No harm in safety message

By Nicole Williams
EMPLOYEES may have been surprised to see their ‘disguised’ boss on the factory floor at Jayco’s Dandenong South factory last month.
Jayco Corporation CEO Neil Coulson was taking part in WorkSafe Victoria’s ‘The Skeleton Project’, which saw three Victorian CEOs dress in disguise to better understand workplace safety from the perspective of their workers, with a focus on musculo-skeletal injuries.
“They asked me to be disguised and go out on the factory floor and talk to our employees about manual handling injuries and essentially I went out and I talked to the workers,” Mr Coulson said.
Although the project is a serious issue, the disguise gave his employees a good laugh.
“They all went along with it but they pointed out to me afterwards that they thought the disguise was a bit average and they picked my voice pretty quickly,” Mr Coulson said. “So it was a bit of fun around a safety-related initiative; you’ve got to have a bit of fun in the workplace too.”
The company moved into their purpose-built facility in late 2007, which was designed to reduce manual handling through the introduction of purpose-built lifting equipment.
Since the investment, safety and efficiency had improved, which made Mr Coulson keen to get the direct response of the employees.
“They highlighted to me the efficiency of using that equipment, whereas in the past it may have taken three to four people, it was now being lifted by a machine and with one operator,” he said.
“The lesson was that when introducing safety improvements, it’s a win-win for the employees and the company.”
Overall, Mr Coulson said the experience was worthwhile and highlighted the importance of communication surrounding safety in the workplace. “The experience really demonstrated to me that communication has to be the number on priority in improving safety on an ongoing basis,” he said.
WorkSafe’s chief executive Greg Tweedly hoped the journey would help prevent further injuries.
“Creating an environment in which workers feel confident to speak up about workplace safety will pay off not just in terms of reduced injury rates and associated costs,” Mr Tweedly said. “They are the ones doing the work everyday, so can be in the best position to offer feedback.”
Dandenong has one of the state’s highest rates of death and injury from workplace accidents.
In 2010, 116 musculoskeletal injuries occurred in workplaces in Dandenong. For details about the project or to see the undercover CEO’s in action, visit www.worksafe.vic.gov.au.