When the earthquake struck Canterbury, I never imagined, as I surveyed the damage to my own home, that a few months later I would be delivering Health and Safety Inductions keeping Fletcher EQR workers safe undertaking earthquake repairs to homes just like mine. "Real Training that Saves Lives" is the phrase all Vertical Horizonz trainers adhere too, and I wonder how many of the 60,000 people who attended these inductions over the past 3 years we have saved from serious harm or worse.
The induction, which at its peak was 13 per week, covered 3 main areas:
- Creating a positive safety culture within the workplace
- Risks and Hazards
- Better never stops
An interesting fact that came from a study conducted by a Sydney University was that if a workplace has an active positive safety culture you are 8 times more likely to create the safety outcomes that will help get workers home safe every night. I wonder how many people would buy extra lotto tickets if they knew they were 8 times more likely to win! An interesting thought.
Fletcher EQR identified 6 main hazards which were known as the "Safe 6"
- Falls from Heights
- Confined Space
- Electrical
- Driving
- Personal Threat
- Asbestos.
And these were all dealt with in detail, but what about the other risks to the workers?
Liquefaction a word new to me before the earthquake, but now on everyone's vocabulary, no one knew it was a hazardous substance. With abandoned houses and a locked down CBD came rats and other rodents, another hazard not often spoken about but a real threat to workers in the form of Weil's disease. Needle stick injuries to workers from intravenous drug users not disposing of their needles properly, I was shown some photos of 40 odd needles and syringes found on one property!!
Now with the Fletcher EQR inductions coming to a close after 3 years this month, I reflect on the difference we at Vertical Horizonz have made to the safety of workers rebuilding our great city, and how proud I am to provide Real Training that Saves Lives, because if you Think Safe and Work Safe you'll come Home Safe.