Since the launch of Helping Hands – Hand and Finger Preservation Program, Safer Together members have purchased more than 300 prosthetic hand kits. After these kits are assembled during our unique hand and finger safety awareness activity, these kits are donated to amputee landmine victims in the developing world via the Helping Hands Program.
Matt Henricks from the Helping Hands Program explains, "I can't emphasise enough how good it is to work with Safer Together and each of its member organisations. The hands that each of you have made so far will make an enormous difference to the people that receive them. From the bottom of my heart I thank you for all that you've done and will continue to do as part of this partnership in the future".
Participating companies include: Arrow Energy; Auscoil; Easternwell; Clough; Hofco Oilfield Services; MorrisCorp; QGC; Santos; Savanna; Schlumberger; Woodside.
Companies using the Helping Hands materials are reporting a wide range of benefits. Not only are they contributing to a very worthwhile cause, they are promoting awareness of hand safety and building teamwork at the same time.
Troy Schefe, CEO of Hofco Oilfield Services is enthusiastic about the workshop element of the Program. “I would highly recommend this as a task to any size organisation. This was not only a good hand safety awareness project but a great team building exercise which I will be seeking to do more of.”
Hofco staff building prosthetic hands during a hand safety awareness day, October 2017
And it’s not just managers who are enthusiastic about it. Savanna staff participated in the workshop during an ice-breaker event with the Rig 65 crew. Feedback from the workers included:
“Best group activity completed since being in the Oil and Gas Industry”
“Good activity. Really brought awareness to how difficult it could be without your dominant hand”.
Savanna Rig 65 crew participating in an ice-breaker activity, August 2017
The workshop has successfully been delivered to small and large groups. QGC and Easternwell partnered to deliver it to a group of 200 at the QGC One Team Forum.
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A lot of hands helping those that need hands – 200 participants build prosthetic hands. QGC One Team Forum, Chinchilla, November 2017
Kyle Koziol, General Manager, Easternwell was impressed with what he saw. “We are always on the look-out for things that will help keep safety ‘front of mind’ for our workforce. It was great to see the enthusiasm in the room during the activity. I think everyone will be re-energised and re-focused as a result. Also, knowing that someone on the other side of the world is benefiting as a result – well that’s an amazing bonus”.
Safer Together’s Rig Site Safety Working Group is planning big things for the Helping Hands Program in 2018. Toolbox talks are an important part of the Program. These use videos of people working with their hands that have been ‘crowd sourced’ from workers in the Industry. The videos enable valuable discussion about how workers might injure their hands when conducting these activities, and how these injuries might be avoided.
Glenn Watt, General Manager Onshore Drilling Operations for Santos is the Project Manager of Safer Together’s Helping Hands - Hand and Finger Preservation Program. Glenn advises, “In 2018 we want to continue to improve our engagement with all workers regarding hand and finger safety. We’re planning a competition, with some great prizes, to encourage workers to upload videos of them working with their hands. We would like to increase our library of video clips that can be used to support ongoing hand and finger awareness toolbox talks across the industry. These clips could include crews sharing innovative solutions or scenarios where new ideas are needed or just hand interactions at wellsites, camps or any other work areas that will prompt some discussions.”
For more information about Helping Hands – Hand and Finger Preservation Program click here.
For more information about how Hofco used Helping Hands click here.
For more information about how Savanna used Helping Hands click here.
For more information about how Easternwell used Helping Hands click here.
For more information about Helping Hands click here.
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