Construction industry commits to Zero Harm program

Industrial Relations Minister Cameron Dick recently launched the Zero Harm at Work Leadership Program for the Queensland construction industry.

The Minister said the program aims to improve safety on construction sites by changing attitudes from the top down: “Zero Harm at Work aims to build a positive safety culture in Queensland workplaces, to help reduce the number and severity of workplace health and safety incidents.”

The rate of injury in the Queensland construction industry is 18 workers injured per 1000 employees. This compares to an all-industry rate of 15 workers injured per 1000 in 2008.

“Significant cultural changes need to occur within the industry to turn these figures around,” Dick said. “The Queensland government is committed to making our workplaces among the healthiest and safest in the nation, but we can’t do it alone. Real and sustainable improvements in workplace health and safety can only be achieved by the engagement and unwavering commitment of industry leaders.”

Dick said building safe workplaces has huge social and economic benefits: “Each year in Queensland, there are about 100 work-related fatalities and nearly 30,000 serious injuries and diseases with workers requiring more than five days off work … costing the Queensland economy more than $5.2 billion dollars a year.

“The Bligh government has set targets through Workplace Health and Safety Queensland to reduce injuries by 40% and fatalities by 20% by 2012.”

Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Board Chair Vince O’Rourke said industry leaders must drive this cultural change: “Industry leaders can motivate their peers and encourage their industry to achieve higher health and safety standards.

“But in individual companies, it is the attitudes and decisions of boards, CEOs and senior managers that set the priorities, so they are critical in fostering a zero harm culture in their workplaces. Leadership is at the heart of building a zero harm safety culture. They must drive cultural change from the top down to create positive change in their own organisations.”

The program is designed to motivate organisations to voluntarily strive for zero harm at work by:

• providing forums to foster and promote leadership in workplace health and safety in the construction industry;
• providing examples of good practices and sharing lessons learnt that can assist other workplaces to improve;
• promoting the adoption of a zero harm at work culture through cooperation and knowledge sharing;
• providing practical advice, support, materials and tools to implement a zero harm culture.