Oil and gas workforce health and safety management a major focus at AOG 2015

With the high-profile Western Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into “mental health impacts of FIFO work arrangements” set to table its findings in early March, the Human Capital stream at AOG 2015 on Thursday, 12 March in Perth should attract attention.

A special panel session on FIFO Mental Health will focus heavily on the parliamentary enquiry, which has attracted media attention on the back of a number of alleged FIFO-related suicides.

Dr Graham Jacobs (MLA), who is spearheading the parliamentary enquiry, is a keynote speaker and a participant in the AOG FIFO Mental Health Panel; he will provide tremendous insight into the issue. Dr Jacobs is joined on the panel by WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) Deputy Chief Executive Nicole Rooke and TLC directors and psychologist Greg Bayne and Alistair Box.

Australian human capital specialist Lisa Costa, who has played a major role in pulling together the program for this stream at AOG, says this is a major issue for the resources sector.

The Global Human Capital Trends session will be chaired by Wirrpanda Foundation chairman and former West Coats Eagles AFL star David Wirrpanda and features a presentation and workshop on the Global Human Capital Trends Report. Julie Harrison, a Partner specialising in Human Capital at Deloitte in Perth, will provide an oil and gas perspective and an update on what can be expected to be found in the report when it is handed down later this year. The session will also feature a presentation on ‘Ensuring Competitiveness Through Productivity: The importance of workplace relations reform’ by Steve Knott from the Australian Mines and Metals Association.

The Human Capital Key Issues and Insights session features presentations on ‘From Green to Brown to Gold: Using the Science of Change to ensure Operational Readiness for Asset Optimisation Projects’ to be presented by Corrie Scheepers and Melissa Bell of the Terrace Initiative; ‘Employee Engagement in the Oil and Gas Industry’ presented by Fiona Scullion of The Right Group and Maud Kay of Rigzone; ‘On the Waterfront; An Indigenous perspective’ presented by Wayne Bergmann of Aboriginal Maritime; and ‘O&G Workforce Planning’ presented by Sam Russell and Craig Bonanno, both of the Rhodes Business School (Australia).

With a strong focus on safety, AOG will also feature a key stream entitled Managing Contractor Health and Safety with a full program of critical topics and high-quality speakers put together in collaboration with the Safety Institute of Australia and IFAP.

What: AOG: Australasian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference

Where: Perth Exhibition Centre

When: 11-13 March 2015

Further details: To find out more information and to register, visit aogexpo.com.au.