“Not Safe? Not Sure? Speak Up!” was the theme of 2023’s Health Safety Environment Representative (HSER) Forum in Perth.
The event kicked off with an open from Ryan Pillar (HSER, Monadelphous), brilliant as a first-time MC. Like a seasoned professional he started with the safety briefing, housekeeping and a couple of good jokes and then clarified the event theme “Not Safe? Not Sure? Speak Up!”, and how it will weave through the day.
Ryan then introduced Phil Reid (Vice President – Change Integration, Woodside and Safer Together project lead of the HSER program). Phil delivered the Forum opening remarks, shared a personal acknowledgement of country and recapped what HSERs had asked for at the 2022 forum in Darwin and how Safer Together has responded during 2023.
Helen Reid followed with an ice-breaker activity, a live poll asking how long delegates in the room had been in the HSER role. Many were in their first term whilst others had been in the role for many years, which generated some robust discussion.
Delegates then saw firsthand one of the flagship communication tools available to HSERs, the HSER Success Story.
Our first Success Story share was a great story about the innovative use of technology to manage scaffold registers offshore, delivered by Blake Marino (HSER, Monadelphous). This initiative has now expanded to not only track scaffold inspection data but to provide cyclone readiness status too.
Helen Reid returned to facilitate another icebreaker, where we asked pairs of delegates two questions for an interview/discussion:
1. What are you most proud of as an HSER?
2. What’s the one tip or strategy you use that helps you be an effective HSER?
Our second HSER Success story was shared by Daniel Jones (Sheet Metal Worker and HSER, Monadelphous). The topic covered the research and persistence that lead to the introduction of air fed helmets to control dust exposure. A massive win for safety and productivity.
Our special keynote presentation was from Sue McCarrey (CEO, NOPSEMA) and Derrick O’Keeffe (Head of Safety and Integrity, NOPSEMA). Together they covered topics including offshore worker mental health, industry’s Covid response, and an HSR event held in Melbourne. Sue had nothing but praise for the Forum, so impressed to see HSERs from Operator and Contractor companies coming together and sharing and learning from each other.
Tom Pettitt (Principal Consultant, Safer Together) then facilitated a session providing delegates the opportunity to share their own HSER Success Stories using the Safer Together template. There were some awesome shares around the room, and we have collected all of them for future use (so lookout for the HSER Success Stories section in December’s HSER Connect!).
A much-requested (by HSERs at the 2022 HSER Forum) skills-building session followed, with Helen Reid masterfully facilitating "How to Improve the Effectiveness of Speaking Up".
Delegates learned about ‘enablers and blockers’ to speaking up using some of the latest research, then workshopped lived experiences on where they might have spoken up (or done so more effectively).
The final presentation and closing were delivered by Emma Gauld (HSE Manager, Monadelphous and Safer Together HSER project team member). Emma shared her personal reflections of the day and reminded delegates of the amazing suite of tools available for HSERs on the Safer Together website.
Emma closed by thanking Ryan for his stellar job as MC, and all the HSERs for their contribution to making the event such a success, saying “What a fantastic day. It was great to be around such passionate people who are really invested in making their workplaces a safer and more comfortable place for everyone. I am very impressed by the HSERs who stood up and shared their experiences with the group and it was amazing to see the engagement and feedback that got in return. We have such an amazing resource in our HSERs and I really valued the opportunity to be part of their day, to listen, learn and support.”
Later that day at the Industry Safety Forum, our HSERs had another chance to shine. Helen Reid ran a panel session with Ryan Pillar, Blake Marino and Philippa Lally (HSR, Shell), giving industry leaders the opportunity to hear directly from the frontline about some of the successes and challenges of the HSR role, and what they need going forward and some key takeaways from the HSER forum.
We thought Ryan said it best when he summed up the day, “What an amazing day shared with amazing people! Personally, I really enjoyed talking with the other HSER reps about issues on other facilities, as well as the successes they have been able to drive through their role. Being able to connect and share thoughts and ideas with leaders that we wouldn’t usually have access to was also a highlight. Looking forward to Darwin next year!”
Our next HSER Forum will be held in Darwin, 12th June 2024 – so SAVE THE DATE!
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