While Safer Together remains focused on safety in the Australian oil and gas industry - companies outside the industry can also derive benefit from Associate Membership of Safer Together; demonstrated by our newest Associate Member, Whitehaven Coal.
In response to an increase in hand injuries, Whitehaven Coal engaged Safer Together to deliver Helping Hands workshops to a cohort of workers at their Narrabri coal operations site, at Baan Baa, NSW. This represented a huge investment of time for the mine’s 24/7 operation, by bringing hand safety awareness direct to the workforce, and an opportunity to do something for the greater good in a global community.
Personnel came from across Whitehaven’s development, longwall, surface, and management teams – all benefiting from the Helping Hands program focus on the trinity of hand safety, team building and employee engagement by building 70 prosthetic hands for recipients in need in developing nations.
With more than 260 workshop participants spread across 15 workshops over 6 days, Helping Hands was well received - all Whitehaven employees coming away with a new appreciation for hand safety, with the added benefit of the positive contribution of providing support to people affected by land mine limb injuries in the third world. One attendee noted "in my 30 years in this industry, this was the best session I have ever attended”, high praise indeed.
Whitehaven Coal is a leading Australian producer of premium-quality coal, and the company saw a clear value in joining Safer Together as an Associate Member; deriving benefits of membership that includes access to the products and programs Safer Together has developed to improve worker safety in the oil and gas industry.
We would like to thank Whitehaven Coal for the opportunity to conduct these workshops and for getting behind the Helping Hands program. Thank you especially to Gerald Linde and Rob Trotter for identifying Helping Hands for their organisation, and to Sarah, Tim, Susan, and the rest of the great team from Whitehaven Coal for your facilitation and hospitality.
If your company undertakes hazardous activities, you may also be eligible for Associate Membership with Safer Together. Associate Members have access to all Safer Together products, programs and tools that have been developed to improve safety outcomes by and for the workers of the Australian oil and gas industry, as well as access to Safer Together events.
Contact us if you are interested in exploring an Associate Membership of Safer Together: [email protected].
Contact us to find out more about how a Helping Hands workshop can help you engage with your workforce and address hand safety in your workplace: [email protected].