Health and safety foremost in Covid world

During the past two years of uncertainties and challenges through the Covid pandemic, Watercare’s health, safety and wellbeing programme has played a leading hand.

Watercare chief executive Jon Lamonte says one thing learned over the past two years is the importance of looking after each other — at work as well as at home.

“While we can’t change the uncertainty caused by the pandemic or global events, we can create certainty and reassurance in the workplace by building a deep trust between senior leaders and employees through transparent communication.”

Watercare established a Covid19 response team that regularly updated what the organisation was doing to keep staff safe and what staff can do to help protect themselves.

During February 53 of the 70 tunnellers working underground in a confined space on the Central Interceptor project caught Omicron. Work was stopped until there were enough skilled workers to carry on.

On infrastructure sites around Auckland, Watercare is operating a health and safety programme with contractors called “Back to Basics.” Frontline workers asked to come up with one action each week that will make their site safer. They are empowered to take collective health, safety, and wellbeing into their own hands.

Following one initiative Watercare is now using remoteoperated vehicles instead of divers to inspect and clean water reservoirs.

Lamonte says truly safe workplaces protect a staff member’s mental health as well as their physical health. While trust, open communication and strong work relationships improve an employee’s mindset at work, their mental wellbeing needs to be actively checked.

The MATES in Construction programme has moved on this approach. The programme uses specially-trained field officers to build positive working environments on construction sites, identifying at-risk team members and getting them the help they need.

Central Interceptor team members are founding members of this initiative.