Building Teams of Safety Leaders: Pensar’s Commitment to Safety in the workplace

Pensar’s commitment to developing safety leaders is contributing to the organisation’s reputation for safety excellence. With many programs that focus on health and safety there’s no doubt that safety is the number one priority. Being National Safe Work Month, it is a time to reflect on workplace health and safety performance and recognise what our people are doing to champion safety in their teams – it is because of our company culture and the commitment of our people that we have safety systems we can be proud of.

With a high performing culture Pensar is not satisfied with just being compliant, we are working towards a new level of safety excellence. Pensar is determined to continue to build a culture of safety and care; to create an environment where every person in the organisation consistently does the right thing, for themselves and for their mates. The message is ‘look after yourself’ and ‘look after your mates’. The rules are genuinely followed by employees, not out of fear for reprimand, but because people understand that not following the rules might mean not going home to loved ones. It might mean a life altering event that no one wants – no one wants to lose their mate, or not go home to their family.

Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality (HSEQ) Manager at Pensar, Daryl Curran, is passionate about leading Pensar to safety excellence and is supporting health and safety programs by building teams of safety leaders.

“’Looking after your mates’ is how teams champion safety on site,” Daryl explains. “It’s the driving force behind building safety leaders that are proactive and offer ideas and solutions.”

 

“Safety leaders who consistently practice safe work and encourage others to do the same; safety leaders who speak up and report near misses and offer ideas and solutions to the problems; safety leaders that are positive influencers on the team and do what everyone knows is right and encourage others to do the same. They empower others to have a voice and encourage input.”

Pensar goes a little further by running a range of free and subsidised health and wellbeing programs that encourage all to get involved, helping employees to connect and to build friendships. These initiatives strengthen the culture, provide opportunities to get fit, be healthy and create a caring community.

Daryl encourages the team to get involved in the programs and events that are available to all. Programs include boxing, mobility and strength training and events include; Gold Coast Kokoda Challenge, Bridge to Brisbane, and the maximum adventure race. His support of the programs and understanding of the importance of building relationships and communicating with all team members has helped to facilitate a close-knit company.

“In turn, this creates a caring community where we are all interested in the wellbeing of others.”.

Pensar prides itself on its high performing workplace safety systems and culture.  Our company-wide commitment to safety has resulted in low WorkCover premiums, 89% less than the industry average. As a result of the low number of claims made, the industry WorkCover premium pays $2.05 and Pensar pays $0.21 – a testament to our safety programs in place and to the ongoing emphasis of safety excellence and HSEQ best practice across the board.