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An innovative program designed to raise the importance of health and well-being for the Victorian workforce has been adopted by Blackwoods at its Scoresby branch, with plans to expand the program out to all Blackwoods Victorian branches.

The aim of the WorkHealth program, which Worksafe launched in 2010, is to encourage employers to sign up for WorkHealth check programs, and encourage employees to participate in the free WorkHealth checks when they are offered at their workplace.

Regina McMeeken, HSE Manager with Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety, says the program has been very popular with employees at the Scoresby branch and distribution centre.

"The initial program, which was held in November last year, has been very well received, and from a health and well being perspective it gives us the opportunity to offer something extra for our workforce," she said.

"Prior to the WorkHealth check up, there had been a big media campaign in Victoria, so in the lead up to it, many people in the organisation were aware and some even asking for it."

"In November, we had over 60% of our people at Scoresby take part, and I have now received the go ahead for all our branches in Victoria, which will be rolled out as soon as possible," she said.

McMeeken explained that the program isn't compulsory for workers to attend. "It's offered to everybody, and is purely voluntary, with the results only shared with the participant."

"They have their blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and waist measurement checked, plus they are given information and tips on their diet and nutrition, and exercise.

"Feedback from employees has been very positive, with most people saying they are pleased to hear they are OK, or just need to improve a little bit here or there. Though some could be told it might be a good time to see their GP and get some medical follow up," McMeeken said.

She said for Blackwoods, the program means a little bit more engagement and support of employees. "And for our employees, it gives them the opportunity to have a quick health check, especially for those who don't have easy access to a GP for health and well-being.

"Unfortunately, many people only go to their GP when they are sick," she said.

For other Victorian companies thinking of introducing the WorkHealth program, McMeeken says it is very straight forward and is based on a company's payroll figure and its number of employees.

"It's just about applying for funding for a provider from Worksafe. Providing you meet their criteria, it's just a matter of them providing approvals," she said.

"And for employers who pick up over 50% of their employees into the program there are grants available, up to $5000, which we will use for wellness programs for the employees," McMeeken said.

Results

As a state-wide program, the WorkHealth program has the potential to positively impact on the lives of over 2.6 million working Victorians.

According to WorkSafe Victoria, the program aims to deliver far reaching benefits to workers, employers, and the community at large, by reducing the risk and incidence of chronic disease across the state's working population and the impact of illness and injury on working families.

The latest results from the WorkHealth checks have revealed that blue collar workers are more likely to have high blood pressure, drink at risky levels, and be at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease than their white collar counterparts.

WorkHealth Director, Pam Anders, said nearly 600,000 Victorian workers - or one in five - have undergone a voluntary WorkHealth check offered by WorkSafe to date.

Anders said that latest findings from a Monash University report on 500,000 WorkHealth checks provided employers with an unprecedented insight into the major health concerns facing their employees and, in turn, their business.

The report, released late last year, showed that blue collar workers, when compared to white collar workers, were:

• more than twice as likely to smoke (29% vs 13%)
• more likely to drink alcohol at risky levels (49% vs 37%)
• more likely to have high blood pressure (30% vs 24%)
• more likely to have a high risk of type 2 diabetes (31% vs 21%)
• and more than twice as likely to have a high risk of heart disease (7% vs 3%)

Anders said the findings for industries such as manufacturing, construction and mining should raise alarm bells for employees and employers alike.

"WorkHealth checks have shown that unhealthy lifestyle behaviours such as alcohol consumption and smoking, and alarming conditions such as high blood pressure require an easily accessible program for workers in those industries.

"Business success is dependent on having a pool of motivated, healthy, safe and engaged people to deliver strong results, without whom the economy would grind to a halt.

"Given the significant challenges of labour and skill shortages, an ageing workforce and climbing rates of chronic disease, blue collar workplaces need to address the added challenge of poor worker health to future-proof their industries.

"The good news is there's a great deal that employers can do to promote healthy choices and behaviours in their workplaces."

Anders said that the WorkHealth program is not only about supporting worker health, but also about promoting productive and thriving businesses.

"A healthy workforce means a safer and more productive workforce, with lower absenteeism, higher morale, better injury recovery outcomes, and the ability to attract and retain motivated, committed staff to deliver strong results for your business.

"Blue collar workplaces, where the work is often more physical, can particularly benefit from well-being initiatives, such as group stretching exercises to prevent injury and boost morale."

Anders said the findings of the WorkHealth program would help inform and develop chronic disease prevention strategies in Victoria, Australia and internationally.

"The WorkHealth findings give Victorian employers access to the major health concerns in their industry.

"We know, for example, that several lifestyle risk factors are more common in some industries than others, such as risky alcohol consumption in mining and construction and smoking in transport.

"By developing specific wellness programs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, employers will see a much stronger return on investment and ultimately reduce the impact of chronic disease on their business and the wider economy," Anders said

Wayne Hunter, HSE Advisor with Bridgestone Australia, said he decided to initiate the free WorkHealth checks for the company's 90 Victorian staff to help raise awareness among the team of their general well being.

"And the results have been just what we were hoping for. Awareness of general health has definitely increased across the organisation. In particular, a number of people have told me they were surprised about their results in the areas of nutrition and physical activity areas," said Hunter.

"This aligns with the habits we could already see among the workforce. There are those that eat well but work in sedentary jobs, and those that work in physical jobs but probably eat a bit too much junk food."

"A survey after the initiative revealed some promising findings, with 90% of staff saying the information they received was of great benefit, and 55% planning to visit their GP to discuss their results," he said.

For more information on the WorkHealth program go to www.workhealth.vic.gov.au

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When Wayne 'Liwingu' McGinness was working as a welder in the Northern Territory in 2008, he had no idea that a wrought iron decoration he made for a sliding gate at his family's new home outside Darwin would have such an impact on his life.

Wayne explained that the five metre crocodile decoration, made out of rusty recycled mild steel, was how the metamorphosis from welder to artist all started.

"Rather than do the normal stuff found on gates, I used some of Mum and Dad's paintings and patterns, who are both artists, to make something different out of steel.

"The feedback from that first piece was fantastic, 'I've never seen anything like it' was a typical comment. And it has just grown from there," he said.

By combining his love of aboriginal art with his skills as a steel fabricator, Wayne has developed his own style of steel art, and now runs a thriving business, Aboriginal Steel Art, which he operates from the backyard of his family home in Kuranda, Far North Queensland.

Each of his steel sculptures is unique and represents the animals of his childhood, animals of his grandfather's land, and animals he and his family hunted, or avoided.

"That first piece received such a great response that I began experimenting with different Australian animals and techniques," Wayne said.

"Then after my wife (Lucy) and I did some research, to see if others were doing similar things and found no one was, we decided to sell up in Darwin and use the money we made from it to move here, where Mum and Dad live.

"We used that money to give the idea, of me being an artist, a real go, and to see whether I had something, or not.

"When I first started I used mild steel from the tip. That allowed me to work out what I could and couldn't cut and was the cheapest way to work out how to do it.

"However I couldn't recycle stainless steel from the tip because I never knew what grade or quality it was; some of it was poor quality and not suitable.

"So early on I decided to just buy good quality marine-grade 316 stainless steel, normally between 1.2mm and 5mm. We now know we have a good product."

Wayne says the sizes of his steel sculptures vary considerably. "From little butterflies and geckos, you can hold in your hand, to the largest one I have done to date, one of my first, which was four metres long. The next longest was three metres long, which was for a wild life park just outside Darwin."

Wayne says his inspiration comes from his childhood background when he was around so many of these animals.

"Much of my childhood was spent fishing and swimming and we were taught to look out for and respect animals, especially crocodiles. There was a lot of times I got to see them up close.

"Much of my inspiration comes from their movement. None of my pieces are straight, the animals are always moving, they have that sense of movement; flowing.

"Especially with the crocodile, I try to catch the sheer power of these wonderful animals in the water; in their natural element."

Wayne admits the transition from welder to artist was not easy.

"As a welder, I could have spent the rest of my life providing for my family, my three young kids and Lucy, by working on the mine and building sites all over Australia, but I felt the move was the right thing to do, and was I never going to die wondering.

"I have been working as an artist for over four years now, but it hasn't always been busy like it is now.

"When I first started I found the art world a bit strange, not having much to with it before. And trying to get your foot in the door was very hard in the beginning.

"But I think I'm getting there now, especially as most of my work is now commissioned work, which I really appreciate.

"Early on I was making pieces for galleries and was always taking a chance that people would like them enough to pay me for the amount of time that I put into it, whereas today that is more of a sideline.

"The corporate side of the business actually provides a living, to feed my family. The gallery work is more of a bonus.

"I enjoy all aspects of my work, but if I had to pick one it would be in the workshop; when I'm welding and grinding," he said.

When it comes to the design process for his steel sculptures, Wayne says he uses a range of options. "I might use old school patterns written on paper, through to the latest touch screens and CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software.

"After a couple of years in the business, I realised the amount of time I was spending in the design process would never be paid for. Plus I'm very fussy with what I send out too.

"Early on I didn't even have any oxy or ways to heat and bend the metal. It was all cold bent mild steel.

"We did that for a while, but I soon worked out that I was taking too long and could never make a business out of it.

"So we decided to spend some of the money from the sale of the house on a little profile cutter and from that I was forced to learn CAD.

"Now I do all my drawings on the computer, put it on a flash drive, then take it to my workshop and cut the pieces out. I then weld them together to make the finished work.

"So I'm still using my imagination, but in a more effective manner, plus I can now see what it will be like in 3D.

The way we work now, I can provide a better finish and a better quality piece. I'm now teaching myself how to draw in 3D," he said.

Wayne's advice to others thinking of following in his footsteps is to do your research first. "If you have something, and really believe it, give it a go.

"I'm just starting to get used to calling myself an artist, and now recognise that my art is a business. I would like to thank Indigenous Business Australia for their assistance for that.

"I know a lot of artists who have to have a job to survive. We are very lucky and grateful that I get to do this as a full time job. I had my first exhibition a couple of months ago, that went really well," he said.

Going forward Wayne plans to keep on doing what he's doing. With a full order book from customers including Wesfarmers, Blackwoods, Protector Alsafe, the state governments of Victoria and the Northern Territory (NT), and the Australian Paralympian Team, that's not surprising.

"It seems to be working. I always do the best I can do on every single piece, and when it does not work, if I'm not happy with the end result, I scrap it and start again. It seems to work for us.

"Lucy, my wife had a full time job as a property manager for a real estate company, but I'm so busy here she has cut back to three days a week, just to do my admin work.

"In the future, I would also like to run workshops here for indigenous people that we could train. There are so many opportunities out there for public art pieces," he said.

Not surprisingly Wayne has no plans on going back to being a welder. "I couldn't, I don't make anything square anymore."

To see more of Wayne's work or to make an enquiry go to www.aboriginalsteelart.com

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By scanning the code on a Pacific Hoists product, the user is able to quickly access specifications, technical drawings and instruction manuals.

Bullivants Load Calculator app is now available.

A decade ago, someone talking about QR codes and mobile phone apps or Facebook and Twitter accounts would just get blank stares in response. But today companies who do not take advantage of some, or all, of these new technologies are missing out on essential communication vehicles for their customers, and staff. As of September 2012, Facebook had over one billion active users, with more than half of them using Facebook on a mobile device. And Twitter is not far behind in worldwide popularity with over 500 million registered users as of 2012, generating over 340 million tweets daily and handling over 1.6 billion search queries per day. And not surprisingly, Australians have adopted these latest technologies like ducks to water.

A recent study, 'Telsyte Australian Smartphone Market Study 2011-2015', estimates that 10 million Australians will purchase smartphones between 2011 and 2015, taking the total number of Smartphone users to 18.5 million, almost one for every Australian.

Another study by IPSOS Research on behalf of Google found that Australia has the second highest global Smartphone usage, above the US and the UK in terms of mobile use per person. They also found that one in three Internet searches is used to find local businesses.

However, the survey also found 80% of Australian businesses don't have mobile optimised websites, and many think having an app alone is all they need for a successful mobile strategy.

One example of how mobile technology can increase sales is a mobile advertising technique using QR (Quick Response) barcodes, where consumers can 'scan' using a mobile phone and are then automatically transferred to a vendor or manufacturer website, where they can receive more information about the advertised product or service.

QR Code, a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), was invented in Japan by the Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994 to track vehicles during the manufacturing process.

More recently, the system has become popular outside the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to standard UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made up of four standardised kinds of data (numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, Kanji), or through supported extensions, of virtually any kind of data.

Blackwoods is now using them extensively across a broad range of its promotional literature.

And not just QR Codes, there is a wide range of technologies available for Australian companies, it's knowing which ones are suitable for which company.

Digital Marketing

Once thought the domain of big-spending computer companies, digital marketing is now being embraced by a whole range of industrial companies to engage with their customers, and potential customers.

Stacey Mason, Shell Australia's Indirect Lubricants Marketing Specialist, says with Smart Phone penetration in Australia the second highest in the world, plus the highest Facebook penetration in the world, more and more companies are using digital marketing.

"It's almost, if you don't do it now, you will be left behind," she said.

"At Shell, we have a suite of digital tools that cover all our customers, with many of the initiatives developed locally, though some are global, and available to all Shell customers around the world."

Mason explained that she looks after Shell's indirect channels. "These include the distributors who sell Shell lubricants on our behalf, such as Blackwoods who is our national B2B distributor for a wide range of industries including manufacturing, mining, construction, transport.

"With most of our customers being on the road, we need to give them mobile access to our smart tools and apps etc to help them." Though she said most of the tools are for the B2C market as well, such as the Lube Match tool that assists both B2C and B2B consumers with finding the right lubricant for their equipment.

Launched in 2012, Shell's digital marketing strategy includes a LubeLocator mobile site designed for customers to find the nearest Shell lubricant distributor, reseller and retailer anywhere in Australia.

Available as a mobile application or on the web, the system is free and available to anyone. It uses Google's advanced map tool to locate and provide directions to the user's nearest distributor.

Mason says the LubeLocator allows customers to search for Shell lubricant distributors and resellers by location, delivery options and industry sector, with full listings right down to local branch level.

"At Shell we have a wide distributor network, and the Lube Locator has been designed to improve access to Shell lubricants for our customers with engines requiring frequent oil changes and top ups," Mason added.

"Often the distributors can provide a full energy solution with both fuel and lubricants to businesses across various sectors," Mason said.

"Facebook has also been a success story for us, both globally and locally, with high penetration rates in very little time.

"We already have two million Facebook fans globally across 45 different countries, but also locally with posts reaching 22% of audiences (Facebook benchmark is 16%).

"We are now getting excellent interactions with our customers, which is fantastic.

"For example, we held an event in the Alice Springs National Transport Hall of Fame for the transport community recently and we posted it on Facebook and Twitter and we had strong feedback, with lots of 'Likes' and customers commenting on and sharing the photos, trying to find themselves or someone they knew. We see this interaction with our customers as very important," she said.

For other companies thinking of using social media, Mason's advice is to get their strategy in place before they do anything.

"Content is king. If they don't have relevant content that users actually want, then there is no point being out there.

"Being a corporate global company, we had the strategy behind social media before we launched to make sure it was successful.

"We have a calendar of what we plan to put out on social media in line with our marketing actvitites, so we know what and when we will be talking about, and are prepared. But we are flexible when things do come up, and able to quickly react to real-time consumer needs and wants" she said.

Mason said Shell also has a number of electronic newsletters including V-Power Club, InMotion and Shell Fleet Mail, plus a Distributor Portal and Distributor Academy which is exclusive for distributors of Shell Lubricants products in Australia.

"It holds a range of information such as product flyers and collateral, brand guidelines, signage, examples of marketing and sales tools, and eLearning modules for distributors to download," Mason explained.

Shell's executive VP for communications, Herbert Heitmann (based in Holland), said if companies do decide to go social, "don't try to do it with amateur approaches".

"Be willing to invest, and above all put the right people in, surround yourself with experienced partners. [Social Media] is like the wind, so the least you can do is to build a windmill," he said.

Websites and QR codes

While company websites have been around for many years now, the importance of having one that is user-friendly and comprehensive has never been greater.

Marketing experts say companies should regard their website as a window into their company, as it is often where customers go first, and first opinions are vitally important. Some companies spend a lot of time and effort on their receptionist, but neglect their website, saying it does not make sense.

Pacific Hoists launched its new website, following its corporate identity change, in 2011.

As well as a refreshed look, the website contains up-to-date product, industry and company information with easy navigation and live search facilities.

New features include Up 2 Date, posting the latest industry news, press releases, upcoming events and race results of V8 Supercar driver Nandi Kiss, and Industry Solutions which provides industry-related information including case studies, applications and documentation about hoisting, winching and materials handling safety.

In addition, the site's Our Products pages have been updated with new product images, features, specifications and dimensions tables.

Visitors can also read through frequently asked questions or test their knowledge in the Knowledge Base section. They are also now able to receive immediate answers to their questions through Live Chat.

According to CEO Richard Crake the refreshed Pacific Hoists corporate identity was the beginning of a new direction and the launch of the new website is now the second step, with many more to follow.

"The technologies we are using are new to our industry and we are proud to lead the way.

"By using iPads, iPhones and a state-of-the-art website, we have equipped our sales and customer support teams with the ability to provide immediate product, price and service information to our distributors and end-users.

"We are very committed to further improve our business on a day to day basis and this is just the beginning of what we can do,"

Pacific Hoists is now in the process of utilising QR Codes on all its products to provide end-users with "point of use" information.

Implemented at the end of 2011 as the third step, the company has now included the majority of its brands in the QR Code program (Hitachi, JDN, Vital, Pacific etc.).

By scanning the code on the Pacific Hoists product, the user is able to access specifications, technical drawings and instruction manuals in a quick and environment friendly manner.

This information can be saved on the Smartphone or accessed again through re-scanning the code. Therefore, the information will never be misplaced or lost and will always be available.

The first products to implement the QR Codes were the Hitachi Electric Chain Hoists with two codes on each product. The first one is placed on the hoist body and provides easy and immediate access to the instruction manuals and the second code is located on the pendant. The codes direct users to all Hitachi specifications, technical drawings and again the manuals.

Crake said Pacific Hoists was the first company in the hoisting industry to use QR Codes.

"To be able to offer this service with our products is a major step forward. Adding this value to our products is part of our commitment to further improve our business on a day to day basis," he said.

In October last year, Pacific Hoists was the winner of the 2012 Western Sydney Award for Business Excellence in Manufacturing.

Crake said business excellence for Pacific Hoists translates into the use of the latest state-of-the-art technology in regards to corporate governance risk systems, online sales and customer management programs using iPhone and iPads and unique website capabilities such as Live Chat and downloadable product information through QR codes.

Mobile phone apps

Mobile phone apps are ubiquitous in the consumer market, and are now starting to be made available for industrial users.

For example Bullivants, Australia's oldest, largest specialist provider of lifting, rigging, safety and related services to the industrial sector, has recently announced the launch of its Load Calculator app which is now available for iPhone or iPad. Containing ten calculators, the app features a wide range of utilities to help customers determine the Working Load Limit (WLL) or the diameter of their sling in wire rope, chain, HMPE fibre rope or synthetic materials.

Users can choose the type of information they require such as the material, application, configuration and included angle.

The relevant results are then viewable in the app, quickly providing the answers as per Australian Standards and manufacturer's specifications. The results can then be saved by taking a screenshot of the calculation to be referenced at a later stage.

The app also provides quick access to customers nearest Bullivants Branch via a GPS locater.

According to Bullivants' spokesperson, Rachel Nadin, customer feedback has revealed that this is a highly valuable tool for all those involved in technical lifting solutions.

As well as mobile phone apps, Bullivants is also utilising QR Codes within its printed technical and product publications.

For example, Bullivants' 4th Edition National Handbook features a QR Code linking customers to its website for information on products and services, technical specifications and branch locations.

Customers can also keep up with Bullivants events, tradeshow appearances and current initiatives via its Facebook page.

"The team at Bullivants are continually looking at how to utilise technology to quickly provide useful information and technical specifications to customers," Nadin said.

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Written by Alan Johnson, for TecTorque Summer 2012

Most managers believe their workers are fully protected from injury in the workplace, however that might not always be the c

Every senior manager in industry believes they have a safe workplace, be it a mines site, a factory, an engineering shop or a construction site. Most will tell you the protection of their workers is their most critical focus for their organisation. While the sentiment is 100% correct, reality can be a little different. It has been shown that it often takes fresh eyes from a third party, a company outsider, or safety specialist to recognise certain hazards that impact in a company’s ‘zero-harm’ objectives. Recognising these issues, Blackwoods began rolling out its Onsite Safety Assessments program earlier this year to key customers. Daniel Richards, National Category Manager with Blackwoods, says employee welfare is an industry imperative. “Keeping staff up to date with current safety technologies, legislation, standards and techniques is vital. “This program aims to form a strategic partnership with our key customers, offering onsite assessments that provide tangible solutions. “While it is early days, feedback from customers who have used our service to date shows there is strong demand and they have been very impressed with the service we offer,” Richards said. “We are able to provide our customers documented recommendations in all areas of safety, for both existing staff and contractors,” Richards said.

Some of the many onsite safety assessments include:

Lockout/tagout process and compliance - Systems and protocols around isolation of machinery and equipment.

Hand protection, awareness and glove selection program - Selecting the right gloves to maximise employee safety and efficiency, including production output.

First Aid component maintenance - Review of first aid stations across the site, covering accessibility and ongoing kit ‘top-up’.

Traffic management solutions - Separating people from machine, including traffic and onsite working equipment such as forklifts.

Safety harness inspection and toolbox talks – Compliance with expiry under the standards, implementation of self-sufficient management of equipment.

Prescription safety eyewear programs - Compliance to medium impact standards, integrated with employee prescription requirements.

Signage and identification assessment - Review of hazards across the whole site, in accordance with relevant standards.

Environmental spill control - Identification of environmental hazards, isolating and minimising risk associated.

Dangerous goods assessment - Review of chemical and gas storage, in accordance with standards and risk management.

Workplace drug and alcohol testing - Onsite testing by an independent external assessor, or inhouse management and reporting.

Emergency response – Chemical management, preparedness planning.

Custom embroidery, screen printing and colour coding - Tailored solutions for head protection and clothing, in accordance with company guidelines.

Richards explained that the service can be mixed and matched to customers’ requirements.

“Some of our customers have asked us to review a different service or area a month over twelve months, while other customers just want a review in one specific area,” he said. “Basically, Blackwoods instigates a discussion with a customer, in which they identify where they need some help, based on the many assessments we provide. “We then contact the relevant safety manufacturer who will visit the site, share their findings with us, and we then put together a recommendation relevant to their area of concern and forward it to the customer for evaluation.

“We do have individual safety specialists in-house with the assessment capability, but generally we use our manufacturing suppliers who have intimate and specialised expertise in their field in a joint call program. This way a knowledge base is built and then shared across the National safety network within our business.

“Probably the most popular area with our customers at this stage has been the Lockout/Tagout isolation review, closely followed by the signage and identification assessment we offer. These are the two areas often overlooked and we find most people have little understanding about current legislation.

Having the right equipment for the job is critical

“When it comes to PPE, the protection of the worker, the site visits involve the supplier coming on site, reviewing what they are using in what applications, current usage patterns and whether there are any potential improvements for the site.”

“They also talk to the working staff about their comfort levels with their current PPE, plus whether they experience any issues in their day to day activities.”

“Once we have that feedback, as an independent assessor, we include this with a summary of recommendation and present that back to management for discussion,” he said.

As an example, Richards spoke about a large Australian coal mine which was using over 80,000 pairs of low cost safety spectacles a year.

“At $3.50 a pair that equated to a spend of around $280,000 a year,” he said. “However, when our spectacle supplier uvex carried out a review of the company’s eyewear, it was identified that the reason they were going through so many pairs was that the low cost spectacles were easily scratched and were being discarded after very little usage. “To overcome the problem, they trialled hard coated uvex spectacles over a period in one of the high consumption areas. While initially being more expensive, the spectacles lasted at least four times longer, resulting in significant cost savings, far less wastage and due to comfort and wearer acceptance, a safer workforce.

“Following implementation, the usage of spectacles fell to 20,000 a year, a saving of 60,000 pairs of spectacles and a cost saving of $80,000 a year,” Richards said. “Our goal is to assist our customers meet their ‘zero-harm objectives, reduce cost, improve efficiency or increase worker satisfaction and compliance. Through the co-ordination of many ‘subject matter experts’ within our broad supplier partners, we are able to bring knowledge and prior learning experience to all of our customers” says Richards.

“We understand the issues that arise at safety committee meetings and are able to recommend solutions quickly and efficiently, by bringing the customer-manufacturer relationship much closer together. “Typical challenges we encounter with worker safety include incorrect sizing and fit of PPEs, wrong product selection for the application, inferior product quality, poor comfort and over protection.

“These issues can have a number of effects including reduced performance, injury, workers refusing to wear PPE and worker dissatisfaction, with outcomes of a poor safety culture, high incident rates, high overall costs and staff turnover,” Richards said. “With changes to workplace legislation in 2012 around harmonisation, the Blackwoods site assessment program is tailored to assist our customers bring zero harm across their workplace. “By bridging the gap between manufacturer expertise and site challenges, Blackwoods become the interface to assist everyday customers in achieving their objectives,” Richards said.

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Written by Alan Johnson, for TecTorque Summer 2012

With skills shortages right across industry, it’s no surprise to see women working alongside men in traditionally male-dominated industries.

Think of the mining industry and you used to think of blokes, it’s a similar story with manufacturing, engineering and the print industries. But that was yesterday’s news, today whatever facet of industry you look at, you are likely to find an increasing number of women involved. However, women advocates say much more can be done regarding women working in traditionally male dominated industries.

A recent ‘Women in NSW 2012’ report showed men earned on average 14% more than women, translating into an extra $200 a week. According to Pru Goward, NSW Minister for Women, the gender pay gap will only close if more women work in manual trades. Launching the report, Goward said the male domination of highly paid manual trade jobs was partly to blame for the continuing gender gap in NSW. The report found that women in NSW held just 10% of construction jobs and 1% of apprenticeships in the building sector.

Mining industry

Like many young people going into uni, Kristie Atkinson was not sure what career she really wanted to pursue. “I had studied science and maths at high school so I started out with a science degree. “However after my first year at University of Queensland I knew science was not for me; I hated it. So I took some time off and travelled for a while. “When I got back I looked at science related areas such as geology and geography, not knowing what they really were,” Kristie said. “Geology looked like it should be fun, and I’d get to work outside, so I did a couple of courses and just kept going. “I did some part time work with a mining consultancy company while I studied, plus I worked within the geology department as a student geologist. “I also took part in a vacation program, working full-time with a coal mining company over the three-month summer holidays before I graduated with a degree in science, majoring in geology which was in August 2011,” she explained.

Saxon Rice (right) being taught how to weld by Zoe Girgenti, who was offered a full apprenticeship at the end of the program.

Kristie then started working for the Barrik Gold Corporation, the world’s largest gold producer, in the same month. “So I gained a little bit of experience while I studied but this is my first job, here in WA, as a qualified geologist,” she said. Kristie is based at Barrik’s isolated Plutonic mine site, roughly 1000km north east of Perth with a small airstrip for workers to fly in and out. “There are probably around 300 people on site at any one time,” she explained. “I hadn’t really thought about the mining industry being a male-dominated industry until I spoke with friends who told me some stories about work on mine sites. It completely freaked me out, until I actually got out here. “I have no problems at all. At first you can tell it is different, with very few girls on site, but after a while you don’t notice it. The guys are just work friends, just like any other job,” she said. Kristie assumed when she took the mine site job that she would have to be one of the boys, “but that’s not true”. “I have never had any problems with sexism, the guys have always treated me with a lot of respect. I rely on the skills and knowledge I bring to the role. While there maybe fewer women in engineering at the moment, it’s not an issue and it’s changing,” she said.

Queensland initiatives

An innovative program to address skills shortages and encourage women into the welding trade was officially launched in Queensland earlier this year. Assistant Minister for Technical and Further Education, Saxon Rice, said growing the skills base of Queensland’s female workers opens up new avenues to tackle skills shortage issues in areas like welding.

“The Women Who Weld program offers females the ability to gain skills and enter an area of the job market that is both expanding and potentially well-paid. “From a practical, high-level economic perspective, it taps into a largely unexplored market for workers that will seal skill gaps. “In addition to general industry demand, Queensland has a burgeoning CSG-LNG (Coal Seam Gas - Liquid Natural Gas) industry that is driving up the number of welders needed.

“Attracting more females into welding and retaining them in the workforce is for the betterment of industry and will produce longer term social and economic gains,” Rice said.

She explained that the program is a partnership between Atlas Heavy Engineering and Manufacturing Skills Queensland (MSQ). Leanne Hixon, who manages MSQ’s Manufacturing and Engineering Gateway Schools Project, said Australia needs to look at innovative ways to tap into that potential workforce, as opposed to poaching people from other occupations and industry areas to fill the skills gap. Hixon acknowledges a trade can be an intimidating path for a woman to follow, but he believes the Women Who Weld program offers a “safe environment” to try something new. “The beauty of this program is they don’t have to go into a big class with all the boys and be the only girl. They can give it a try and see if it is for them without that pressure,” Hixon said. Atlas Heavy Engineering is one of Australia’s major suppliers to the earthmoving attachment industry and employs 110 tradespeople – until now, all men. Atlas’s GM, Rex Vegt, said the program is primarily a practical course designed to engender interest in welding, fabricating and boilermaking.

“If anyone shows a lot of interest and aptitude there’s the chance of an apprenticeship down the track – it’s all well and good to train people, but there needs to be a light at the end,” Vegt said.

Elsewhere in Queensland, the Minister for Education, Training and Employment John-Paul Langbroek recently announced applications had opened for the first round of the Queensland Government’s. Supporting Women Scholarships. He said 500 scholarships of up to $20,000 would be available over our years for women who study subjects in male dominated industries and go on to work in those fields.

Print industry

With over 20 plus years in the print industry, Susan Heaney, CEO of Heaney Print, has witnessed first hand vast changes in attitudes to women in what is still perceived by many as a male-dominated industry.

When I first started, I would go to a function and be the only woman in the room. Now there will be five or six – Susan Heaney.

“When I first started, I would go to a function and be the only woman in the room. Now if I’m lucky there will be five or six, but there are some functions where the balance is much closer.

“Today I’m still treated a bit different by my peers, because I’m a woman. But it used to be aa lot more than now," Susan said. "In the early days it was difficult and it took many years to break it down,” she said. “I don’t think we are there yet; there is still a way to go because there are a lot of people out there with old-fashioned antiquated ideas. They are mainly from smaller companies, who are not dealing in the big pool,” she said. Susan talks proudly of her Women in Print initiative, which she was instrumental in setting up in 2006. It offers team support, networking opportunities and access to mentoring programs and guidance to young women coming through in all areas of the industry.

“The growth has been pretty phenomenal. We had 290 in 2007, then 500 plus this year,” she said.

However, Susan believes glass ceilings for women still exist, but says a lot depends on where they work in the print industry. “I don’t think it is anywhere near as prevalent as it used to be as I’m coming across an ever-increasing number of women in senior roles in the big print companies. Though Susan does admit they do tend to be in the sales and marketing areas and mainly in the digital and wide format areas; “certainly not in offset printing, that is still pretty blokey”. According to Susan, the print industry has always been an exciting industry to work in. “Technology in our industry is always changing. The other positive is that it is an international business. That’s something young people often overlook. They can pick up a job anywhere in the world.” However, Susan admits it is a very tough industry to make money in.

But for young women thinking of entering the print industry she advises them to look beyond the traditional office and apprenticeship roles. “There are a lot of web to print roles available, plus there are opportunities in IT. “Here we offer cadetships where young men and women can learn all facets of the print industry. Susan says being traditionally a blokey industry shouldn’t put young women off entering the print industry. “On my floor for example, I have women in all roles. They are running my bindery machines, they are also in pre- press, in sales and marketing, health and safety, environmental. And it’s not a dirty industry any-more,” Susan said.

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Written by Alan Johnson, for TecTorque Summer 2012

Tool investment has paid dividends for a budding first year electrical apprentice, his employer and his TAFE, with each sharing in the $15,000 JBS Tools prize.

Dylan Schorer, first year apprentice with S&M Doyle Electrical Contractors in Albany, WA, might be more inclined to enter competitions following his exciting $5000 win of JBS Tools as part of this year’s Trade Team Apprentice Draw, courtesy of Blackwoods popular Trade Team 2012 publication.

“This is the first time I have entered a competition. I’m incredibly surprised, and excited,” he told TecTorque.Dylan attributes staff at Blackwoods’ Albany branch for him entering the competition in the first place. “It was Rebecca (Nordink) who encouraged me, that was how I got started. She said I should take the time to enter for a chance of winning,” he said.

“I didn’t think any more about it. Then I started talking to the guys at work who encouraged me. They reckoned I could win. So eventually I came up with the 40 words. It was that long ago, I can’t remember what I wrote now. “It was a long wait before we heard anything. But when I did get the call from Blackwoods, I was incredibly surprised,” Dylan said. As well as Dylan winning $5000 of JBS tools for himself and his employer, his training institute, Great Southern Institute of Technology also won $5000 of JBS tools. Dylan’s entry was selected by drag racing triple champion and JBS Tools ambassador, Wayne Newby.

To be eligible to enter into the competition entrants must have been undertaking an apprenticeship or government approved traineeship, and have purchased a product from the Trade Team publication.

The competition required entrants to explain in 40 words or less what they, their TAFE, and their employer would do with the prize. When TecTorque spoke to Dylan he was sifting his way through Blackwoods’ catalogue and browsing the website, trying to work out what to spend his $5000 on. “There is too much to choose from. I have been through the huge catalogue and have circled many of the items already. I’ll have to make a short list soon.

“I had just bought a JBS 177 piece tool set when I entered the competition. So at this stage I’m looking at individual tools. I always wanted a battery powered drill,” he said. Dylan explained that he only started as a first year apprentice in January this year. “But I love the job, it’s brilliant.

“I enjoy being in the workshop, where all the tools and equipment you need are at hand; when you need them. You don’t have to go searching for them, I know where everything is,” he said.

“I spend a lot of my time on manufacturing the electrical boards. So I’m part boilermaker, part electrician. It’s broad based training, which I like. I really enjoy the electrical work, it’s really good,” he said. Despite all the changes in technology in the industry, Dylan says he is still asked to sweep the floor. Some things never change. “I generally keep the place pretty tidy, though the boss tries to mess it up as much as he can,” he joked. “I also get out of the workshop, on road trips to jobs in other towns in the area whenever I’m needed, which I also enjoy,” Dylan said. Employer wins as Well John Doyle, owner of the small electrical contracting business, says Dylan is a worthy recipient. “He will go on to make a first class tradesman,” he said. John explained that Dylan entered the competition when his Tools For Your Trade (TFYT) allowance came through earlier this year. “We were in Blackwoods, and after reading all the competition details, we thought we should give it a go. “Dylan did and he was successful. We are very pleased,” he said. John, who also won $5000 worth of JBS tools for his business as part of the prize, said that apart from Lotto, he was not a regular competition enterer. “It was a big surprise when I heard we had won. We had onlybeen talking about the competition a couple of days before we won, saying some lucky person must have won. “Then on the Friday afternoon we got the phone call. It was brilliant,” he said John explained that he and Dylan have their own wish lists. “I’ve got my eyes on a good JBS air compressor, plus maybe some hydraulic lifting tables for heavy items. “We are pretty well set up here with JBS gear; we already have five tool chests. We build our work benches or the tool chests just to slide under. So everything has a home and it’s working out really well.

Part boilermaker, part electrician, Dylan Schorer with one of the company’s electrical switchboards

“I’m absolutely thrilled with the prize and very excited about it. “We are only a small company, and we strive to do the best possible job we can, but one of the things my father did for me was he gave me the time to learn and I’m really endeavouring to give my apprentices the time to learn to do their job well.” John says his business is doing very well, “ticking over quite nicely in a depressed market”.

“We are in the country, so it’s difficult in one respect because we don’t have the buying power of our Perth cousins and have to carry a lot more stock than them. “We have learnt to be self -sufficient because we can’t job anything out. You can’t get a sheet-metal worker to do our job and visa-versa so we have had to learn all the skills to do the whole package. “So then we design something, we design it with the thought of how it’s is going to be for the person installing it, from an electrical perspective not from a fabricators perspective. That helps as well,” he said. Doyle explained that the company was formed by his father in 1948 in York WA, then re-established in Albany in 1958. “The company has been operating as an electrical contractor under the same name ever since, and Blackwoods has been our supplier since that time; when they were known as Atkins over here. “Over the years, we have always designed and manufactured electrical switchboards, but now we are a little smaller with just four electricians, including myself, and two office staff. “Now it’s not so much switchboard work for ourselves but for other electrical contractors. We also do light engineering and basically anything in that field.

We still buy all our consumables from Blackwoods, plus other materials such as cables. We’ve never had any issues with their service or the products they sell. It has been really good,” John said. And or 013 Employers and apprentices should be aware that the unique Blackwoods Trade Team publication and promotion will be back again in 2013. Early next year will see the next edition of the unique Trade Team publications distributed, with thousands of copies sent or delivered directly to individual apprentices; with many copies sent directly or handed by Blackwoods Account Managers to TAFE colleges, TAFE teachers and directors of colleges, all of whom supported previous Trade Team activities; and further copies to be sent to contacts at Apprentice Training Centres Australia wide. Copies are also available at Blackwoods branches and can be viewed at blackwoods.com.au. As in 2012, the Trade Team competition will run from 1st February 2013 through till 31st May 2013. For more information on the Trade Team publication and next year’s Trade Team Apprentice Draw keep your eye on blackwoods.com.au.

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Written by Alan Johnson, for TecTorque Winter 2012

Part of the Indonesian Team, Left to right: Jim Beveridge: Global Supply & Logistics Manager, Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety; Ahmad Muslimin Shaleh – Customer Sales Officer, Sarana Prima Optima; Robisuk Gulthom – Warehouse Manager, Agility Logistics; Olivier Chretien – Managing Director, Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety; Dyah Pratiwi – Customer Sales Officer, Sarana Prima Optima; Allan Tosh – General Manager Northern Region, Blackwoods Australia; Chris Bruderlin – Country Manager, Blackwoods Indonesia; Hendra Novan – National HSE Officer – Agility Logistics.

Blackwoods first venture outside Australia and New Zealand is well positioned for success with strong customer support already.

Over many decades Blackwoods has developed a highly successful business model; reliably delivering an extensive range of workplace essentials, plus offering great value and great service to its many thousands of customers across Australia and New Zealand, as well as exporting to the Pacific Rim and Africa.

Now Blackwoods has taken the next bold step and opened a new operation in Balikpapan in the resource-rich province of East Kalimantan on the Indonesian side of Borneo.

With a population of just over half a million, Balikpapan is the key city for the surrounding coal and oil and gas industries.

Chris Bruderlin, Blackwoods Country Manager for Indonesia, says this is an exciting project and one that is well positioned to succeed.

"While it is early days, we have only been open a couple of months, all the feedback has been positive.

"Our customers are very happy with our service, and the quality of our products we supply," Bruderlin said.

He explained that most of his clients are fairly large companies, many of them Australian, either owned or affiliated.

"To date, our customers are very impressed with the size of our warehouse and the wide range of products relevant to local industry that we stock. We presently carry in excess of 4000 product lines and expect that number to grow in line with customer requirements.

"At the moment we have 20 employees here, both indirectly and indirectly, but that figure will grow as our business continues to grow." Bruderlin says the breadth of product categories stocked in the Balikpapan warehouse is fairly comparable with other Blackwoods warehouses in Australia.

"For example, we took an approximate profile of the stock that we normally carry in Mackay, which primarily services the mining operations of the region.

"We also took a profile of our branch in Darwin that supports the oil and gas industry of that region. Basically we have mirrored those operations.

"However, if for some reason we don't have a product in stock in Balikpapan, we are able to draw upon the extensive stockholding in our Australasian Distribution Centres.

"This includes bringing products into Balikpapan or we can ship directly to our customers in remote locations throughout the Indonesian Archipelago, depending on our customers' needs.

"With downtime the enemy of all resource companies here, we are now able to provide a valuable service to them. Keeping things running is everything to our customers, and we deliver," Bruderlin said.

He explained that the highest standards of Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (OHS&E) are core values of Blackwoods in any geography in which the company operates.

"Whist some of the behavioural aspects of this did and continues to present some challenges, it is really pleasing to note that the Balikpapan operation is meeting our highest OHS&E standards," he said.

While Sydney-born Bruderlin, who has been living in Indonesia for many years, says there are minimal security issues in the region, plus the area is not prone to natural disasters such as tsunamis or earthquakes, he admits the climate can be difficult for newcomers. "It's either hot and raining, or hot and not raining."

Over the past two decades, Indonesia's coal industry has transformed itself into one of the world's largest exporter of steam coal. However Bruderlin says there is a good mix of the coal and the oil and gas industries in the region.

"While they are not sitting on top of each other, Balikpapan is the closest main city and acts as the hub for both industries," he said.

Bruderlin says the size and the opportunities of Indonesia are spectacular. "There are some fantastic opportunities here in Indonesia, the people are great; they are very kind, helpful and polite and I'm quite happy to be here. We have only been open a short time, but it is all looking very encouraging. It is expected that this will just be the beginning of our business in Indonesia, and we are likely to expand over time," Bruderlin said.

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Written by Alan Johnson, for TecTorque Winter 2012

With limited resources on planet earth, it's up to responsible individuals and companies to address the ongoing capacity of ecosystems to maintain all life.

Environmental sustainability is all about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

By becoming sustainable, we can reduce our environmental footprint and help preserve the world's precious natural resources.

Business sustainability is about creating processes that do not compromise the human and natural resources now or in the future, while continuing to deliver value to key stakeholders.

Business and industry has a crucial role to play in helping Australia to become more sustainable and competitive. As a result, many Australian organisations and industries are responding by reducing their environmental impacts and risks through improved environmental management practices and efficient use of natural resources.

Blackwoods is one Australian company committed to ensuring its operations do not adversely affect the environment.

Craig Jones, Sustainability Manager for Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety, (of which Blackwoods is a part), says the company is continually working on conserving resources with a focus on energy efficiency and waste reduction. "For example, at our Smithfield operation in western Sydney, as part of our sustainability program, we have installed a cardboard baler to improve our recycling efficiencies and reduce our operating costs.

Following a successful trial of the baler, and a safety risk assessment to ensure it met our very high safety standards, including a safety curtain to protect workers, we were able to remove a large compactor which was expensive to operate.

In the process we were able to save around 50% of our waste costs for that site, plus we were able to divert all the pallet wrapping plastic and other types of soft plastic from the warehouse, which was previously going to landfill, to be recycled.

Following the success in Smithfield, we have piloted and implemented a machine at our Canning Vale operation in Western Australia.

They already had some cardboard recycling, but the balers are also about improving labour efficiencies. The warehouse workers no longer need to go out to the recycling bins, instead they are able to put cardboard or plastic in the baler which is inside the warehouse.

We are also piloting balers at our Carole Park in Brisbane and Scoresby in Melbourne and are looking to roll it out to our other larger sites; those with high volumes.”

Jones said another benefit of the cardboard baler installation is that the company now receives a rebate for cardboard as the company on-sells the cardboard.

"For each ton of cardboard that is picked up in bales, we receive a rebate from our waste provider. Compacting bales also allows the waste provider to reduce the number of collection trips for cardboard and plastic, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions from transport," Jones said.

We have also been looking at ways to reduce our lighting needs internally and have piloted more efficient high bay lights in our Canning Vale Perth distribution centre.

As well as more efficient lighting, the high bay lights are also compatible with daylight sensors.

In the warehouse there is plenty of natural light, so when there is sufficient daylight, the lights automatically switch off. Then when it gets darker they automatically switch on again.

As well as more efficient lighting, the high bay lights are also compatible with daylight sensors

We are still assessing the pilot, but early indications are that the installation has been very successful. We have seen a big decrease in energy consumption, relative to activity.

In other recent sustainability efforts, Blackwoods has decreased its printing per million dollars of revenue by 16% since 2009 through the introduction of wireless warehousing, electronic transactions with customers and suppliers, and operational print reduction initiatives such as the Paper-Less Desktop Widget.

The Widget, as reported in the March 2011 issue of TecTorque, is simply a monitoring software system which displays an employee's paper usage on their desktop and compares it with average company use. While simple, Jones says the Widget is very effective in reducing paper usage.

In addition, the company is also reducing its ecological footprint in this area by primarily using paper from a sustainable source - not only internally, but also for all its stable of external publications including TecTorque, brochures and promotional material.

Another move showing company wide emission reductions has been the expansion of Blackwood's fleet of Toyota Camry Hybrid cars, which has grown from 66 to 136 in the past year.

The Camry Hybrid produces 25 to 30% less CO2 emissions than regular cars mainly due to its second electric, battery powered engine, which recharges via the petrol engine.

And to help customers be more sustainable, Blackwoods has developed a range of waste management and recycling signs. The signs are made from 50% recycled plastic and can also be recycled.

Government assistance

TecTorque readers should be aware that there are Government programs available to assist companies on their sustainability journey. Earlier this year, the Federal Government announced a $1bn in funding package for manufacturers to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution.

The Clean Technology Investment Programs will provide grants to help manufacturers buy new plant and equipment which cuts their energy costs or reduces carbon pollution.

The Industry and Innovation Minister, Greg Combet, launched the $800m Clean Technology Investment Program and the $200m Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program as part of the Government's Clean Energy Future package.

Combet also announced that the Government would change co-contribution requirements to make the grant programs more attractive for small and medium-sized firms.

Manufacturers with turnovers of less than $100m requesting funding under $500,000 will now only have to match the government grants on a dollar for dollar basis.

For more information visit www.ausindustry.gov.au.

Safety spectacles

There are an increasing number of environmentally aware companies releasing products onto the Australian industrial market. For example, uvex recently released the pheos blue safety spectacles which combine style and functionality with 'green design credentials'. All of the materials used are made from environmentally friendly bioplastics sourced from natural substances.

The pheos blue eco-friendly protective safety spectacles are based on natural raw materials (organic) with the same characteristic properties as the uvex pheos standard and uvex pheos 's' versions.

All the materials of the 'green design' spectacles are made up of environmentally-friendly bioplastics sourced from raw plant materials. The soft ear piece components are made from corn starch. The biocarbon component of the lens has been extracted from castor oil. The bioplastics used for the sidearms are made from castor oil.

According to the company, the functionality of the safety spectacles is in no way compromised as a result of using raw plant materials, and they fulfil all safety and comfort demands while at the same time protecting the environment.

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Written by Alan Johnson, for TecTorque Winter 2012

The North Melbourne AFL club now measures its success by club wins both on and off the footy field, offering a lesson for other sporting clubs, and industry, in community involvement.

The back pages of most newspapers around the world are jam-packed with the latest sports news regarding results and team news of a wide range of sports, however many of today's leading sports clubs are also heavily involved in equally newsworthy work with their local community, and beyond.

For example, when the North Melbourne AFL club set up a new administration back in 2008, CEO Eugene Arocca knew the club had to reconnect with the North Melbourne community.

"We felt that before we could have any credibility in growing our markets elsewhere we needed to look after our own backyard; and the innovative 'Huddle' concept was created."

The Huddle is an educational and community facility set up to enhance social cohesion by addressing youth disengagement in the local area, and to re-define the way in which sporting organisations interact with their communities.

"When we built the new facility here at Arden Street, we created a fully fitted out 30-person classroom with state-of-the-art technology which is called the 'Huddle', and is offered free of charge to some 20 schools in the area.

"Within a radius of 10 kilometres of the club, secondary and primary school children visit the classroom for at least one day a year, to engage in education curriculum based programs that primarily revolve around local history, social values and character strengths," Arocca said.

"We have had about 5000 children attend the classroom on a yearly basis. It's not the usual football club model, where players go out on the track and handball the footy around for half an hour or so with the kids. Here, we have full-time accredited teachers who engage with the children and work with the schools to give them a better understanding of social values, local history, multi-culturism, and social cohesion," Arocca explained.

"We offer everything from homework classes and tutoring for VCE students to computer literacy skills and employment search skills for local members of the community," he said.

Arocca explained the Huddle is in use seven days a week from 8am to 7pm for both young children and older people who are looking for assistance in finding jobs or receiving advice or assistance with other skills.

"It is an unique engagement for any sporting club in Australia," Arocca said. We also have 46 players who work through the Huddle. They have an opportunity to engage with the students in a unique way, working with children on social values to their benefit rather than just doing training drills."

Arocca described the Huddle as a unique IP that the club would like to replicate in Hobart and Ballarat (see below).

"The Huddle is a unique fusion of education, health and sport and gives us a significant point of difference to other AFL clubs. If there is going to be redevelopment of the Hobart stadium, we would love to think that the Huddle, could be part of it and would allow us to continue to do the great work we are doing here at Aegis Park."

The Huddle employs full-time accredited teachers who engage with local children and work with schools to give them a better understanding of social values, local history, multi-culturalism and social cohesion

Arocca says the Huddle concept has attracted interest from other sporting clubs in Australia and other parts of the world. "Just last week we had Michael Long from AFL Northern Territory as a guest, and the NBA from the US came through to look at we are doing. So when we talk about growing our supporter base, we lead with the Huddle as being our primary engagement with the local community, and if you engage with the children, you generally get the parents," he said.

“What we provide is a genuine opportunity for people to feel engaged and embraced and give them an opportunity to aspire to better things. It could be as simple as bike riding classes for those who don't know how to ride, to computer literacy skills, through to encouraging the young African residents in the area to become involved in AFL and/or basketball. We have a state-of-the-art facility which includes a basketball court and up to 30 young people from African backgrounds come and play on a Sunday night in a competition. With the use of our facilities, we have encouraged the 'African Warriors' to play AFL and compete against other teams around Victoria. But importantly they feel some connection, ownership and a sense of belonging."

Arocca says social cohesion is what drives the Huddle and the club. "We want to see people using the football club to connect with their community, football and sport.

"A lot of the children who attend the classroom have English as their second language. We are providing a keyhole entry for these kids who wouldn't normally get the opportunity to engage with a football club and an elite sporting organisation."

However Arocca admits it's a two way street. "We get the advantage of working closely with more than 5000 children a year and hopefully many of them start to barrack for the Kangaroos."

With strong support from the Scanlon Foundation and the Australian Multicultural Foundation, he said the club has four key values; courage, innovation, class and care.

"These values are very important to a football club. It's no accident that we recently formed a relationship with World Vision.

"We don't have gambling or gaming revenue as part of our business model and believe we walk the talk in social values and community engagement, and that is why World Vision has agreed to work with us."

Arocca also took the opportunity to thank Blackwoods for its support over the past four years.

"Blackwoods has been a fantastic partner. Their continued support allows us to do what we do, and we would like to acknowledge them for their support," Arocca said.

Expanding client base

Like many companies, the North Melbourne AFL club realised it needed to expand its membership (client base) to remain viable. The problem was the club is traditionally one of AFL's smaller clubs, and is landlocked by a couple of other AFL clubs in the west and north west of Melbourne.

Arocca explained that the club's traditional membership and supporter base was also in the smaller bracket compared to opposition clubs like Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon, Richmond, Hawthorn and Geelong. "When we worked out a strategy for growth, history told us that clubs don't extend their supporter base by significant amounts over a long period of time without a few things going their way. If we simply redeveloped our facility and hoped and prayed our numbers would grow, it would not have worked," Arocca said.

"So in 2008, with the board's support, we made the conscious decision of identifying opportunities for us to grow our supporter base outside of Melbourne. We identified two areas; Southern Tasmania and Ballarat. "We believe by taking AFL football to these areas, the opportunity for the club to be embraced in those regions is significantly more attractive than hoping and praying for natural membership growth locally. Both areas love their footy, with AFL the sport of choice, particularly for Tasmania.”

Arocca explained the present deal regarding Tasmania is a three year deal to play two games a year in Hobart. All we can do is to continue doing what we are doing, working with the community, play the footy, engage with the fans and make sure everyone is happy. Our experience suggests that if you play football in a particular area, over time you will recruit new members who didn't previously support the club and at the same time, entrench the members who do support North Melbourne. Right now we have around 30,000 members Australia wide, and with 10% of our members now from Tasmania that's a healthy endorsement of our strategy.

However, Arocca says the bottom line is not the key driver.

"The actual bottom line from playing two of our games in Tasmania is irrelevant, the overall strategy of growing the Tasmanian supporter base is far more significant. We are engaging with the community and the football match is part of the engagement, but not the sole driver. The whole move has been very positive; our first game of the year at Hobart's Blundstone Arena, against Greater Western Sydney, attracted more than 11,000 spectators," he said.

(For the record, the Kangaroos won by 129 points, 28.15 (183) to 8.6 (54).)

Arocca said the club identified Ballarat as being something of a mirror image of Southern Tasmania, and one of the fastest growing regional corridors in Australia.

"With rusted-on AFL supporters, just over an hour out of Melbourne with an ever improving infrastructure by way of trains and roads, we think Ballarat is a good fit for North Melbourne, particularly if a stadium is built.

"We are using the same philosophy as Tasmania, if they build a stadium they will come and they will stay to become members of North Melbourne. The number of kids who went to the Tassie game who could lean over the fence and see an AFL player up close for the first time in their lives, gives you a good chance of them wearing a North Melbourne jumper the next time they come. We want to use that same philosophy in Ballarat," Arocca said.

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The new Blackwoods 2012 catalogue is launching this March, proving to Still be Australian Industry's Most Useful Tool. Over one quarter of the products featured are new, alongside updated technical information, sizing and conversion charts and standards information. The catalogue now stands at over 1,800 pages - reflecting our commitment to service the ever growing needs of their diverse customer base, with the addition of new technologies and the broadest range of products available.

Our 2012 catalogue was printed in Australia on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper, ensuring not only it is from a sustainable source, but additionally each step of the print, pack and delivery process has been monitored and implemented to reduce the impact on the environment. To minimise the impact of the paper production, printing and transportation – we have also taken the industry lead and purchased carbon offsets.

To further demonstrate our commitment to sustainable best-practices, this is the first edition to contain a Greener Workplace Range where products can be easily evaluated based on your organisations' sustainability goals. The range features products identified to a variety of categories including: Energy Conservation, Green Cleaning, Cleaner Alternatives, Sustainable Wood & Paper, Waste Reduction, Water Conservation and Recycled Content. Where products can be identified to international standards the relevant certification is displayed next to the product. The range however extends beyond this, and also classifies products that no current certification exists, such as products that reduce energy, waste or water consumption in the workplace.

"There is a growing need from our customer-base to have greater certainty on the origins of the products we supply. The 'Greener Workplace Range' assists so customers can make their own decisions as to whether a product falls into their individual organisations' sustainability goals." Says Craig Jones, Sustainability Manager for Blackwoods.

The Catalogue is the most effective, time saving and useful tool for sourcing All Your Workplace Needs. Click here to view an online version of the catalogue www.blackwoods.com.au/catalogues (which features interactive technologies to share and search for content within the catalogue pages) or to request your own copy of the catalogue.

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Written by Alan Johnson, for TecTorque Autumn 2012.

Some said it would never happen, others likened it to pulling teeth, but whatever your thoughts are, the harmonisation of work health and safety (WHS) laws were enacted on January 1 this year in most states of Australia.

First raised by the Whitlam Government in 1974, the harmonisation of WHS laws represent a fundamental shift in the traditional regulation of OH&S in Australia. While it may take a further 12 months for the model WHS legislation to be implemented nationally, the harmonisation laws, which create a nationally uniform legislation, represent the most significant reform of OH&S laws in the past 30 years. The harmonisation of the safety laws will bring about a greater level of certainty and reduced costs to individual businesses and the economy. For workers it will mean the same work health and safety standards and protection wherever they work, reducing confusion and compliance costs over time, particularly for businesses that operate across borders. As this magazine goes to print, the parliaments of Victoria and Western Australia are the only two jurisdictions that have yet to introduce legislation to parliament, while South Australia and Tasmania have decided to delay commencement of the legislation. By committing to the harmonisation process, each state and territory in Australia will face some changes to their current OH&S arrangements.

Key changes

In most cases, the national WHS Act draws on existing state OH&S requirements. However, it also introduces some many new additions or clarifications. According to leading employment and commercial law firm, Blandslaw, the main changes included in the model legislation are:

Person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU)

An employer will become known as a 'person conducting a business or undertaking'. A PCBU includes an employer, corporation, association, partnership, sole trader and certain volunteer organisations. For example, a volunteer organisation that employs a person to carry out work is a PCBU. But a volunteer organisation that operates with volunteers and does not employ anyone is not a PCBU. A PCBU has the primary duty of care for workplace health and safety. A person is not a PCBU if they are engaged solely as a worker or an officer; an elected member of a local authority; or a volunteer association where no-one is paid to carry out work for the association.

Broader definition of "worker"

The WHS Act recognises the changing choice of work options and provides a broader definition of 'worker' and work environments. Certain volunteers will be included as a worker. A worker will also include labour hire staff, apprentices, work experience students, subcontractors, and contractors. A sole trader who is a PCBU and carries out work for another business (PCBU) is also a worker for that PCBU.

Due diligence

The WHS Act clarifies that the officers of corporations have an obligation to exercise due diligence to ensure the company's duty of care. Directors and officers will have a positive duty to ensure their businesses comply with their safety obligations under new occupational, health and safety laws. Under the new laws, officers could be personally liable for up to $600,000 in fines and/or 5 years' imprisonment if they recklessly breach their duty and it results in, or exposes a person to, serious harm.

Union rights

Unions will lose the power to prosecute for an OH&S offence (currently allowed in NSW). Unions will have the right to enter any workplace to:

• Investigate suspected breaches of the OH&S Act or regulations;
• Consult with and provide advice to workers on OH&S issues;
• Consult with the person in control of a workplace on OH&S issues; and
• Health and safety representatives will have the power to direct work to cease where they feel the work will pose an immediate threat to any person. They can also issue provisional improvement notices. These powers would be new to New South Wales and Tasmania.

OH&S consultation

Clearer guidelines will be provided on employee consultation requirements. This includes the need to consult when:

• Identifying hazards and assessing the risks of work performed;
• Making decisions about ways to eliminate or control those risks;
• Proposing changes that may directly affect the health and safety of workers; and
• Making decisions regarding OH&S procedures.

Incident notification

Incident notification requirements will be uniform across all states with the employer having responsibility to notify the regulator immediately when there is a fatality, serious injury, serious illness or a dangerous incident.

Role of inspectors and regulators

The role of inspectors and regulators will be nationally consistent. Inspectors will be able to:

• Investigate suspected breaches of OH&S legislation;
• Issue infringement notices, improvement notices and prohibition notices; and
• Provide advice and assist in the resolution of issues at workplaces. A regulator will be able to:
• Seek an injunction when there is an ongoing breach of a prohibition notice; and
• Compel compliance with an improvement notice after the time period has expired.

Penalties

It is proposed that there will be four levels of penalties for breaches of the regulations, commensurate with the significance of the breach. These levels are:

Offences that are 'linked' to the WHS Act, specifically to either the general duties or the authorisations provisions, with penalties up to $3 million for reckless endangerment by a corporation, and $1.5 million for breaches giving rise to a risk of death or serious injury.

Stand-alone offences are:

• Breaches of risk assessment requirements or other breaches giving rise to a risk of death or serious injury are $30,000 to $60,000 for corporations and $12,000 for individuals.
• Breaches of general risk control, signage and notification requirements are $18,000 to $36,000 for corporations and $7,200 for individuals.
• Breaches of record keeping and similar low level requirements, and breaches by workers of specific requirements are $6,000 for corporations and $1,250 for individuals.
• Provision will also be made for infringement notices to be issued with penalties set at between $1,200 and $3,600 for a corporation.
• Compliance with codes of practice will not be mandatory, but they may be used in proceedings to demonstrate what was known about hazards, risks and risk controls.
• The Industrial Relations Court will no longer have jurisdiction to hear safety matters. Matters will be dealt with by the Local Court (where the maximum penalty may be imposed is $50,000) and the District Court.

Transitional Arrangements

All jurisdictions have agreed to a set of principles which will ensure that transitional arrangements are consistent across Australia, although some variations will be inevitable as each jurisdiction will be transitioning from a different work health and safety system.

Preparing for the transition

During the transition of the new harmonisation laws, which run to January 2012, present laws remain in place, however readers are advised to keep track of what is happening in their jurisdictions and assess and evaluate current OH&S practices to determine WHS Act compliance and in particular the adequacy of officers' due diligence practices.

Readers are also advised to consider and assess the appropriateness of their current policies and procedures (such as consultation arrangements, election of health and safety representatives, training) to ensure that these are complaint and adequate.

Daniel Richards, Blackwood's National Category Manager for Safety, says Blackwoods has a number of safety services to help companies through this transition period, and beyond.

"Blackwoods is the market leader in safety, with the widest range of products available and access to the broadest network of manufacturer expertise.

"We have a number of key account managers and safety specialists to co-ordinate and assist companies through the changes, to assist companies through the changes, to bring their sites up to compliance using our on-site services; most of which are free.

"For example we can conduct signage assessments, where we look at all the signage on site and all the various risks and hazards on the site to make sure the company has enough identification of them, providing plenty of warning."

Other workplace services include respiratory and hearing fit testing, drug and alcohol testing, spill and first aid kit maintenance and 'top-ups', emergency response site assessments, dangerous goods reviews, traffic management programs and materials handling and lifting certification.

Richards explained that following a partnership commitment with Blackwoods, companies are assigned a dedicated person to work through selected KPIs.

"We also spend time working with the customer to identify issues and establish an agreed action plan incorporating onsite services.

"As well as implementing individual onsite programs and encouraging worker involvement, we ascertain feedback and assessment for regular review meetings," Richards said.

"With the world moving and changing each year, positive changes such as this are sure to have a positive impact on the health and well being of Australian workers, with the primary goal to reduce injury.

"Time will tell what impact does indeed occur, as many companies move to keep up with the changes," Richards said.

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Written by Alan Johnson, for TecTorque Autumn 2012.

With Blackwoods continuing support, the world-renowned Fred Hollows Foundation is ever improving the lives of disadvantaged people in Australia, and around the world.

While reading this issue of TecTorque, most people will take for granted their ability to read this article, but that's not the case for an estimated 39 million people around the world today who are blind. But the really frightening statistic is that three out of four people who are blind don't need to be. Their condition is either treatable or preventable.

According to Joy McLaughlin, Indigenous Program Manager with The Fred Hollows Foundation, simple interventions, such as medication, surgery or spectacles can restore people's sight, productivity and livelihoods, giving lasting benefits for individuals, their families and whole communities.

She pointed out that since its formation in 1992 The Foundation has helped to restore sight to well over 1 million people, "with that number continuing to grow".

"In last year alone, we purchased five non-mydriatic retinal cameras for delivery to Aboriginal health clinics in the Northern Territory," McLaughlin said.

"The cameras are used to detect eye conditions affecting the retina, such as diabetic retinopathy. They are easy to use and with a small amount of training, health staff will be able to take a photograph of the retina of remote patients, particularly patients who have diabetes, and send those photos electronically to the ophthalmologists at Royal Darwin Hospital for reading.

"This will help patients get the treatment they need quicker and avoid potential blindness through retinopathy.

"Last year we also trained 45 health care staff at remote clinics in the use of the 21 Slit Lamp provided through The Foundation in 2010; in addition to the 60 workers trained in the previous year," McLaughlin said.

She explained that under the Visiting Optometry Scheme, 412 eye exams were conducted by optometrists and 83 people needing more specialist treatment were referred to an ophthalmologist.

McLaughlin pointed out the Visiting Optometry Scheme receives some funding from the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, but is significantly subsidised by the Foundation to ensure communities get the best possible service.

Integrated eye health strategy

One of the key programs in Australia is the Central Australia and Barkly Integrated Eye Health Strategy, a sustainable partnership between The Australian Government, The Northern Territory Government, Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation, The Eye Foundation and The Fred Hollows Foundation.

The Foundation acknowledges the financial contribution to the strategy from the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing and the contributions of human and other resources by the other partners.

As well as support from various levels of government, Blackwoods is just one major private enterprise supporter generating much needed funds which are channelled 100% to indigenous programs.

There are a number of ways funds and donations are generated by Blackwoods and these include contributions from employees, from Blackwood's suppliers and importantly from a range of products known as the Foresight range; sales from which Blackwoods donates a percentage to The Fred Hollows indigenous programs.

Angus Thornton, senior project officer with The Fred Hollows Foundation and coordinator of the program says residents of the area, which covers the area around Tennant Creek and the bottom half of the Northern Territory, have a lot of eye health issues, "particularly for indigenous Australians living in remote communities, and there are dozens in the area".

Thornton explained that there are a number of issues: the tyranny of distance, poverty, cultural issues etc. "Our goal is to overcome these barriers co-operatively. And three or four years down the track, we are making good progress in a number of areas, while we are still identifying key issues and starting to work on some of the others.

"To give it some momentum and punch we provide a co-ordinator for the strategy, which is me. "I work with the various players and liaise and cajole and encourage, plus do a fair amount of work on research and supplying information. We also do some direct service delivery, where we do the intensive eye surgery week program," Thornton said.

The program was designed initially to overcome the backlog for eye surgery in Alice Springs, which is the only location in the southern part of Northern Territory that people can get eye surgery.

Thornton explained that within the area there are probably 66,000 people in total, 30% of them indigenous with most living in remote communities."However, indigenous Australians suffer blindness at a rate six times more than non-indigenous Australians."

He said this is often caused by a lack of access to services; with many living in very remote areas and have difficulties in accessing these surgeries and other treatments.

"There are also limited eye health resources on the ground, we have just one ophthalmologist, and just a few optometrists so it's difficult to get services out to the remote areas.

"Plus indigenous Australians are a highly mobile group with many cultural family obligations; they are often not around and that's just for clinics, then if they have to get into Alice Springs for surgery that really compounds the issues.

"For many of them Alice Springs is a big city, with minimal support available for them," he said. However since 2007, The Foundation, with the help of other partners, has been bringing in about 50 people a week for surgery on a regular basis as part of its Intensive Eye Surgery Week program. "We bring in an extra ophthalmologist and other resources including logistics for the week. It's a huge effort. Normally we would only do four or five a week," Thornton said.

"Since 2007, we have run ten of these programs and operated on around 500 people. By doing so we have reduced the backlog from around 350, and trending up sharply in 2007, to less than 50. "This program has been a huge success, not just the shear numbers now coming through but also the effect it has had on the waiting list, which was the main reason for this program in the first place." Thornton explained that unlike the non-indigenous population, The Foundation has to go looking for people who have eye problems.

"As well as difficulties in mobility etc, there are also a number of misconceptions about eye surgery we have to overcome.

"It can take just one bad experience to effectively spook a whole community, and although eye surgery is very safe and bad experiences are rare, they do occur.

"People can come into Alice Springs hospital and have great care after their eye surgery, but the post surgical care, when the patient is back in their community, can be difficult.

"The regime of using eye drops is not one that is necessarily understood or well followed once the patch is removed and the patient can see. So there can be complications afterwards."

However, Thornton says the program has been very successful in terms of its numbers and immediate impact.

"We are also succeeding in taking some of the learnings from the methodologies we use and applying that to all regular surgery in the region.

"We recognise it's not really sustainable, to rely on surgery intensives in the long term. It costs a lot of money and is very disruptive. It also tends to offer a level of service and support to patients that are not offered in normal surgery.

"The approach relies on additional funding from the Australian government and the commitment of human resources and theatre time by the Alice Springs Hospital. We cannot assume these resources will be available forever.

"So we are taking these learnings, about how we support patients and how we bring them in in groups, for example, so they help each other and we can provide some more external support.

"We also reschedule transport so people don't have to hang around Alice Springs for a long time. Basically we ensure there are no gaps or leakages in the system.

"We are now applying that to regular surgery and getting 100% attendance rates for people coming in from remote communities, which were previously unheard of. Improvements like this are sustainable and are a sign the system is working better for remote Aboriginal people," Thornton said.

Work continues

While The Foundation has had some major successes over recent years, Thornton admits there is still much work to be done.

"One issue we have identified, which is more a general health problem, is information management regarding the culture of information sharing.

"The problem is we have a number of different entities involved in the eye health journey; all with very different mindsets and cultures and different IT systems that they use.

"Then on top of that there is a mixture of hard copy and electronic and word of mouth and whatever. It does work, but in terms of efficiency and effectiveness of day-to-day operations, plus the need for analysis and strategic planning, it needs to be dealt with.

"We are working to overcome this problem, but the solution probably needs to come from the Northern Territory government and the Aboriginal community controlled health services. "Our goal is for patients to have a seamless journey so that when they get referred their records follow them through the system."

Thornton says the other issue is community engagement with the eye health system.

"We have pretty low attendance rates even when services are available on the ground. For example, our visiting optometric scheme is a great scheme, where optometrists visit the communities for a week or two, but sometimes the attendance rates can be as low as 25%.

"We need to get people to put a higher priority on their own health generally, but their eye health in particular, to make that an issue for the local community clinics; often they don't see eye health as a major issue," Thornton said.

Winning the fight?

Both Thornton and McLaughlin are positive for 2012 and beyond.

"We are taking small steps and getting improvements for patients, which is very encouraging," said Thornton.

"We are making it happen on the ground, and we learn from that and see if we can apply that generally. This brings along communities and eye health professionals because they can see something that is real. "We are also starting to apply the learnings from earlier eye surgery and starting to make some movement in IT, plus we are looking at teleophthalomology.

"In simple terms it allows the ophthalmologist or optometrist to examine a patient at a remote community clinic while sitting at a computer at Alice Springs hospital using a camera and the Internet."

He admits there are some technical issues, but says large strides have been made already.

"The more people can be seen and treated in their own communities the far better it is," Thornton said. McLaughlin said The Foundation has had a very positive 2011 and will be taking what they have learnt from existing activities and applying it in the development of new programs.

"This year, we are commencing two new integrated eye health strategies in the Top End of the Northern Territory, to deliver improvements to accessibility and quality of eye health care.

"We have also commenced on a new project to assist in the elimination of trachoma among remote Aboriginal children in the region," McLaughlin said.

Thornton said the key message is that eye health remains a major issue for indigenous people, particularly for those in remote communities.

"They face a raft of barriers meaning they are more prone to poor eye health in the first place.

"However, these issues and barriers can be addressed. While money is very important, it is also about good cooperation between the key people and making eye health a priority for health workers in general and indigenous people, and creating better engagement around eye health," Thornton said.

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Written by Alan Johnson, for TecTorque Autumn 2012.

Unique is a much overused word today, but Chevron's Barrow Island project is one where the word is appropriate for numerous of its operations, including Blackwoods innovative quarantine service for its suppliers.

Most TecTorque readers would have heard of Chevron's massive Gorgon Project; one of the world's largest natural gas projects, which will develop the Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields located within the Greater Gorgon Area about 130km off the north-west coast of Western Australia. Included in the project is the construction of a 15 million tonne per annum (MTPA) Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plant on Barrow Island and a domestic gas plant with the capacity to provide 300 terajoules per day to supply gas to Western Australia.

However, what many readers might not know is that Barrow Island is a Class 'A' Nature Reserve and has been the home to Australia's largest operating onshore oil field for the past 45 years.

Quarantine management has effectively protected the conservation values of the island since the 1960s. Chevron has evolved the initial program into a management system acknowledged by the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority as "likely to be world's best practice".

The program, which is also the world's largest non-government quarantine initiative, incorporates all activities associated with the movement of goods, materials, equipment and personnel to the island. Derrick Gonsalves, Blackwoods Senior Manager Major Projects - Western Region, explains that all items headed to Barrow Island must go through a very stringent, timely and precise quarantine process. "For example, all pieces of machinery and equipment, including bulldozers and tractors etc, must first be thoroughly washed down, inspected then shrink wrapped ready for transportation. Other items are put in dedicated containers, residual sprayed, fumigated and shipped to the island.

"Once on the island all machinery and equipment is then reinspected at the border, the point of arrival at Barrow Island. This process applies to every product that goes onto the island.

"Another example of the stringent quarantine regulations is that there is no untreated wood allowed to be taken onto the island, which means all wooden handled hammers have to be replaced with steel handled hammers.

"Plus untreated wooden pallets are not allowed on the island, so all products must be delivered on plastic pallets," Gonsalves said.

He says this could be a very onerous operation for suppliers and is the main reason why Blackwoods set up its own quarantine service for its suppliers.

"The project started about a year and a half ago. Initially we spent the first six months going through and understanding the Quarantine Management System and process as well as obtaining Chevron Quarantine Certification.

"Part of our challenge was to change our mindset from selling product to providing an essential service which was of paramount importance to Chevron and its contractors."

"This is a new way of doing business for us, but it is working extremely well. Already we have supplied close to $100,000 worth of plastic pallets to our contractors alone."

He explained that the quarantine areas have to be spotless with no food or perishables to be taken into the areas.

"Plus we have to use brand new cardboard cartons for packing and packaging tape must be secured to the cartons. Unsecured packaging tape could attract /harbour parachute seeds which could be transported to the island.

"The area was audited along with the whole branch facility at Canning Vale. Results of the audit were extremely pleasing."

Gonsalves said all suppliers must comply with these quarantine regulations, with Blackwoods one of only a few companies with the certification allowing them to pack to Chevron's requirements.

"We have educated our suppliers, who supply the goods to us in bulk already for Chevron's approval, so we don't have to repack.

"We are supplying product to various contractors on the island and are saving our customers huge amounts of money by leaving the product quarantine process to us.

"The biggest advantage for our suppliers is that Chevron contractors can go direct to them.

"For example, we have received a lot of enquiries from our suppliers because while they can supply the product, they feel they might not handle nor meet the Project's stringent quarantine requirements. So they simply pass the enquiries on to us," he said.

Gonsalves explained that it's not just equipment and machinery that must comply with these environmental regulations; it's people as well.

"When you go to the airport to fly to Barrow Island you must be there up to 2 hours before take off. "During the check in process your boots are brushed so no soil can be taken to the island. Your luggage is also checked similar to international flights to ensure you are not taking any prohibited food or perishables," he said.

Chevron is taking the protection and maintenance of Barrow Island's environment and the native fauna very seriously, especially as activity picks up.

Gonsalves says protection measures implemented during high levels of activity include reducing the number of light vehicles on the road by using extra buses, installing warning signs, reducing speed limits on roads near construction areas and ensuring the workforce completes driver awareness training. "For example Flatback and Green turtles lay their eggs on the island, so contractors must adhere to strict lighting management plans so lighting at night does not disturb the turtles," he said.

Other measures include trapping and relocating fauna prior to clearing, establishing fauna exclusion fencing and regularly inspecting all trenches and excavations.

The complexity and sheer scale of Gorgon is unprecedented; Chevron and the Gorgon Joint Venture Participants are tapping a resource which contains about 40 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and is the largest single resource natural gas project in Australia's history. It is also the country's largest sub-sea project and a world leader in carbon dioxide injection technology.

Gorgon LNG will be off loaded via a four kilometre long loading jetty for transport to international markets. The domestic gas will be piped to the Western Australian mainland.

Chevron expects Gorgon to be an important pillar of the Australian economy for more than 40 years. Economic benefits from the first 30 years of the initial project scope are expected to provide a $64 billion boost to Australia's economy with direct and indirect employment to peak at around 10,000 people. The Gorgon Project is operated by an Australian subsidiary of Chevron and is a joint venture of the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron (approximately 47%), ExxonMobil (25%), Shell (25%), Osaka Gas (1.25%), Tokyo Gas (1%) and Chubu Electric Power (0.417%).

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