CEO OHS Culture Change Summit

On 28 November 2008 the Minister for Mineral Resources Hon. Ian Macdonald MLC bought opinion leaders from the NSW mining and extractives industry, unions and the public service to set an agenda for culture change to improve occupational health and safety (OHS) performance.

The Summit is the leading initiative of the NSW Mine Safety Advisory Council in working toward the mining and extractives industry in NSW being recognised as a world leader in occupational health and safety. MSAC has been developing the strategy of working towards world class health safety and has identified that that drivers for further improvement are OHS culture change and development non-technical skills at all levels.

The Summit has issued a Communiqué that outlines a joint vision for the industry and an agreement on a set of guiding principles that will help ensure the industry has a dynamic culture to address key health and safety issues.

Summit vision

The vision put forward at the summit by participants is;

1. Zero harm.
2. Demonstrated commitment at all levels that OHS is authentic and innate. Everyone has a leadership role.
3. All people are competent and have the authority and resources to complete the job safely.
4. Best practice consultation that is meaningful and effective.
5. No tension between productivity and OHS.
6. OHS implementation at regulatory, industry, site and individual levels is achievable, fair and just.
7. An effective enforcement policy that is applied in a consistent, fair and proportionate manner.
8. Accountabilities and responsibilities of all persons in the workplace are clear and within their control.
9. Stakeholders understand that a perceived problem for one stakeholder is a problem for the whole industry and needs resolution.
10. Industry stakeholders collaborate to achieve common goals. Collaboration provides a mechanism to appreciate the perceptions of other stakeholders. 
11. The industry has effective consultation. There is no disconnect between systems and practice.

Industry stakeholder commitment

Industry stakeholders are committed to the following principles:

• Our personal commitment to health and safety values and to world-leading performance and outcomes is evident at all levels, and health and safety is at the forefront of all decisions.
• We support the promotion of:

            * A world leading health and safety culture, and

            * A regulatory policy framework that encourages and fosters a relationship of
            transparent, open and honest communication among all stakeholders.

            * Adequate resources across the industry including human resources for both
            establishing and maintaining world-leading performance and outcomes.

• All stakeholders work together in a cooperative environment to make the workplace safe and healthy.
• Accountabilities and responsibilities of all persons in the workplace are clear and within their control.
• Having systems and processes that build continuous improvement in OHS performance and regulation, with reliable information, data, auditing and benchmarking.

Joint action

The communiqué also calls for action to develop and implement joint strategies to;

* Foster non-technical skills through education programs to improve OHS culture.
* Educate communities about good OHS principles at and beyond the workplace.
* Promote the value of non-technical skills in the industry.
 
The MSAC will provide the forum for the development of collaborative approaches and oversee their progress.

Review in 2010

Participants agreed to meet again in 2010 to review progress on OHS culture change and initiatives to achieve the industrys vision.

Download files	Details
CEO OHS Culture Change Summit 28 November 2008 Communique		28 Kb

Media release

Industry leaders, unions and Government were brought together by the NSW Government for the summit so we could start working together on further safety improvements for the mining industry, NSW Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald said.

Download the Ministerial media release

Non-technical skills

Non technical skills are cognitive, social and personal resource skills that compliment technical skills and contribute to safe and efficient task performance #.  These skills may include:

• Consultation
• Communication
• Situation awareness
• Teamwork
• Decision making
• Leadership

#  This definition is proposed in the publication Safety at the Sharp End (page 1), authored by Rhona Flin, Paul OConner and Margaret Crichton, 2008.