Forestry safety focus of event
The best ways to ensure safer workplaces in forestry, will be the focus of the upcoming Forestry Industry Safety Summit 2015.
Following on from the recent release of the Independent Forest Safety Review findings, the conference will be held on March 3 and 4 at Distinction hotel in Rotorua, and organised by the Forest Industry Engineering Association.
The two days of practical safety presentations - with internationally recognised keynote speakers - will cover topics like safety culture change, worker behaviour in risk situations and how to use new technology to monitor forest operations.
John Stulen, director of forestry industry engineering association, said forestry leaders were looking for tools to make forestry workers safer - both in the way they approach the work and how it is carried out. He said that it was a good time for companies in forestry to take action with their work teams, as industry regulations were in a state of change and it was important to keep up to day with changes.
‘‘The Independent Forestry Safety Review has provided a set of priorities and with this conference, we’re bringing a lot of industry experts together to one place, so contractors and forest managers can come along and see what could work for them.’’
Keynote speaker Reynold Hert – chief executive of the British Columbia forestry safety council – will share the lessons learnt from his own country’s introduction of safety initiatives in 2004.
Ivan Pupulidy, director of the United States forest service’s office of learning, will also offer his expertise on risk analysis and share the latest developments in safety from North America in a two-hour workshop.
Stulen said forest managers, harvest planners, transport operators and forestry contractors would all find practical advice to assist their businesses at the event.
‘‘Listening to the practical advice of the leading experts in the safety area for work teams to adopt in their particular crew, will be the best way to move forward,’’ Stulen said.
‘‘Working together with such amazing keynote speakers and a practical group of contractors and crew leaders, I’m certain we can help make this industry safer.’’
Visit http://forestsafety2015.com to register. Early bird pricing available until the end of business on Thursday, February 5.