Focus on contractor certification for 2018
CONTRACTOR CERTIFICATION WILL be a major focus for our industry this year and with a lot of enquires about how this will work, now is a good opportunity to bring everyone up to speed with the latest information.
To date, 186 companies have expressed interest in joining the contractor certification scheme and from that total 95 companies have moved onto the next stage, with 28 of them at the field audit stage.
If contractors have applied but not heard anything back, don’t panic – BraveGen, which is contract managing the system, is in the process of following up with all companies that have expressed interest.
Why become certified?
For contractors, certification demonstrates their professionalism to clients. It provides a benchmark that their health and safety systems can be designed to and means everyone is held to the same standards.
For forest owners and managers, using certified contractors provides an assurance that the companies they hire are competent to do the job.
For workers, the scheme will lead to improved health and safety and employment conditions. The scheme was designed in consultation with the regulator, WorkSafe, and with extensive input from the industry.
What’s involved in becoming certified?
To become certified, contractors need to complete a web-based assessment and a field audit. The criteria in the assessment and field audit are based on industry good practice.
Contractors get support to do the web assessment from BraveGen, which runs the online assessment. The field audit is done by an accredited Safetree auditor of the contractor’s choice.
The field audit focuses on observations of the work environment and questioning of workers in the field. The auditor will identify any improvements that should be made at the time of the audit. Certified contractors will be added to a searchable register on the www.safetree.nz website.
How are contractors assed?
The online assessment covers:
• Insurance certificates
• Incident statistics
• Employment advice.
The Field audit covers:
• Risk management
• Competencies
• Leadership and engagement
• Employment conditions
• Critical risks
• Health risks
• Forest practices.
What is the investment?
To become certified, contractors will need to pay an annual subscription fee of $695 (ex GST) for the web assessment and maintenance of the scheme.
The cost of the field audit is variable depending on the auditor selected and their travel expenses. But an indicative cost for a full day is between $800 and $1,000. The audit is required every two years.
For more information on contractor assessment see the Safetree website https:// safetree.nz/certification/. Or info@safetree.nz
Addressing workforce challenges – Industry forms Silviculture Action Group
As covered earlier in this magazine, FICA is taking a leading role in improving the working conditions of silviculture contractors.
Following FICA’s proposal to the Forest Owners Association (FOA) board in November, presented by two silviculture contractor members on behalf of FICA, FOA has confirmed its agreement to work together to form an industry Silviculture Action Group.
The purpose of the group is “producing a financially viable, sustainable, compliant and professional silviculture contracting workforce for growing New Zealand’s forests”.
Over the past 18 months a focus on forestry workers by labour inspectors found clear evidence of working conditions that did not comply with employment legislation. The response from industry is that commercial market rates being paid in some cases contributed to this. The practice could not continue for forest planting to be sustainable, let alone meet the challenge of growing tree-planting massively in coming years.
It was clear to industry leaders that a response was required from both forest managers and contractors. This group has accepted the challenge to make positive change with the support of the right people from government employment agencies.
The first meeting of 20 participants took place on December 19. It included representatives from FICA, FOA, FISC, Competenz, key government agencies and First Union. Plans were discussed to address the key challenges and the group will tackle a series of key issues initially. At this meeting, all parties expressed their strong support for the working group.
The support of key people from operational departments is critical to solving the issues. Their early indications of support are promising. One working group member, Chris Denley of the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) was a shining example, explaining that her organisation covers 11 regions and they are currently having difficulty in attracting people into forestry work. So, she simply asked, “where can I help?” Given the people being encouraged into jobs by MSD, this agency’s practical support is vital.
Nathan Fogden of Inta-Wood Forestry in Te Puke and Robin Thompson of Action Forest Management in Nelson are representing FICA’s interests in getting a solution to these problems. Northland’s Kevin Ihaka is also involved in the group as a FICA board member.
NZL