One of the success stories from the Canterbury earthquakes will mark its ten-year anniversary on June 29th.

The Canterbury Safety Charter was formed as a collaboration between the construction industry, Government agencies, and unions, to improve health and safety outcomes during the demolition and rebuild of the city.

Given the scope of the work required, industry modelling predicted one or two deaths per year, 600,000 working days lost, and $80 million in ACC entitlements. However, through a renewed commitment to keeping workers safe, exemplified by the work of the Charter, there were no fatalities during this phase, and accident and injury rates were significantly lowered.

Craig Sengelow was the Manager for WorkSafe’s Canterbury Rebuild Programme. “The original intent of the Charter was to provide a vehicle where all parties could work together to Rebuild Canterbury Safely. A crucial element at the time was a changing attitude to health and safety. We knew we could do better and that doing it together was key.”

Ian Campbell, the former Head of the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuilt Team (SCIRT), was involved almost from the beginning and is now the Chair of the Charter Board. “I believe that the real value of the Charter has been that it has been industry led, with everyone working together to not just achieve compliance, but to take a big step up in how we care for and look after our people.”

Ivan Stanicich is the past president of Master Builders in Canterbury, and owner of a residential building company. “I remember what the industry was like prior to the formation of the Charter, and as branch president of Master Builders I felt compelled to be involved. Our members all cared about safety but required guidance on how to measure and create a better safety culture on their sites. Once the Charter was established the industry changed markedly in many ways. Master Build members quickly adopted many charter initiatives and joined the journey.

WorkSafe commissioned an independent report evaluating the health and safety record during the rebuild. The report concluded that the Canterbury Safety Charter had a significant impact in engaging, supporting, and educating all stakeholders from CEOs to onsite workers. Organisations collaborated on health and safety rather than competing, and the lessons learnt were widely shared within the industry.

Ten years on from the establishment of the Charter, the rebuild has essentially finished, but the legacy remains, providing a strong foundation for the future.

The work of the Charter will continue as long as there are improvements to be made. The Charter is currently spearheading a project called BIMSafe NZ, which utilises the collaboration and communication powers of three-dimensional computer models of construction projects for health and safety purposes.

The Charter is also excited to be holding a national one-day conference on Mentally Safe Work, on June 29, 9:00am at Addington Raceway, which is focused on educating the industry on managing psycho-social risks in additional to physical safety risks.

Keynote speaker, Hon Michael Wood will officially open the conference and present his thoughts on The Importance of wellbeing in the workplace. Delegates will hear from a range of experts on developing an integrated intervention approach, practical case study examples, WorkSafe perspective, as well as legal obligations and how technology can be utilised.

This conference is for any organisation or individual who are looking for guidance as they navigate their mentally safe workplace journey. More information here.

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