‘Weapons’ for keeping loggers safe

OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS WIREMU EDMONDS has been urging members of logging crews to ‘stand in the gap’ to help keep their mates from harm and now he’s talking about ‘weapons’ to keep everyone safe.

At the Forest Industry Safety & Technology 2018 conference in Rotorua, Wiremu spoke of the next stage of his family’s plan to drive safety in the industry, in the wake of his stepson’s death in 2013.

His powerful and highly personal safety style has seen Wiremu and his partner, Marsella, complete 298 ‘standing in the gap’ presentations and been involved with more than 200 leadership programme delivered to 135 companies here and around the world.

In order to develop a long-term sustainable safety culture, Wiremu draws on his Maori warrior heritage to tell loggers they need to use all their ‘weapons’. But the weapons he’s talking about are not the Patu or Mere, instead, they include:

• Leadership

• Safe & healthy work culture

• Risk management

• Contractor & worker certification

• Crucial conversations

NZL