Actew calls for reforms to evenly match work safety to cost and ...

ActewAGL chief executive Michael Costello would prefer a disgruntled customer than a dead worker and Canberra?s construction industry risking safety due to unrealistic deadlines and cost-cutting.

According to a Canberra Times report, ActewAGL and ACTEW Corporation called for reforms to tender processes including ?weight given to a contractor?s workplace health and safety record, equal to that of the cost and schedule.?

Mr Costello said tender process needed to reward businesses that prioritise workplace safety and not penalise them. He said he was obsessed with reducing safety risks to his 900-strong workforce, 350 of them working in the field.

Mr Costello believed it was timely for the government to call an inquiry not only because of workplace fatalities which happened recently but because safety culture need to continuously evolve to avoid complacency.

?Safety is not a static thing. It is not a case of ?I?ve done it, I?ve got a safe workplace?,? said Mr Costello.

?You?re dealing with humans and one of the biggest problems we have is you get complacent, you get bored, you cut corners.?

Since his appointment as chief executive in 2008, Mr Costello has initiated a ?root and branch? review of safety systems. He also hired a specialist director of environment, health, safety and quality.

Mr Costello said that he was very much aware of the innate dangers of a workplace in electricity and gas supply, ?which is both dangerous to the workers and to the community?.

The Canberra Times further reported that one of the incidents which sparked the government?s inquiry was the death of a 43-year-old truck driver when he was electrocuted in March after electricity arced from powerlines to his vehicle while delivering gravel. Mr Costello said the accident disappointed the company, which has exerted efforts to warn the public on the possible dangers of working near powerlines.

According to Mr Costello, ActewAGL is coming up with new strategies to promote safety improvements including paying cash incentives to workers who will report ?near misses? so they could be examined. He also personally meets with injured workers to discuss ways to manage risks.

Mr Costello said that improved safety would mean better business.

?People seem to think spending money on safety is a cost, but if you run a safe business you make more money and are more productive than if you don?t,? he said.

?The very procedures and processes and organisation which makes for a safe workplace are the very procedures which make for an efficient organisation.?

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OHS News

Source: http://ohspolicy.com.au/actew-calls-for-reforms-to-evenly-match-work-safety-to-cost-and-schedule/

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