programmed invested a large amount of time in this arena to workshop, review, refine and test our business continuity plans, which has proven to be a great exercise,” said Abdul-Rahman.

“What I learnt through the process was how complex and involved continuity planning is if you want to do it right and ensure that contingency and recovery plans can be quickly activated for any manner of disruption to our critical processes. I think the best advice is to not underestimate the complexity and level of investment required to build a robust continuity framework.”

Programmed is a diamond member of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety.

How Coles Group manages supply chain safety risks

Coles Group takes a proactive approach to managing and mitigating risks and improving safety outcomes across its large and diverse supply chain network

Since it was founded in Collingwood, Victoria in 1914, Coles has grown to become a leading retailer in Australia. Today, Coles Group is an independent ASXlisted public company comprising Coles Supermarkets, Coles Online, Coles Liquor and Flybuys.

With more than 120,000 employees, 850 stores, 9000 suppliers and millions of customers every week, the safe and effective functioning of Coles Group’s supply chains is critical to its daily operations. Hayley Kollaris is the national transport safety manager, supply chain, for Coles Group, and she explains that at the end of FY23, her team set its priorities for its threeyear strategic plan to end FY26. “Our key priorities are critical risk reduction, safety leadership and our governance framework. Critical risk reduction is a priority every year, given the vast number of heavy vehicles on Australian roads delivering freight into the Coles supply chain network,” she explained.

Kollaris said Coles Group aims to reduce risk in its end-to-end supply chain through targeted initiatives including chain of responsibility coaching sessions to upskill

operators, sourcing the right equipment to reduce the risk of manual handling (such as electric pallet jacks for heavy vehicle drivers loading and unloading at stores) and minimum vehicle design specifications such as side underrun bars and electronic braking systems. “We engage carriers to hold robust incident review meetings to ensure corrective actions are used to reflect the likelihood of recurrent incidents, with shared learnings used to increase awareness and actively support fatigue and distraction detection technology (FDDT) throughout our fleet of major transport partners,” she said.

“Finally, our ‘no gaps approach’ to governance includes compliance audit requirements, a strong safety management system to underpin Coles’ role in the chain of responsibility, robust and insightful performance metrics and ongoing prequalification requirements for transport carrier partners.”

Supply chain management challenges

Managing a supply chain network comprising numerous transport carriers across Australia poses several challenges, according to Kollaris. Geographic vastness requires

efficient coordination, in partnership with carriers, to ensure timely deliveries into the Coles supply chain network. “With an increase in natural disasters such as floods and fires, we ensure we plan in advance and utilise alternate transport options such as rail or sea. Additionally, we divert road services to a safer route in consultation with emergency services,” she said.

Other challenges include managing diverse carriers with distinct operational protocols, technologies and safety systems. and Kollaris said this requires a cohesive strategy to maintain consistency. “We actively embed initiatives to address the psychosocial aspect of heavy vehicle driving. We address this risk by partnering with Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds (HHTS) to improve psychological safety and physical wellbeing across the Coles supply chain,” she said.

Improving supply chain safety performance

Ensuring Coles effectively manages the safety performance of its transport carriers involves implementing a robust framework and fostering a strong safety culture, Kollaris explained. “Improving safety requires ongoing work with our transport partners to identify common problems, to drive shared solutions that reduce risk in the supply chain network. We establish clear safety expectations and standards that comply with both Work Health and Safety and National Heavy Vehicle legislations through comprehensive agreements,” she said.

As part of its governance framework, Coles funds and conducts regular master code compliance audits, in addition to safety performance reviews to help ensure compliance with industry regulations. Kollaris added that collaborative communication channels and feedback mechanisms facilitate continuous improvement, enabling a proactive approach to safety management with transport partners. “Lastly, establishing a regular cadence to review reporting contributes to building a trusting and accountable relationship, enhancing overall safety performance within the Coles supply chain network,” she said.

Hayley Kollaris, national transport safety manager, supply chain, Coles Group, says critical risk reduction is a priority given the number of heavy vehicles on roads delivering freight into the Coles supply chain network

Critical risk reduction initiatives

To address each state’s safety performance with Coles’ outbound transport carriers, Kollaris said weekly safety meetings are held to identify, action and continually discuss back-of-house hazards, on-road risks and heavy vehicle challenges drivers may encounter. “Our local transport operations and safety teams work closely together to ensure hazards are rectified quickly and that we close the feedback loop to the team who have raised the issue. Coles’ relationships with transport carriers in each state are strengthened by our ‘better together’ value in our everyday ways of working,” she explained.

“In addition to our partnership with Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds (HHTS), for the past two years, we have engaged Health In Gear to roll out an on-site program called Truckie Tune-Ups.” This program consists of multiple days spent with Coles’ inbound driver cohort at distribution centres across Australia, with a team of qualified Health In Gear nurses and wellbeing support workers to perform health screens and provide care through conversations and referrals for further support.

Engagement with regulatory bodies across Australia is also an important part of Coles’ proactive initiatives. Kollaris

said invitations are regularly extended to distribution centres for site tours and to showcase initiatives. “Furthermore, in alignment with our Coles and Transport Workers Union (TWU) Charter, we hold annual engagement sessions with our transport carrier heavy vehicle drivers at each distribution centre. The intent of the engagement sessions is to continue our commitment to promoting safe and fair standards for transport workers in the Coles supply chain,” she said.

Coles Group is a gold member of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety.

Driving OHS development through technology partnerships

The AIHS has established a new partnership with

Area9

to improve learning and development opportunities for members

The Australian Institute of Health and Safety partnered with Area9 last year to enhance its eLearning programs. These programs are delivered utilising the Rhapsode LEARNER product which, according to learning and professional development manager at the Australian Institute of Health & Safety, Sarah Hemingway, applies science and technology to improve how and what is learned.

“The learning and professional development team at the AIHS is currently training to use the software to convert current learning and develop new programs that deliver what we like to call ‘sticky learning’,” says Hemingway. “A challenge of the learning and development industry is to provide learning that the user remembers after the training session is over, that they can then utilise in the workplace.” She said this is achieved through acknowledging and identifying the following four categories:

• Conscious competence: you know what you know

• Conscious incompetence: you know what you don’t know

• Unconscious competence: you don’t know what you know

• Unconscious incompetence: you don’t know what you don’t know

Using AI adaptive learning, Hemingway said the technology identifies and tailors the learning path to each individual, in order to meet the knowledge gaps that align with each category. For example, users who know more about the topic can prove their competence more quickly, while those who demonstrate a lower level of knowledge will have a path designed that ensures they know and understand the core learning of the topic.

Andrew Smith, CEO of Scientia Australia (which is an Area9 Lyceum partner) said Area9 Lyceum is proud to be able to

support the strategic goals of AIHS through this partnership, and help members to reduce risk, engage their staff and improve safety. As a global organisation, Area9 Lyceum has a proven record of serving over 40 million learners across various industries with its cutting-edge adaptive learning platform (Rhapsode) that leverages AI technology.

“This partnership aligns AIHS members with cutting-edge advancements in education technology, ensuring they have access to proven methodologies that directly translate into improved practices within their respective organisations,” said Smith. “The collaboration allows the AIHS learning team in the learning engineering course to create content within Rhapsode, enabling impactful educational courses to be developed in-house with Area9 Lyceum’s guidance and support. This creates efficiencies and allows a range of courses to be developed within the platform.”

Smith explained that the overall goal of the partnership is to support AIHS members in their goals of reducing risk in workplaces. It will also impact safety outcomes, help the institute fulfil its strategic objectives and save more lives in the workplace. Additionally, he said Area9 will invest revenues from course sales back into the AIHS to continue to build stronger and more impactful educational interventions and programs.

Key benefits of the partnership

According to Hemingway, the partnership has significant benefits, both to members

and the industry as a whole. These include:

• the ability to seamlessly convert OHS Body of Knowledge chapters into a learning format

• the ability to design one core topic that can be adapted to suit all levels of knowledge and experience, from beginner through to expert

• easy accessibility and self-paced learning

• help to remove barriers to learning for those who have difficulty with traditional learning methods.

“Going forward, our goal is to leverage the plethora of experienced AIHS members and engage them as subject matter experts (SME) to consult, create and engage with our learning. Our members are our biggest asset, with generations of knowledge we would love to preserve,” said Hemingway.

Smith explained that Rhapsode, Area9 Lyceum’s AI adaptive learning platform, is designed to adapt to individual learners’ needs. The platform will adjust in real-time as each person completes the course, similar to Google Maps, ensuring that each learner receives a customised learning path to optimise their understanding and retention of critical course information, especially in the safety setting.

“This provides personalised learning experiences that accelerate competency acquisition, reduce risk and elevate safety outcomes,” he said. “The value of this partnership is not only in improving safety outcomes across a range of industries within the AIHS membership cohort, but also in providing access to all members, regardless of their size/location or area of expertise. The equity of this approach will ensure all AIHS members can benefit from the impact of AI learning for their staff and contractors.”

Other examples of Area9 Lyceum partnerships

Area9 Lyceum has collaborated extensively with various industry partners across a range of sectors, including rail, utilities, construction and other key segments, according to Smith. “One of the key aspects of Rhapsode is the ability to not only create focused courses from the customer library, such as safety inductions, but also have the

flexibility in design to modify these courses to suit roles, locations and different responsibilities. This adaptability allows Rhapsode courses to be used in a range of diverse industries and settings,” he said.

“One notable partnership was with John Holland. The foundation of this collaboration was to enhance safety standards, reduce operational risks and significantly improve competency among their workforces,” said Smith, who explained that the outcomes covered several key areas. Overall, there was a marked improvement in safety within John Holland’s operations.

The adaptive learning platform was used at John Holland to tailor training to individual needs, ensuring that employees were equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to operate in a safer environment. Smith said this resulted in reduced safety incidents and an overall safer work environment. “Area9’s work in the rail sector with ARTC has seen a similar impact, with reduced safety events

combined with positive improvements in operational behaviour through their award-winning contractor management program,” he said.

In addition, Smith said the adaptive learning platform saved time (up to 50 per cent compared to standard eLearning), with John Holland saving over 20,000 hours a year with Rhapsode compared to standard training.

Rhapsode also provides high levels of data analytics for continuous improvement. “This data-driven approach allowed for a better understanding of operational behaviours and patterns, enabling targeted interventions and improvements where needed. As a result, operational behaviour improved, leading to more efficient and safer practices within John Holland’s operations,” he said.

“Overall, the collaboration between Area9 Lyceum and partners like John Holland showcased a transformative shift in training methodologies, leading to

L&D technology trends for OHS

Andrew Smith, CEO of Scientia Australia, said a significant number of technology trends are impacting OHS, particularly in the L&D space. These include:

Data analytics for learning:

Analysing learner data helps understand behaviours, identify trends and improve learning strategies. Predictive analytics aid in foreseeing learner needs and adjusting content accordingly. The ability to measure the impact of training with high levels of data allows the OHS professional to ‘measure to improve’, shining a light in the corner with high-quality data enables continuous improvement and the reduction of risk on the work site.

AI and machine learning: These technologies are revolutionising L&D by personalising learning experiences. AI-driven platforms analyse learner data to offer tailored content, adaptive learning paths and predictive analytics for performance improvement. Diversity in the workplace from either employees, roles or sites is a

complex issue for OHS leaders to overcome. A one size fits all approach really achieves only compliance-level training, whereas an AI adaptive approach can personalise this for each employee and recognise gaps in their knowledge that, in turn, can impact safety.

Microlearning: Short, focused learning modules are gaining popularity. They cater to shorter attention spans and fit into busy schedules. Microlearning delivers targeted, bite-sized content that’s easily digestible and accessible on various devices. Time is always a pressure point for education; therefore, ‘just in time’ and ‘just for me’ are critical factors in the delivery of courses to learners.

Immersive Learning (AR/ VR): Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are transforming training by providing realistic simulations. These technologies create immersive environments for hands-on practice, which can be especially beneficial in technical or high-risk fields like healthcare and manufacturing.

tangible outcomes such as enhanced safety standards, reduced operational risks, improved competency and significant time savings in training processes.”

L&D technology trends for OHS

More generally, Hemingway observed that artificial intelligence (AI) has created a buzz in the industry at the moment.

“We recently attended the World Safety Congress 2023 in Sydney and this was further enforced,” she said. “Rhapsode is at the forefront of using AI to revolutionise education across all industries, particularly with the decline of face-to-face learning.”

She also noted that virtual reality training is making significant progress in the safety industry. “Companies are using this to put employees in real-time scenarios to provide things like safety inductions, risk assessments and adoption of industry-relevant technology. This addresses many of the challenges OHS industry professionals face,” she said.

Improvements in technology allow for immersion by learners using this technology; the key is to be able to integrate learning systems to provide a more holistic approach, rather than having these in silos.

Mobile learning: With the increasing use of mobile devices, learning on the go is prevalent. Mobile-compatible content and apps enable learners to access materials anytime, anywhere, promoting continuous learning and flexibility. Learners need flexibility and want to access courses anywhere, anytime and on any device.

Gamification: Applying gaming elements to learning enhances engagement and motivation. Points, badges, leaderboards and interactive challenges make learning enjoyable and encourage participation. Learner engagement is a key factor for educational outcomes; however, L&D needs to be conscious not to overstate this as competency trumps entertainment every time, especially in safety.

Adaptive learning platforms: These platforms use algorithms to personalise learning paths based on individual learner behaviour and performance, optimising learning outcomes. Moving away from the Netflix model to better understand learner needs and gaps in competency to guide further education and training is key, and translates directly to workplace safety outcomes.

Remote and hybrid learning solutions: The shift towards remote work has propelled the development of learning solutions catering to remote and hybrid environments. Virtual classrooms, live online sessions and asynchronous learning tools have become essential. 70/20/10 is a key education focus; the challenge is to maximise the time learners spend in each section. Providing an ecosystem that includes a number of the points outlined above will maximise the blended/face-to-face time and give organisations the most significant return on their investment. Each component can play a critical role in this.

Captain Calm: Richard de Crespigny on managing a mid-flight safety crisis

Captain

Richard de Crespigny, the seasoned pilot behind the safe management of Qantas Flight QF32’s mid-air emergency, discusses the inadequacies of safety models in crisis management and explains how to build resilience in high-stakes environments

On 4 November 2010, Qantas flight QF32 embarked on a seemingly routine journey from Singapore to Sydney with 460 passengers and crew on board. The flight’s captain, Richard Champion de Crespigny experienced an extraordinary mid-flight crisis that would put the crew’s training, resilience and the principles of aviation safety to the ultimate test.

The Airbus A380 suffered an uncontained engine failure, affecting 21 out of the 22 systems. The incident serves as a compelling backdrop to scrutinise the real human experience in the face of unanticipated challenges, the effectiveness of safety theories and the broader implications for industries operating in high-risk environments.

OHS Professional spoke with de Crespigny about his experience and the valuable lessons for other sectors to strengthen their resilience and risk management strategies ahead of his keynote presentation at the upcoming AIHS National Health and Safety Conference.

Having been through a major incident, how well would you say your training (from the RAAF onwards) prepared you for the real thing?

When it comes to surviving crises, both in the air and on the ground, everything depends on resilience. I analysed resilience and there are eight elements: knowledge, training, experience, teamwork, leadership, decision-making, crisis management and risk. We are not born with any of these skills, but we must acquire them.

When you’re talking about aviation,

knowledge, training and experience are critical to building the resilience necessary to survive crises. Knowledge comes from the intense discipline, application and passion to throw yourself into this bottomless career: it’s a lifetime of learning. Australian pilots get checked seven times a year to recertify their licences. If our licence lapses, then flying stops and the pay drops to half. I know of no other professions that are recertified as frequently as pilots are.

“When it comes to surviving crises, both in the air and on the ground, everything depends on resilience”

Knowledge is the first element of resilience and training is critical. In the Air Force, they train you to fly an aeroplane and then they train you to operate it in a mission. It’s like learning to drive a car and getting a driver’s license. You can’t do much when you get your driver’s license. If you want to be a transport driver or a F1 racing car driver, then you have to go through a path of training. And it is the same for the Air Force: they give you extensive training, pushing all thresholds to the maximum.

In the case of civil aviation, we operate to be safe – it’s safety at all costs. Our passengers trust us that in situations where it’s not safe, then we don’t go flying. We don’t operate to the limits; in fact, we try to avoid the limits.. However, if there is a problem

that puts you at or beyond a limit, then the fear response of fight, flight and freeze might kick in to degrade your performance and we may not have the skills needed to survive. When put into an unexpected crisis situation, even people who have great technical skills can suffer the effects of the fear response. Panic sets in and their performance suffers.

The Air Force is different to civil aviation. Training in the Air Force teaches you to operate to your limits and beyond and still keep a rational, thoughtful and logical mind. They give you an aircraft, then teach you to operate it to its limits and sometimes beyond. In other words, you operate right to the edge of its performance because, if you don’t and you’re in a war, the enemy might take the superior position and kill you. You’re expected to be fearless in operating your machine to its limits, and it’s accepted that in the process, you will occasionally go outside limits and lose control. The Air Force teaches you the skills and develops your confidence to recover. These skills are beyond the skill sets required to just operate a machine. In the Air Force, people practice this constantly, in what’s called ‘deliberate practice’. It’s stressful. It’s hard. It’s deliberately doing things that are outside your comfort zone. There is constant feedback; if you don’t get something right, you discuss it and repeat it until you get it right. You proceed to a harder level only when you succeed at an easier level.

When you finish this training, you build up knowledge, experience and confidence. If you want to avoid being scared in an activity, then you must train in it until it ceases to stress you and raise the fear response.

Experience was a critical factor that played out during QF32. Experience gives us a set of familiar tools (or intuition) to apply when we face the unexpected, much like the way mathematicians use algebra or trigonometry as tools to solve their problems. Experience gives pilots the skill sets to recognise when they’re in a challenging situation, with the solutions to prevent, fix or mitigate the problem before it escalates. So, our experiences bulletproof our minds so that we can confidently face risks, stress-free, knowing that we have sufficient skills to survive. The value of experience can’t be underestimated. But experience is a two-headed beast because it can be a curse. Because when you think you know it all, you become overconfident. Overconfident people take higher unnecessary risks. Sometimes, they’ll put themselves into a situation where they can’t recover. In aviation, we often find that overconfident pilots have accidents. They are sometimes experienced pilots and even from the military. Sometimes when training others and they observe exceedance, they let the student handle the exceedance so the student can gain some experience. But if the student fails to recover and the pilot in charge doesn’t take over early enough, then the aircraft can extend too far from its operating limits and an accident ensues.

“Training in the Air Force teaches you to operate to your limits and beyond and still keep a rational, thoughtful and logical mind”

Every one of us must train to build wellearned confidence and resist the tendency to be overconfident. We must commit to a lifetime of learning to understand that we aim for perfection, knowing that we will never achieve it. Indeed, we have to understand that error is part of the human condition. All humans make mistakes. No single human can ever be resilient. But teams can be resilient. We must build and maintain effective teams when operating in critical environments where failure is not an option. This means bringing many people together and maximising the synergies from lots of knowledge, training, experience, sharing information, providing

positive feedback and managing upwards to tell others when something’s wrong. Every person must have the psychological safety when things reach their limits to step up and say ‘stop!’

What is your take on aviation safety theories (such as the Swiss Cheese model) versus the practice of managing through a safety crisis?

Interestingly, aviation looks at a subset of Human Factors. Human Factors include how the body is built, what it can do, how it responds and how you build the human-machine interface. A subset of that is Crew Resource Management (CRM). The pillars of CRM include communications, leadership, stress/workload management, decision making and situational awareness.

Aviation trains crews in CRM concepts, but if you want to be resilient to the unexpected, then you must understand all four parts of human factors. Threat and error management are a key part of aviation training, with the Swiss Cheese model at its core. When I received an award at the Flight Safety Foundation in 2011, someone had been talking about the Swiss Cheese model and how it helped us on QF32. However, I replied that the Swiss Cheese model did not apply to us during QF32 because the model was simplistic, outdated and, in our case, didn’t work.

The Swiss Cheese model uses pieces of cheese as defences to block threats, with holes that let the threat propagate along to the next defence. If the holes in all cheese slices align, then a threat passes through all defences and causes a failure. The Swiss

Cheese model is a good analogy to understand simple cases when a few things go wrong. But in QF32, we had an avalanche of hundreds of things going wrong. It was like a dam wall failing, with a 100-foothigh wall of water avalanching down. There were so many threats and not just the primary threats; many primary threats combined to create complex secondary threats that overloaded my mental model of the aircraft.

So, the Swiss Cheese model is nice for a small number of threats, but it was not designed to scale to cope with complex black swan events. The Swiss Cheese model is too simple when we look at big events where there are thousands of threats. It is not a sufficient tool to make us resilient. To survive black swan events, we need to harness every one of the eight elements of resilience.

“We must commit to a lifetime of learning, to understand that we aim for perfection knowing that we will never achieve it”

So I’m positive about the Swiss Cheese model at its most basic level of simple threat and error management, which is to identify your threats and then either stop them from occurring or, if they do occur, fix the problem (or if it can’t be fixed, then you can mitigate it).

But with QF32, there were too many failures. The A380 is a $400 million complex aeroplane with 1240 checklists and four million parts. When engine number two exploded, we actioned 120 A380 checklists. However, some of the checklists were wrong because the sensors that the checklist relied on were destroyed or the wires and networks for those sensors were destroyed, or the checklist logic was simply wrong. This was a very complex situation – an unexpected crisis where you must use human intelligence coupled with a deep knowledge of every part of the system you’re using and a sense of reasonableness to know if the checklist agrees with your mental model of the situation. If all these factors are aligned, then action the checklist. But if the checklist does not agree with your mental model, then question the checklist and possibly ignore it. It takes a lot of skill to be confident to ignore an Airbus checklist.

Checklists are often written by software people who don’t fly the aeroplane and may not even be pilots. Many people think computer logic is a case of “pearls in, pearls out”. I’m an empirical sceptic that believes in “garbage in, garbage out”. We correctly decided not to action many checklists during QF32.

Work as imagined and work as done are essential concepts in WHS. Describe the real human experience, in the first few moments and shortly thereafter, of what it’s like to manage an uncontained engine failure.

Simple engine failures are well-practised procedures. Simulators do a good job of making noises and moving to try to simulate some of the symptoms of an engine failure. They can even fill the cockpit with smoke. We practice the simple engine failures that, when they first occur, trigger stress in the amygdala. Repetition moves the skills to action an engine failure from the slow cortex to fast intuition and habits in the cerebellum. So after training in lots of engine failures, the events stop stressing you. Instead, they trigger stress-free intuition and habits to help you recognise failures and remedy crises.

It’s a little bit like lightning. You see it, and then a few seconds later, you hear the thunder; the thunder doesn’t scare you because you predicted it. After recognising the lightning, the cortex inhibits the fear response in the amygdala. This is the key to resilience.

The whole purpose of the human brain is to predict the future so that you survive it. So if you’re practising in the simulator, or you’ve experienced enough lightning strikes to know that there’s thunder coming, you can negotiate these challenges stressfree. And this is the purpose of deliberate practice. You practice the difficult things until they’re not difficult, your heart rate and stress levels remain unchanged and you remain calm.

But the QF32 event was what we call a black swan event: something that is unexpected, has a very low probability of occurring and has severe consequences. So 9/11 was a black swan event, the GFC (for most people) was a black swan event and QF32 was a black swan event. But in the case of QF32, 469 people returned home to their loved ones uninjured.

There were so many failures – 40 checklists queued up in the first second. Alarm bells sounded loudly and continuously. Matt [Hicks, first officer] tried to cancel the alarms, but they kept coming back as more checklists were queued in the

Richard de Crespigny on how safety in aviation compares to other industries

Aviation resilience is essential. Just before COVID, we had about 34 million flights with 4.5 billion passengers a year. On average, about 200-300 passengers die per year. Any death is tragic. But just for comparison, about 30,000 people die from guns and 30,000 people die from car accidents every year in America.

Let’s look at medicine. A 2013 John Hopkins University report stated that 251,000 Americans died because of medical errors from a base of 35 million hospitalisations. This is the equivalent of two Jumbos full of people crashing every day. If two Jumbos crashed every day, the aviation industry would be shut down before the end of the first week.

If we want to compare risks, let’s use micromorts. Risk is probability of an event times the consequence. Now, if the consequence is the same (mortality), then risk is simply the probability. The micromort is the probability of being killed by an event, measured in millionths. Riding a horse consumes one micromort, so there is one chance in a million of being killed every time you get on a horse. One micromort will take you about 10,000 kilometres in a commercial aircraft. But every hospitalisation in America consumes 7100 micromorts, the equivalent risk of flying 70,000 one-hour commercial flights.

Aviation plays out in unpredictable high-risk environments, yet it remains the safest form of transport. Aviation is profoundly safe because we understand human factors and the elements of resilience. These skills and lessons can be put to good use to survive and thrive on a personal, corporate and national level.

error system. We couldn’t stop the noise and distractions. The cockpit was a sea of red lights. Checklists flashed on the screen. The aircraft was shaking like a car when driving down a rough country dirt road. In the cabin behind us, there was a sound like someone throwing a bag of marbles onto a corrugated roof. That was the sound of 400 pieces of shrapnel hitting the aircraft.

When that engine blew up, affecting 21 out of 22 systems, it was like a dam wall breaking and a wall of water 100-feet high flooding towards you, overloading your senses.

“We must build and maintain effective teams when operating in critical environments where failure is not an option”

It’s impossible to simulate what we experienced. We’d lost about 650 wires and half the computer networks. Wires were shorting. There’s no way you could simulate that.

Your first aim in a crisis is to protect yourself from the fear response. Because if you enter into fight, flight or freeze, which is what many people will do when the fear response occurs, then you have lost control of the aircraft. And you don’t ever want to go straight into a checklist when something goes wrong because if you start the checklist, you might be halfway through the checklist when the aircraft hits the ground inverted. Many accidents happen because pilots don’t follow the basic creed of “aviate, navigate, communicate”. Aviate means to fly the aeroplane – stay alive. Navigate means to find a safe place. Communicate means you talk to people going through the crisis with you.

The whole idea of “aviate, navigate and communicate” is that for the first 30 seconds of a crisis, when the fear response might have people freezing and putting lives in jeopardy, you keep control and stay safe.

The fear response comes from the amygdala in the centre of your brain. It’s a fast emotional centre that can overpower all other thoughts and processes in your brain for the first 30 seconds before the slower cortex comes online with rational reasoning and knowledge. So we use aviate, navigate

and communicate to keep the aircraft flying and to stay alive.

In a crisis, if you talk to pilots, you will discover that they tend to be calm and don’t generally suffer the fear response. I found that members of the military Special Forces have even greater skills to keep calm and mindful in crises.

How has the experience – as a near mass fatality incident – changed your perspective on life, both personally and professionally?

First, QF32 was a team effort; it wasn’t just me. As I mentioned, individuals are not resilient, but teams can be. Failure is the leader’s fault. Success is a team win. So, I’m proud of the team that was involved in QF32. I think all the team members have received accolades and respect for successfully navigating the crisis.

My life has changed fundamentally in many ways. I used to have black hair. Secondly, QF32 gave me a pedestal from which I can be heard and opportunities to give back to aviation and make a difference. And I can share my views on topics that will help the industry. For instance, people ask for my opinion on safety, leadership, pilot shortages and the irresponsible plans by aircraft manufacturers to design large commercial aircraft that will be piloted by one pilot.

I’ve also written two books. The first was QF32, which describes the ‘whats’ of the event. But this book created more questions in readers’ minds: “Why did I stay airborne so long? Why didn’t I evacuate the aircraft on the ground, and why did I give every passenger my mobile phone number at the end of the crisis?” Readers thought I was nuts. People asked me why I did that. So I wrote my second book, FLY!, about the

elements of resilience and it explains my values, why I do the things that I do, how I do them and the results that follow.

I can’t stress enough that, for leaders in any industry, you have to know your ‘whys’.

My ‘whys’ are very simple – that every person has the right to expect their spouse or friend to arrive home safely after being on my flight. It’s my job not just to keep them safe but to ensure they can get home for dinner – even if that means driving them home. That is my personal ‘why’; it’s simple, but it guides my every thought, action and word. When you know your ‘whys’, tell people about them. In the process, you will become predictable, people will respect you and you will become a genuine leader.

My ‘whys’ give me the confidence to break any law as required if it means saving lives. In aviation, you must first be legal. If you can’t be legal, be safe. And if you can’t be safe, be ethical. When you understand your ‘whys’ and these priorities, then you will always make the right decisions. Even if you find yourself in court to explain your actions and why you broke the rule of law, if you said, ‘I did it to save lives’, then I think every court would understand and not convict you.

That’s been how I’ve lived my whole life: believing that rules can be broken to guarantee people’s lives. With QF32, we broke quite a few rules, which was the right thing to do. And no one questioned me.

The aviation industry has recently seen major tragedies, such as the Boeing 737 Max crashes. What’s your advice for those in the industry to minimise safety risks in the future?

It is really this simple. You have to know why you’re in the industry and your values that will determine how you do things or what comes out of whatever situation you’re dealing with. Boeing leadership lost touch with why they existed. Boeing used to be an engineering company that made aircraft. Recently its leaders fell into the trap of not understanding who they were responsible to (the company), instead chasing shareholder capitalism. Leadership prioritised financial returns at the expense of their workforce, local production, production lines, safety and quality.

All the mistakes Boeing made with the 737 (and 787) were preventable. Workers, test pilots and engineers tried managing upwards, but the leadership was absent, not listening. The end results were predictable.

Know to whom you are responsible and to whom you are accountable. For pilots, these are two distinct groups. Leave your ego at home, because ego is the enemy of teamwork. Respect and protect your workers and respect safety.

Finally, Boeing was a great company. Its brand has suffered at the hands of poor leadership, but the company will recover. Let Boeing be a lesson to all that when

ego, overconfidence, conceit and hubris surface in even the best leaders and companies, it generally precedes a fall.

How can organisations develop resilience in their employees, particularly if they operate in highrisk environments?

It is critical to understand the importance of human factors. The brain is the hardware and the mind is the brain in action. To be resilient, we have to understand the human condition with all its skills and deficits.

I found writing my second book, FLY!, to be one of the hardest things I’ve had to do, because I had to reverse engineer resilience into its eight core elements. It turns out that these elements apply not just to our personal resilience but also to corporate and even national resilience. FLY! encapsulates all the elements of resilience: knowledge, training, experience, teamwork, leadership, decision-making, crisis management and risk. They all come together to ensure that when you find yourself in a crisis, you won’t just survive but that you can actually thrive.

I also discuss post-traumatic stress (PTS) because this is something people experience after a crisis. It is essential to understand the role of PTS in resilience. For example, for every person who dies, there will be about 70 other ‘second victims’ who will suffer. For every person who commits suicide, that number increases to about 120.

Recovering from PTS is an element of resilience because most of us will suffer from PTS many times in our lives. So, we must be able to recover when things go wrong. Just as Richard Branson would say that every failure that he’s had in business was a stepping stone to future success, we should understand that there can be growth from trauma and we can emerge from PTS stronger than before.

I consider myself stronger now after QF32 than I was before. Indeed, the Qantas brand improved as a consequence of the resilience of QF32.

Richard de Crespigny will be presenting at the AIHS National Health & Safety Conference, which will be held from 21-23 May at the Melbourne Convention Centre. For more information or to register, please visit www. aihsnationalconference.com.au.

The art of influencing: an essential skill for OHS professionals

Influencing

skills are critical for OHS professionals to gain buy-in, drive change and achieve safety goals, writes Craig

Donaldson

Influencing skills are increasingly important for OHS professionals for a number of reasons. From implementing safety initiatives, encouraging safe behaviours and championing continuous improvement to preventing accidents and injuries, promoting compliance and strengthening stakeholder relationships, influencing has become an essential skill for the OHS profession.

Recent research has highlighted the importance of influencing as a critical capability for the success of safety improvements and interventions. PhD research conducted by Dr Cassie Madigan, senior lecturer in the School of the Environment at The University of Queensland, found that the behaviours of OHS professionals matter the

most when it comes to influencing people in the workforce to take action to improve health and safety. Madigan, who won the 2023 Dr Eric Wigglesworth Research Award for her research, found that specific influence tactics, such as using logical arguments, factual evidence and inspiration to appeal to the values and ideals of others, were effective, while other tactics such as appealing to a higher authority (through OHS policies and legislation, for example) were not as effective.

In recognition of its importance, influencing will be the focus of a forthcoming chapter in the OHS Body of Knowledge Scheduled for publication later this year, the chapter will cover topics such as cultural and emotional intelligence, mentoring

and coaching tools for influencing. It will be co-authored by several experts, including Debra Burlington, owner and CEO of consulting firm Enhance Solutions and Chairperson of the Australian Institute of Health & Safety College of Fellows Mentor Committee.

She explained that an OHS professional who is a good influencer can listen deeply to understand the world of the person they are working alongside. “Each of us has our own perspective of reality. Often, we are in such a hurry to present our own version that we don’t take the time to understand the world of the other. If we take the time to understand the other person’s perspective and put aside our own need to be understood first, we can influence the

conversation toward one that is collaborative and productive. It’s implementing the action of ‘first understand before trying to be understood,’” said Burlington.

Another critical element of a good influencer is genuine curiosity, which Burlington said helps OHS professionals ask great questions to understand where another person is coming from. By listening deeply, she said they can hear what is being said and what is not being said. “They can uncover and clarify any generalisations the person may be using to understand specifically what the other person is thinking,” she said.

“Listening and being curious allows them to understand what meaning the other person is placing on things,” said Burlington, who gave the example of potential resistance to appointing HSRs within an organisation. One scenario might involve a conflict in which different parties “go into battle” about the importance of HSRs. Another scenario might see them taking the time to understand the concerns of the other person about appointing HSRs, the meanings they might be placing on their appointment, any past experiences they have had regarding HSRs and what beliefs they may be holding about HSRs. This provides the OHS professional with a full picture of what is driving the resistance.

“Listening and being curious allows them to understand what meaning the other person is placing on things”

“Once they are aware of what might be causing the resistance, they can explore that person’s reality, answer any concerns they may have and offer another perspective in a language that may be more readily understood,” said Burlington. She also noted that influencing is assisted by the development of effective relationships with those they are called upon to influence. Effective relationships are built over time and by one conversation at a time, “by being present, being seen out and about, via the casual conversations they might have when saying good morning, and all the other touch points they create to develop trust-based relationships,” she said.

Eldeen Pozinak, co-author of the forthcoming chapter and an international management consultant specialising in OHS,

said that as a safety professional for over 30 years, “I cannot tell you how many times I have assisted and advised an individual or a group at some level in the organisation, only to have it fall on deaf ears and have nothing change,” she said. “I also have gotten it right. I walked into that room, and I got their attention and kept it. I put my advice in a language they understood and I called them to action. I got sustainable change. How did I do that? With the superpower of influence that is based on a level of emotional intelligence.”

Pozinak explained that emotional intelligence comprises four categories of capabilities:

• Self-awareness: being seen as authentic, having some type of expertise in the area that you are talking about, having a likability factor

• Self-management: emotional self-control, adaptability, achievement orientation/motivation, the ability to communicate and put information in a way that is relatable

• Social awareness: empathy, multicultural/cultural intelligence, organisational awareness (power positions)

• Relationship management: social skills, communication, influence, leadership, teamwork, coaching, mentoring (e.g. NLP techniques)

How well do most OHS professionals influence?

In general, one of the barriers faced by the OHS profession is the creation of trust, according to Greg Dearsly, board member of the International Network of Safety and Health Professional Organisations, MD of consulting firm First 4 Safety and co-author of the forthcoming OHS Body of Knowledge chapter. “Now, that’s clearly a huge stereotype. I know there are plenty of OHS professionals who have gained the trust of their employers, clients, workmates or others they work with. But it’s an often-repeated story from the OHS profession about how it can be a struggle to convince a manager or a worker to implement OHS initiatives.”

Part of the issue is that the profession is seen as one that is there to ‘tell people what to do’ in a work safety context. Dearsly said we have historically failed to take a moment and try and see things through the eyes of others. “Now there is movement in that area, and there is attention being given to learning how to understand situations from the perspective of others,” said Dearsly. He cited a quote by Yale School of Management’s Julia DiBenigno in her 2020 paper, Rapid Relationality: How Peripheral Experts Build a Foundation for Influence with

Line Managers: “Because peripheral experts often begin their encounters with line managers as discredited, and their recommendations are often viewed as promoting conflict, they may have a limited window of time to build a relational foundation to influence line managers before inevitable conflicts occur and doom the relationship.”

Dearsly asserted that, due to the lack of formal authority generally held by OHS professionals, they need to gain skills in developing trusting relationships with managers and other workers to enhance their influential abilities. “Research into micro-expressions in a business context suggests that we have four seconds to make a positive first impression with another person. Micro-expressions are subtle muscle movements of the face that last half a second or less; they are involuntary and reflect an emotional response by the other person when we approach them before engaging in verbal discussions,” he said.

There are also other non-verbal behaviours and emotional responses that an individual reflects when engaging with others. Being able to read these signs would assist OHS professional’s when embarking on dyadic connections with others to create influence, said Dearsly. “This all goes towards suggesting that capabilities beyond an OHS professional technical suite of skills are needed to better engage with others in the workplace,” he said.

Burlington also observed that the skill of influencing is one that a person develops over time, through practice and experience. As an OHS professional is called upon to instigate change, implement new programs

Debra Burlington says genuine curiosity can help OHS professionals ask great questions to understand where another person is coming from

and assist with adopting different behaviours, she said they have the opportunity to learn how to undertake these activities with influence. The key is continually reviewing outcomes from a personal perspective and reflecting on how well they have developed relationships with those they would like to influence.

“Personal reflection can be done on an individual basis or with a coach or mentor. Self-reflective practice gives a person the time to review interactions with others and identify where small improvements can be made,” she said.

Common influencing challenges and gaps for OHS

There are a number of common challenges OHS professionals face with regard to influencing. According to Burlington, one of the most common ones is time. “It takes time to develop relationships, get to know the people they would like to influence, build rapport, understand the world from their perspective and self-reflect,” she said. “Sometimes, it can seem easier and more effective just to tell people what needs to be done, or even do it for them. Often, it seems we are ‘too busy’ to lay the foundations for effective influencing, so we skip the preparation and go straight to task. Influencing requires us to remember ‘relationship before task.’”

Another significant and related challenge revolves around hierarchy. When a person is new in an organisation or new to a role as an OHS professional, Burlington

said there may be hesitancy to influence those who are seen as more senior. “A person may hold a belief that it is not their place to try to influence an outcome due to them being more junior, thinking they don’t know enough yet, and so on. Sometimes, it can be quite daunting to attempt to influence someone who they believe has greater authority than them. Once again, self-reflection enables them to review their reluctance to influence in certain situations and explore where this reluctance may come from,” she said.

Sometimes, the culture within an organisation can impede influencing, and Burlington said a person may not have access to the people who need to be influenced. “They may not have permission in some cultures to influence,” she said. “They may be seen as impeding production or getting in the way of things getting done in certain time frames. An organisation’s culture can support the OHS professional to influence; however, it can also impede their ability to do so.”

“It’s an often-repeated story from the OHS profession about how it can be a struggle to convince a manager or a worker to implement OHS initiatives”

Pozinak framed the common challenges from an EQ perspective and said the lack of self-knowledge in the approach someone takes or their own preferred method of communication can affect their ability to make an impact. “When you clearly understand who you are, it becomes easier to remain true to self and your actions, leading to better authenticity,” she said. “When you don’t have that, you might come off as someone who always has an agenda or who is not truly caring. Self-awareness is a guiding compass for decision-making. If there is a lack of this, then the unacknowledged emotions, biases or thought patterns may influence decisions and therefore negatively impact personal and professional outcomes or the organisation’s objectives.”

Similarly, she said that those who lack self-management tend to react and have a harder time keeping their impulses in check. This automatic response, if perceived as negative by those that you are trying to

influence, can result in a loss of credibility, which is a cornerstone of influencing, she explained.

Thirdly, social awareness is a potential challenge. Pozinak said that by using an understanding of empathy, cultural intelligence and organisational awareness (power positions), one can communicate in such a way that gets peoples’ attention, keeps it and presents information in a way that they understand and which motivates them.

Lastly, she said relationship management also needs to be addressed. “Social skills, communication, leadership, coaching and mentoring are ways that we can build and strengthen relationships to increase teamwork and influence,” she said.

How to improve influencing skills

The good news is that there are a number of ways OHS professionals can improve their influencing skills. A key step for OHS professionals is to take the time to get to know the people they want to influence, according to Burlington. “Build rapport with people in the organisation. Get to know what drives people, what is important to them, what their concerns are and what their version of reality is,” she said.

“It’s important they are not in a hurry to express their point of view about how things should be done until they fully understand where the other person is coming from. Accept that it takes time to understand others and the culture within which they are operating. Take time to bring awareness to their beliefs about hierarchy, what they have permission to do regarding influencing, and any other belief patterns preventing them from fully engaging in influencing others.”

Burlington also observed that some believe influencing can be viewed as ‘manipulating’. However, she said it needs to be understood that we are constantly attempting to influence others, which is usually done unconsciously. “Try smiling at someone else; they will generally smile back. We learn this at an early age and learn how to use this to influence. By becoming aware of the process of influencing and learning how to influence effectively and deliberately, they will become more conscious of the influencing they are taking part in and will be able to bring more skill to this,” she said.

Dearsly explained that OHS professionals “don’t need permission, authority, a flash title or shiny shoes to be a leader (in fact, nobody does). Take on that mantle and show leadership.” He adds, “Remember leadership is a series of moments, so use every moment possible to expose your inner leader and exert leader behaviours.”

He also recommended using passion

Eldeen Pozinak says that those who lack selfmanagement tend to react and have a harder time keeping their impulses in check

about a subject to enlist others’ support ideas. “This means don’t bang the table and demand things are done. Combine that passion with expertise to overcome positional power and create trusting relationships where your influence is thriving,” he said.

Dearsly suggested using the five principles of evidence-based practice, as outlined in chapter 39.1 of the OHS Body of Knowledge. “Obtain the best available evidence, and be honest and transparent about what informs decision-making and sources of advice. Understand why control mechanisms work, consider the context of the situation and create communities where you can engage with others to test your knowledge and share learnings or engage in local research,” he explained.

“Combine all of this and add some authenticity through purposeful use of body language and non-verbal communication. Make the person you aim to influence feel your presence.” Dearsly suggested many OHS professionals will be familiar with the research of Albert Mehrabian, who created a formula that reflected the importance of different methods of communication. His communication method shows that when dealing with communication focused on feelings and attitudes, listeners respond positively to other methods of communication. Non-verbal behaviours are seen to have the biggest impact on communication, with 55 per cent of positive responses created through non-verbal behaviours,

compared with 38 per cent through vocal use (tone, pitch, speed, etc) and 7 per cent by the words used.

“Put all this together, and it reflects a need to enhance those essential skills such as the ability to read body language and micro-expressions, show empathy and enhance your cultural and emotional intelligence. In addition to these skills, there are other approaches that will assist in influencing. OHS professionals need to speak the language of business. In fact, it’s more than just speaking; it cuts across all forms of communication, including verbal and written,” he said.

The benefits of becoming a better influencer

To be truly successful as OHS professionals, Pozinak said they need to “manage the program and lead the people,” she said. “In our positions, we do not have a power position, and power influence is not associated with the sustainable change or practice that we are often trying to influence.”

By developing emotional intelligence, she said OHS professionals can develop self-awareness and self-management of their current influencing behaviours and use social awareness and relationship management to know how to influence others. “By employing these capabilities, the OHS professional can engage people more effectively, and accelerate and sustain the practices, decisions and change needed to reach OHS goals and objectives,” she said.

Burlington said OHS professionals will engage others more readily in the day-today implementation of OHS activities, as they will have helped to enable others to understand the importance of OHS from their personal perspective. “They will build a sense of collaboration regarding OHS, enabling a team approach to the successful implementation of OHS activities. Others will have a sense of ownership, rather than OHS being ‘owned’ by the OHS professional,” she said.

As an influencer, they will also have opportunities to be involved in early intervention practices and planning. They are more likely to be invited into decision-making processes, and their opinion may be sought more regularly, as they have taken the time to develop strong, respectful relationships at all levels within an organisation. “They will easily communicate with all levels within an organisation, as they will have understood the most effective influencing channels and built lines of communication to enable ease of exchanging information with these channels,” she said.

How is influencing different from persuasion?

Influencing differs from persuasion in that the latter uses an argument to bring others around to your way of thinking, according to Greg Dearsly, co-author of the new OHS Body of Knowledge chapter. “Influencing is more about getting voluntary agreement for your ideas; it’s about gaining trust so that others will do what you want without you having to ask,” said Dearsly, who explained that there are four essential skills that OHS professionals need to be influential.

In many situations, he said the OHS professional is in a position of having to influence someone who has positional power; however, if you are a leader without authority or title, then you need to find a way to overcome that positional power. “The first skill you need to be an effective influencer is to show passion. However, you must be well prepared. It’s not acceptable to bang the table and say, ‘We have to implement this safety initiative because the law says so, or because it’s the right thing to do.’ There are plenty of OHS professionals who are passionate about their role, but you need to take that passion and mix in the second skill: reflecting your emotion about the subject. Passion and emotion combined will overcome positional power,” he said.

The third skill is expertise. Dearsly asserted that passion and expertise together can also overcome those in power; however, expertise without passion “doesn’t get you very far”. Chapter 39.1 of the OHS Body of Knowledge talks about the OHS professional being a critical consumer of research. It suggests a combination of the strength of evidence along with information about local conditions is needed to create influence.

“The final skill is the one you want to aim for. It’s one we all have and have had early childhood; it’s the thing we all recognise, and you want to be able to master it,” he said. “Some call it the dance of human interaction, but most people know it as your non-verbal skills: that perfectly timed wink, nod, smile, grimace, hand gesture or raised eyebrow. But again, be prepared: you need to be culturally intelligent. In today’s globalised workplaces, a nod or wink might be okay in your culture, but could mean something totally different to a person from a different culture.”

Greg Dearsly says OHS professionals need to gain skills in developing trusting relationships with managers and other workers to enhance their influential abilities

Safe Work Australia’s new CEO, Marie Boland, says she is keen to raise awareness of WHS fundamentals and embed them as non-negotiables in the workplace

Safe Work Australia’s CEO Marie Boland on the future of safety and work

As the new CEO of Safe Work Australia, Marie Boland outlines her vision for the agency and highlights the need for tailored protections and cultural shifts to address emerging challenges

Marie Boland was appointed CEO of Safe Work Australia in November 2023, following the completion of Michelle Baxter’s term as former CEO. Boland’s 35-year career spans WHS policy and management, industrial relations and cultural and community development. She served as the Safe Work Australia Member representing South Australia in 2015 and led the 2018 National Review of the model WHS laws. More recently, she reviewed the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner, the conduct of ACT work health and safety prosecutions, and the South Australian local government sector’s work health and safety management system.

Much of her career has been focused on WHS and for important reasons, according to Boland. “WHS is important work that touches on the lives and livelihoods of workers in all parts of our economy across the country. While workplaces in Australia compare favourably by international standards for WHS outcomes, there are still too many tragic incidents that occur – too many workplace deaths and life-changing injuries,” she said.

Around 200 people are killed at work in Australia each year, and many more die as a result of work-related diseases. Furthermore, more than 125,000 Australians are seriously injured at work. “These workplace injuries and deaths ruin lives, shatter families and devastate the community. Our research shows that, in the absence of work-related injuries and illnesses, Australia’s economy would be $28.6 billion larger each year, and Australians would be able to access more jobs with better pay,” said Boland.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the Safe Work Australia agency, to drive progress in addressing these issues

and make a real, positive difference to workers, businesses and communities across Australia. I remember being in the public gallery at Parliament House listening to the Safe Work Australia Bill being debated in the Senate in 2009. This Bill established Safe Work Australia. I never envisioned that almost 15 years later, I would be leading the agency as Chief Executive Officer.”

“I would like to see a refreshed commitment from all jurisdictions to the harmonisation project started almost 20 years ago”

Reflections on WHS harmonisation purpose and progress

The signing of the intergovernmental agreement, the passing of the Bill and the development of the model WHS legislative framework were significant achievements, according to Boland. For the first time in the history of federation, she said governments from each state and territory and the Commonwealth formally committed to the harmonisation of WHS legislation. “I have a great respect for this history and after all these years, I remain an avid supporter of harmonisation,” she said. All jurisdictions in Australia have adopted the model WHS laws except Victoria.

“Harmonisation is not about creating a one size fits all solution. Rather, it’s about establishing a common foundation of WHS principles that prioritise safety while

accommodating jurisdiction-specific nuances. A harmonised national system provides greater certainty for businesses, especially those operating across jurisdictional borders. It also means that every Australian worker, no matter where they work, has the same safety protections.”

In 2018, Boland was asked to lead the independent five-year review of the model WHS laws. Her review found the model laws are largely operating as intended, but would benefit from greater clarity and consistency. “I am pleased that the agency has implemented most of the 34 recommendations from the 2018 review and has taken huge strides in increasing awareness of WHS across government, business, employers, workers and their representatives,” she said. “However, there is more work to do.”

Leading SWA’s direction for the next five years

Boland explained that she sees her role for the next five years as one that guides the agency through the next phase of national WHS and workers’ compensation policy and strategy development. “I want to see where the continued commitment to harmonisation can take us and ensure we are proactive about emerging trends and risks. These include the challenges and opportunities that technological change brings to workplace safety, and ensuring workers, businesses and the broader community are well-placed to better manage psychosocial risks,” she said.

“My aim is to strike a balance between consistency and flexibility, ensuring that the model WHS laws remain relevant and effective and nationally harmonised. I’d also like to refocus on promoting national consistency and improving workers’ compensation arrangements. My particular focus is on improving workers’ experiences with these systems while at the same time

making sure they are working efficiently and effectively.”

Boland was involved in the policy work that led to the Fair Work reforms that included embedding fundamental industrial relations principles into that legislative framework. Most businesses, workers and the community are aware of these principles and recognise them as non-negotiable, including the safety net of minimum standards and protection from unfair dismissal. “I am keen to raise awareness of fundamental WHS principles such as risk identification and management, genuine consultation with workers, training, monitoring and reviewing risk control measures. I want to embed these as non-negotiables in workplaces,” said Boland.

Safe and healthy work for all

Boland said the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023-2033 provides an important framework for all WHS stakeholders to take action in achieving a national vision of safe and healthy work for all. “Education, innovation and collaboration will be critical enablers of our success,” she said. “We want to equip Australian workplaces with the framework, guidance and resources they need to do WHS well.”

This includes helping businesses and employers build the capability to understand and meet their duties in an evolving WHS landscape. However, Boland said the challenge here is always how to make the often-complex legislative language accessible to those who must apply the laws practically in their workplaces. “I am very interested in revisiting how we deal with safety messaging,” she said.

“We need to ensure we are being proactive and considering how emerging trends may impact on the health and safety of workers. Those at an increased risk of experiencing a work-related injury or illness are a key focus of our work under this strategy.”

Boland also highlighted the importance of addressing ongoing and emerging challenges in WHS, including managing psychosocial risks, better protecting vulnerable workers, risks arising from climate change and emerging green technologies, occupational diseases, new types of work including gig work, and the rise of artificial intelligence, automation and related technologies. These are all priorities for SWA to address over the next decade.

Managing and mitigating psychosocial risks

Psychosocial hazards, such as high work demands, low job support and harmful behaviours, create risks of physical and psychological harm. On average, Boland said work-related psychological injuries have longer recovery times, higher costs and require more time away from work.

“Improvement in this area requires persons conducting a business, such as employers,

to understand and meet their duties,” she said.

Under model WHS laws, psychosocial hazards and risks must be treated the same as physical hazards and risks. A range of factors are involved in developing good work health and safety systems that support workers’ psychological health. These include job design and setting up an environment and culture of consultation and collaboration. “I am hoping that with the

new focus on managing psychosocial risks, the focus shifts from responding to the individual towards an assessment of the broader organisational culture,” said Boland.

She also noted that a positive safety culture empowers workers to discuss psychosocial hazards and helps employers manage risks effectively. “Of course, workers might talk about their exposure to psychosocial hazards in different ways to physical hazards and it’s important to recognise the signs,” she added.

“If your workers are saying things like ‘this place is toxic’, ‘that was humiliating’ or ‘I’m burnt out’, it’s a red flag that WHS risks may not be being effectively managed. You must ensure you have established processes for open communication, reporting and feedback, and that you set a culture where employees feel they are safe to raise their concerns regarding psychosocial risks,” said Boland. She added that this also comes back to getting the WHS fundamentals right in the first place – risk identification and management, consultation, training, monitoring and review.

Identifying and addressing WHS vulnerability

Developing effective WHS systems and processes enables businesses to implement an effective and preventative approach to WHS, Boland affirmed. These systems should be able to identify the varied risks and consider the needs of all workers.

“This includes understanding and addressing the factors that mean some workers may be at higher risk of harm,” she said.

“Being younger, having a culturally and linguistically diverse background, working in a more complex contractual chain such as a labour-hire arrangement, working alone or in an isolated location, or returning to work after an injury or illness can all make workers more vulnerable to harm.

“A one size fits all approach will not work when managing WHS. If we take remote and isolated workers, duty holders will need to think about what additional or different hazards that brings, including environmental risks, preparing for emergencies and managing psychosocial hazards. Those who are more vulnerable, such as young or inexperienced workers and migrant workers, are likely to need additional training and supervision to work safely, and will need to know what mechanisms are available for them to report WHS incidents and issues.”

Whether a business is large or small,

Boland said free and open communication between those who design the work and those who do the work enables a culture of safety for all workers.

The rise of artificial intelligence and new technologies

With the increase in the use of artificial intelligence (AI), automated processes and related technologies in WHS, Boland said AI in particular has the potential to transform how work is done and how WHS is managed.

“It is evolving quickly,” she said. “Importantly, duties under WHS laws still apply to emerging technologies and the various challenges associated with new and emerging ways of working. I can see that automation could benefit workers and businesses by removing workers from hazardous situations.”

“If your workers are saying things like ‘this place is toxic’, ‘that was humiliating’ or ‘I’m burnt out’, it’s a red flag that WHS risks may not be being effectively managed”

However, she observed that new systems and ways of working will also bring different risks. This comes back to the WHS fundamentals, and Boland said businesses must undertake a risk assessment, consult with their workers adapt their systems and processes and design them with workers’ safety in mind to ensure that any new risks are identified and managed.

“Safety must be at the forefront of designing work around emerging technologies. It is an ongoing investment for any workplace when developing safety systems, work design, education and training. Importantly, workplaces also need to be consulting with workers continuously throughout this cycle,” she said.

Adapting to new types of work

The nature of work is changing, and alongside this, Boland said WHS practice

and management will also change. “In the future, more people will have multiple jobs. There is likely to be an increase in gig and platform work and there may be more regular instances of many persons conducting a business or being involved in work at the same location,” she said.

This means that, increasingly, there will be shared responsibilities for WHS, and Boland noted that the relationship between a worker and a business could look quite different. As such, SWA’s policy work will need to adapt alongside these changes to keep pace with evolving ways of working.

Looking to the future of WHS

Over the next five years, Boland said she would like to see continuous improvements in WHS and workers’ compensation arrangements. “I would like to see the concept of non-negotiable WHS fundamentals embedded in our safety thinking across businesses, workers and the broader community. I think that this, in turn, will lead to a stronger focus on safety culture,” she said.

“I would like to see a refreshed commitment from all jurisdictions to the harmonisation project started almost 20 years ago. Those who had the vision, energy and drive to develop and implement the model laws, I’m sure, would expect us to maintain them and improve on them as workplaces and working arrangements continue to change over time. I want our policy and processes to keep up with new and emerging workplaces and technologies.”

Boland said she would also like to see SWA develop creative and innovative messaging and education materials to support businesses, workers and the community in understanding their WHS duties and how they can meet them. “We cannot afford to be static in a dynamic world. Our framework must evolve so we can ensure that workplaces across Australia are equipped and able to meet challenges as they arise. And I would like to see all of this happen in partnership with industry and business, unions and workers, health and safety representatives, WHS practitioners and the broader community – everyone who has an interest in WHS,” she said.

Marie Boland will be presenting at the AIHS National Health & Safety Conference, which will be held from 21-23 May at the Melbourne Convention Centre. For more information or to register, please visit www. aihsnationalconference.com.au.

Fostering safety innovation to integrate ‘old’ and ‘new’ views on safety

Only by seeing the world of work through the lens of competing goals can we successfully build a bridge between ‘old’ and ‘new’ views of safety, write Kym Bancroft and Dr Tristan Casey

Safety and innovation go hand in hand. Without innovation and change, safety progress stalls and becomes a lumbering bureaucratic exercise. But with too much innovation, uncertainty becomes too great or barriers and defences become frail, leading to catastrophe. The balance between keeping things the same and changing the status quo must be ‘just right’ for safety to flourish. Why is this so, and more importantly, what does this mean in practice?

New ideas can be polarising. If there’s one thing we have seen recently in the safety profession, it’s a widening gap between so-called ‘old’ and ‘new’ views. Some argue on one side of the fence for transformative change, feeding a misperception that the safety consulting industry is turning things upside down, and even encouraging anarchy to move the dial on safety performance. Conversely, some experts argue passionately for maintaining established, tried and true, embedded safety practices. “Why change?” they exclaim.

Can you have your cake and eat it too?

But what if we can have both? Synthesis, integration and paradox concepts suggest we can have our cake and eat it too. We could say this is shifting from an either/ or mentality to a both/and one. But for a both/and approach to work, we must cultivate a different mindset and worldview – one that simultaneously ensures stability and promotes flexibility. Only by seeing the world of work through the lens of competing goals can we successfully build a bridge between ‘old’ and ‘new’ views of safety. This is the challenge of the modern-day safety professional: being able to recognise the experience of tension, identify competing goals and navigate them successfully.

Indeed, even different forms of safety can conflict with each other. For example, in healthcare, patient safety versus employee safety is a common dilemma. Consider

the example of a healthcare worker making a split-second decision about whether to allow a patient to fall (prioritising employee safety) or step in to catch them but experience an injury (prioritising patient safety). Synthesising the two competing goals, we can think deeply and differently to solve this problem. Implementing a two-up system or installing patient lifting devices based on pre-admission risk assessments are perhaps rudimentary ways of ‘having our cake and eating it too’.

“We know from the science of paradox theory that organisations can get stuck in socalled ‘vicious cycles’ of trading off one goal over another, temporarily reducing the tension and seemingly moving forward”

From the science of paradox theory, we know that organisations can get stuck in so-called ‘vicious cycles’ of trading off one goal over another, temporarily reducing the tension and seemingly moving forward. However, the tension returns because its underlying source has not been addressed. In this vicious cycle, leaders usually revert to what worked in the past, outsource the problem to others (usually consultants), or become even more polarised and entrenched in their beliefs. Mostly, these hindering solutions result in an apparent

decisive and heroic trade-off, and a missed opportunity to think deeper and integrate the competing goals.

Breaking down human and organisational performance

A sign of unhelpful thinking is believing that different safety views are antagonistic and inherently conflicted. By unpacking ideologies such as human and organisational performance, we quickly find natural linkages between other safety worlds. Human and organisational performance is founded on traditional prevention methods through compliance, but is achieved through a more flexible and systems-oriented approach to learning from failures.

This kind of ‘structured flexibility’ represents the entry point for integration between contrasted safety methodologies – engineering the prevention of harm by leveraging what already works well, and extending or augmenting it by injecting new ideas, methods and practices. In this vein, effective safety innovation requires an ‘ambidextrous’ approach, where we simultaneously exploit existing safety capabilities while exploring new ones. An ambidextrous organisation can align its members around a unifying goal (e.g. compliance) while also allowing flexibility (e.g. proactivity and adaptation). Ambidexterity is created through engineering a context that is founded on principles of operating discipline, trust, employee growth/development and social support. Through establishing these enabling conditions, organisations can bask in the emergent ability to leverage existing processes and encourage stability/ consistency, while also fostering a degree of improvisation and adaptability to surprising events. It is a perfect combination for safety in a modern, complex and interdependent organisation.

Integrating ‘old’ and ‘new’ safety perspectives

Unsurprisingly, operationalising integration between ‘old’ and ‘new’ safety

perspectives is not achieved by using a ‘one size fits all’, step-by-step cookbook recipe. Rather, like any change method worth its salt, successful safety innovation requires the unique aspects of an organisation to be carefully considered and the approach adapted to fit the context. Our experience is that the more bespoke and contextualised the safety innovation strategy, the more likely it is to be successful. A contextualised strategy resonates more strongly with key stakeholders (increasing their engagement and ‘skin in the game’ to make it work), is tailored to the unique challenges of the organisation (hitting pain points and issues that hold back progress), and can be more readily integrated and embedded into the organisation’s systems and processes.

So, how is a contextualised safety innovation strategy best formulated? We propose four key steps to drive such a change: discovery, diagnosis, design and delivery. Through numerous projects, we have taken organisations through the discovery phase, helping them to identify cultural peculiarities, barriers and enabling factors that should be leveraged to drive change. We have also helped develop bespoke maturity models that provide organisations with a roadmap for their change specific to their setting. Finally, we have designed and delivered foundational change, primarily through high-impact learning and development (crystallised by supporting changes to systems, routines and even organisational structures in some cases).

Discovery. In one project for a major national rail transport company, we delved into the reasons for track worker

non-compliance. Our first port of call was leveraging the latest safety science to integrate ‘old’ and ‘new’ views, and expand the notion of compliance into more nuanced and meaningful concepts such as deep, surface and adaptive compliance. Further, although we were focused on reducing safety violations, new ideas about apportioning blame versus restoration and repair were also introduced. Ultimately, a narrative came together where improved deep compliance was achieved by shifting the organisation’s focus from decreasing the gap between work as imagined versus work as done, so that the focus was instead on building the capability of operators and enhancing the quality of work procedures.

Diagnosis. In another project for an Irish construction company, we built a human and organisational performance-inspired maturity model, which was operationalised through interview and focus group questions targeting different levels of the organisation (i.e. management, supervisors, frontline workers, WHS staff and subcontractors). The model was built on traditional ideas in safety management and traced a developmental pathway, through which the organisation could gradually shift its focus from achieving safety through constraining workers to cultural commitment and care, and finally to resilience-based ideas (e.g. capacity and capability). Arriving at an evidenced diagnosis builds management commitment for change, provides a baseline to assess future change and enables targeted changes.

Design. To change culture, efforts must be made across organisational, social and human capital (i.e. modifying systems

and routines, encouraging leadership and teamwork and enhancing capability by investing in skills and knowledge). In one such project in the Australian agriculture industry, we developed comprehensive recommendations based on the in-depth discovery and diagnosis of culture. Recommendations concentrated on social and human capital, including the need to innovate safety communication, build safety leadership capability, and generally reshape the narrative from safety being a legalistic compliance exercise to one of genuine care and concern.

Delivery. Most of the time, safety innovation requires training and development of some description. Safety training transfer is the science of delivering such capability-raising development in embedded and sustainable ways. Through a project with a multinational mining explosives company, we built a suite of supervisor training programs that leveraged safety training transfer theory. Specifically, we aligned the training concepts with existing language and onsite ‘moments that matter’ for safety. We also ensured that regional managers closely supported the training. They took an active interest in what was learned, held post-training conversations with supervisors and even co-facilitated parts of the training.

Safety performance: the end goal

There are numerous examples of organisations making sense of seemingly divergent, and even contradictory, views on safety. Key to their success is being fearless in making the step forward, either in controlled experimental conditions, such as contained pilots or simulations, or via wholesale organisational change programs. Their steps depend on a multitude of factors and even their tolerance for the uncertainty that change brings. Uncertainty can be scary, as we may be unsure of what direction to turn, what intervention to trial or what ‘sacred safety cow’ to first challenge. We feel that such uncertainty is helpful to drive innovation and evolution in safety practice, as when people are uncertain or feel the tension of contradictory goals, this is data and an opportunity to change for the better. By thinking differently and encouraging a dual or complementary, rather than an antagonistic and polarising, mindset, safety performance will continue to improve into the future.

Kym Bancroft is managing director and Dr Tristan Casey is director of New View Safety, a training and professional development consultancy that specialises in the practical application of the latest in safety science. Kym is also is an editorial board member for OHS Professional.

Celebrating the Australian Workplace Health & Safety Awards

The Australian Workplace Health & Safety Awards provide national recognition to organisations and individuals demonstrating excellence and innovation in WHS

In 2023, the Australian Workplace Health & Safety Awards recognised 12 individual and organisational achievements across nine award categories. OHS Professional sat down with some of the winners from last year’s awards to discuss their experience in winning their award category, how it has benefited them and their advice for others considering entering the awards this year.

Fiona Notley, Chief Operating Officer, Curtin University

Fiona Notley has established a record as a leader and change agent who collaborates with others at all levels of her organisation to transform and simplify processes while delivering bottom-line measurable benefits. She has been instrumental in driving a significant shift in the safety culture of Curtin University over the past two years. In particular, Notley has transformed the way health and safety is viewed by the university, ensuring it is valued as an essential aspect of the organisation rather than a legislative compliance requirement.

“I was genuinely surprised and deeply honoured to win the award, especially considering its scope across a diverse range of industries, not just higher education,” said

Notley. “I think that sometimes our industry can be overlooked, as we are not seen as running the type of traditional business where health and safety is paramount to safe operations. I find this is a perception we are continually challenging because, in reality, maintaining a strong focus on health and safety is crucial for the wellbeing of our staff, students and broader community. It’s integral to the success and sustainability of our educational mission.”

Notley explained that winning the award has directly helped to elevate the visibility of the university’s work in the health and safety realm. “It has not only broadened our reach but is also a catalyst for reinforcing our collective contribution to fostering a thriving health and safety culture at work,” said Notley, who added that the awards play a pivotal role in enabling leaders to continue to progress and highlight the importance of health and safety within businesses across all industries.

“The recognition from winning this award also has enduring value, providing an ongoing platform to promote new initiatives further and connect and network with others to share and continue to learn.”

Major Road Projects Victoria

The Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) Civil Construction safety cadetship program is a paid employment and training program within the Victorian Government’s Major Transport Infrastructure Authority’s (MTIA) big build infrastructure projects program. Delivered by leading global construction companies, the safety cadetship program is an accelerated, non-traditional, entry-level pathway to becoming a safety practitioner.

“Winning the AIHS Workplace Health & Safety Award last year was an incredibly gratifying and humbling experience for our organisation,” said Mathew Dicker, director of safety & wellbeing for Major Road Projects Victoria. “It served as a validation of the hard work, dedication and innovative culture that our team and our construction partners consistently bring to the realm of workplace health and safety.”

Winning the award has brought about a number of benefits, Dicker added. Firstly, the award has significantly enhanced the visibility of the safety cadetship. “The recognition we received has served as a powerful endorsement of our commitment to excellence in WHS, making us a trusted partner in the eyes of our peers,

Fiona Notley won the Australian WHS Champion CEO of the Year (more than 1000 employees) award for leading significant improvements to health and safety at Curtin University

Major Road Projects Victoria won the Best WHS Learning & Professional Development Program award for its civil construction safety cadetship program

stakeholders and the broader professional community. This heightened profile has opened doors to new partnerships, collaborations and opportunities for knowledge exchange, allowing us to contribute even more effectively to advancing safety standards in the workplace,” he said.

The University of Newcastle’s College of Engineering, Science and Environment

Josh Bywater, mechanical engineering student at the University of Newcastle and developer of the system, recalls how he felt about winning at the awards ceremony. “I remember when the project name was announced on the night and the mix of feelings I felt. First of all, I was surprised, considering the amazing work done by the other finalists in my category and the calibre of the award recipients across the evening. Once the shock wore off, it was mostly a feeling of gratitude. The project has been touched by so many hands, from my mentor to the leaders in the College

PM

The University of Newcastle’s College of Engineering, Science and Environment won the Best WHS Technology Initiative award for developing a cost-effective, scalable and modular system to manage safe access to equipment

of Engineering Science and Environment, who were willing to invest in and support the project to take it from a pipe dream to reality.”

Bywater said that winning the award has been a really positive experience. “It has opened some exciting doors for

me, from delivering a presentation about the system to 1000+ staff members and networking with senior leaders to representing our student engineering group and advocating for innovation over prohibition in the safety space,” he said.

For others considering entering the awards, Bywater’s advice is to “back yourself and enter the awards.” He said, “I was initially tossing up whether to enter –surely there was no way our little innovation could win a national award! For me, seeing this project every day, I found it easy to lose perspective and lose sight of the fact that the system was indeed something novel and innovative. I can imagine similar things happening for professionals across the industry.”

Nominations for the Australian Workplace Health & Safety Awards 2024 are open from 19 February to 1 May 2024. Finalists will be announced on 11 June 2024, and the awards ceremony will be held on 29 August 2024 in Sydney. For more information, please visit awhsa.org.au.

Paul Salmon and his professorial and research fellow co-authors have been developing, using and validating systems thinking theories for many years. Familiar with a number of fine publications by the book’s authors, I agreed to comment on a draft System chapter by Salmon, Read and Hulme for the OHS Body of Knowledge that was released in 2023: https:// www.ohsbok.org.au/chapter12-1-systems/#15483280171340007d24b-ac82

I scanned enough of this e-book when it was released to be able to recommend it during a presentation to the 2023 International Society of Air Safety Investigators Seminar held in Nashville. Upon return, I asked for a hard copy to carefully read and review.

The authors’ preface argues that many complex global challenges and existential threats require new systems thinking approaches. They write: “The central premise of this book is that complex issues, such as road trauma and the COVID-19 pandemic, are best understood and managed through the use of what we will call ‘systems thinking methods’. Despite their utility, practical guidance on many of the methods can be hard to come by, and novice analysts are often deterred by their apparent complexity. Consequently, the methods are often underused, especially by practitioners working outside of academia. Accordingly, the aim of this book is to provide practical step-by-step guidance for a subset of systems thinking

Handbook of Systems Thinking Methods

Book: Handbook of Systems Thinking Methods

Authors: Paul Salmon, Neville Stanton, Guy Walker, Adam Hulme, Natasia Goode, Jason Thompson, Gemma Read

Publisher: CRC Press, 2023

RRP: $193.60 (hardcover)

ISBN: 9780367220174

Reviewed by: Kym Bills, FAIHS (Life)

methods that the authors have used extensively in our own work. This guidance covers 12 methods categorised into four broad types: risk assessment, systems analysis and design, accident analysis, and computational modelling methods. The intention is to provide a ‘how-to’ guide for each method, demonstrate how we have applied each method in practice, and encourage researchers, students, and practitioners to learn and apply them in their own work and studies.”

“The handbook delivers on its goal to provide excellent guidance for an important range of systems thinking methods”

In Chapter 1, Introduction to Systems Thinking in Human Factors and Ergonomics and Safety Science, the authors expand upon the list of complex problems that traditional ‘deterministic’ and ‘reductionist’ methods are ill-equipped to address. It is acknowledged that traditional Human Factors and Ergonomics (HSE) and safety science methods continue to have their place where appropriate. However, an increasing

number of complex systemic issues are considered to require different interdisciplinary systems thinking methods. The chapter defines systems thinking and outlines its history, philosophy, components and characteristics. The destruction of a Death Star in Star Wars is used as an initial illustration of the application of systems thinking methods.

Section II, Systemic Risk Assessment Methods, comprises three chapters. They cover the Networked Hazard Analysis and Risk Management System (Net-HARMS), the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork Broken Links (EAST-BL) and the Systems Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) Method. Chapters of the handbook follow a useful template that includes background, domain of application, procedure and advice steps, advantages, disadvantages, related methods, approximate training and application times, reliability and validity, and tools needed, plus at least one case study example, recommended reading and references.

Section III, Systems Analysis and Design Methods, includes chapters on Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA), Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA), Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork (EAST) and Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs). Section IV on Accident Analysis Methods comprises three chapters on the Accident Mapping (Accimap) Method, which discusses the less familiar ActorMap and PreventiMap, the Accident Network (AcciNet) method, and thirdly the Systems Theoretic Accident

Model and Process-Causal Analysis based on Systems Theory (STAMP-CAST) Method. Section V on Computational Modelling and Methods includes Agent-Based Modelling (ABM) and System Dynamics.

Finally, Chapter 14 of the book commends a Many-Model Systems Thinking Approach to enhance explanatory power for large-scale and complex problems through integration. A five-step process is suggested, with each step drawing examples from among the 12 methods in the book. A road safety freight crash case study is also provided.

While the authors are advocates of systems thinking, I was particularly impressed by the balance with which methods and their tested validity are addressed. They make it clear that more data on usage is needed to fine-tune some methods to improve their reliability and their validity results.

The handbook delivers on its goal to provide excellent guidance for an important range of systems thinking methods. Of course, more details will need to be accessed to actually use most of them, but a clear roadmap to do so is there. Some other methods, such as Hollnagel’s FRAM, are not considered, presumably because the authors have not hitherto favoured its use. Salmon et al’s Handbook of Systems Thinking Methods is available from Amazon Australia and other booksellers and is recommended.

Kym Bills, FAIHS (Life), is a PhD candidate at Edith Cowan University & Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide