The summer period brings fun, celebration and time off work. However, it can also bring about complacency, resulting in increased injuries.  

To raise awareness of the potential increase in injuries over this time, a focus on strategies to reduce these risks was implemented with the Port Nelson Summer Safety Campaign.  

The campaign had 3 parts:  

• Raising awareness of the number of incidents in the summer period in the previous year 

• Discussions on factors that contribute to workplace incidents in pre-start meetings. Facilitating open discussions within teams.  

• Encouraging teams to utilise a ‘This is my Why’ board in breakrooms, showing through imagery and/or words why people want to get home safely. 

Lenore Richter, General Manager People & Safety, said the commitment of supervisors and managers to conduct a ‘safety reset’ within teams was incredibly successful in reducing Lost Time Injuries (LTIs). “A number of topics were discussed over the summer period, including reporting, fatigue management, critical risks, wellbeing and fitness to work. This resulted in over a 50% decrease in LTIs, compared to the previous year.” 

The production of ‘This is my why’ boards were also utilised in many areas around the Port. “The boards provided a place for our people to showcase their own reasons why they want to go home. This was an important element of the campaign, ensuring we were connecting work and home life,” explains Lenore. 

While the port is pleased with the results, Lenore acknowledges that incidents still occurred. " We work in a high-risk environment and put controls in place to reduce risks of injuries. While it was pleasing to see the reduction in LTIs, we need to keep up the momentum to ensure that injuries continue on a decline throughout the year.”