12 April 2016

Rotorua Nursery reaches 10 years free of lost time injuries

At Rotorua Nursery, they take health and safety seriously.

So much so that they were recently able to celebrate 10 years where none of their nine staff have had to take time off work due to an injury sustained in the workplace.

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick and Rotorua Contracting chief executive Tim Hammond recently celebrated with nursery staff who are in an occupation where you would traditionally expect some niggly injuries.

The milestone is especially outstanding due to the risks of working in such a physical environment. Nursery Manager Paul Keech said there were always minor accidents and niggles like cuts and scrapes but none caused a staff member to go home.

“That is a real credit to the team members and their dedication.”

The team agreed that it was the culture in their work place that really stood out.

Horticulturist Triena Parker said each team member watched out for each other.

“We are like a family,” she said.

Mayor Chadwick said she was impressed with the team’s hard work and expressed her appreciation of the work from the team and especially credited Keech for his great leadership.

The 10 year milestone was something that was playing on the team’s minds in the weeks before the official date. “In the lead up we didn’t want to talk about it too much in case we jinxed it,” said Keech.

Health and safety is a top priority for Hammond and he was more than pleased with the Nursery team’s performance.

“The Nursery team should be justifiably proud of their achievement in reaching this milestone. It is an example of what a can be achieved when you take safety seriously and aspire to a zero harm goal.

“This is something we want all our teams to be able to achieve and with the focus and structure the new legislation is bringing to workplace health and safety practices we hope to see more of these types of celebrations.”

Rotorua Lakes Council monitors lost time injuries as part of its executive dashboard presented to the Operations and Monitoring committee monthly.

In February, the number of injuries was 36. HR Advisor Lead for Health and Safety, Adrienne Thomas commented on how the entire organisation can continue the downward trend.

“This achievement is a direct result of the strong safety culture that exists at the Nursery. All staff are actively involved in safety and meet monthly to discuss activities, review risks and acknowledge safe behaviours.

“This caring culture, active employee participation, and proactive management of risks reflects the principles of the new Health & Safety at Work Act 2015 and is a great example to the rest of Council.”

ENDS

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