SIA Victorian Safety Conference 2017

1. WorkSafe Victoria
Strategy 2030
Marnie Williams
Executive Director, Health & Safety
WorkSafe Victoria
SIA State Conference
30 August 2017
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2. Industries and workplaces are changing.
The Community’s expectations are changing.
WorkSafe is designing services, research,
advice and help to better meet the needs of all
Victorians.
Like wearing a seatbelt or putting on
sunscreen, keeping ourselves healthy and safe
at work must become second nature.
Why 2030
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3. The nature of work is changing
Increasing mobility / work from anywhereChanging industry mixChanging jobs through automation
Greater exposure to global supply chainsIncreasing workforce flexibilityExpanding definition of workplace
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4. Future trend predictions
Mental
injuries
Claims Service
industries
Older
workers
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5. What do Victorians think about
health and safety?
Everyone’s responsibility 71%
More than physical injury
More than blue collar workplaces
Ok to take short cuts >50%
Pressure to compromise
Safe culture = productive and happy workplace
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6. How does the community
perceive WorkSafe?
Well known Not well known or valued
Inspection,
enforcement,
prosecution.
Return to work
Compensation
Insurance
Advice and
education
Supporting
community
activities
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7. What the community
expects from WorkSafe
Empathetic
and seamless
Online services Employer
support and
guidance
Post injury
support
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8. Prevention-led transformation
Everyone leads
prevention:
The workplace
The community
WorkSafe
Together we take
responsibility
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9. Strategy 2030 themes
Key strategic
themes of
Strategy 2030
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Prevention-Led
Focused on the needs of workers and employers
Simplify WorkSafe’s business
Offering tailored products, services and support
Leading the way and adapting quickly
Sharing goals and outcomes with the community
Analytics and data

10. Early opportunities
Work is now underway on key initiatives
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Website
redevelopment
Simplification
of guidance
materials
Data and
analytics
Innovation
centre

11. Seize the day
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Safety conversation is maturing
Almost two-thirds of businesses talking about health & safety
monthly
Moving into more complex territory
Larger organisations / high risk industries - safety culture
entrenched
But younger workers / smaller, private business - “fluid approach”
to health and safety practices
More difficult to raise issues

12. Who do people turn to?
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For many, a range
of sources are
turned to for
information and
guidance in the
area of health &
safety.
37%
46%
25%
34%
11%
10%
2%
5%
Designated health &
safety representatives
Colleagues and peers
Your direct manager
Senior management
Someone else at work
Friends and Family
Members
Other
None of these
Sig. differences
between males and
females here, with
50% of females
selecting ‘your direct
manager’, while 29%
of males select
Senior Management.
Strong
differences
by industry –
esp. public
services

13. The grey area
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Situational bias
A sense of positivity in the situation at hand – we naturally perceive our chance of
something going wrong to be minimal when in the moment.
Team effect
With others around, our desire to get on with the job, to play our part and follow the
status
quo increases.
Industry factors
Certain industries feel there are situations where standards do not play a role –
particularly
in emergency services or health care, when dealing with the general public can be
uncertain.
Pressure from the boss
Cost and business pressures play a role, and staff feel that the pressure from the
business
to just ‘shut up and get it done’.
Age and inexperience
Younger workers, particularly with no personal exposure to safety incidents,
perceived
by others to bring a typical level of invincibility.
Pressure and time
Our capacity to think clearly and to take the time for safety when under pressure.
Afterwards, we know we did the wrong thing, but in the moment, it just didn’t seem to
matter.

14. An advanced safety culture
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Behavior Attitude
Ongoing training
Online training and education
Access to materials, support and
information where needed
Learning, fine tuning and continued
improvement
Two-way conversations
Positive reporting culture
Conversations on emerging H&S issues
– mental health, bullying, stress
Senior management and board buy-in
Fluid work practices reflective of the
nature of the work
Confidence and encouragement – speaking up,
no matter your level, and feeling empowered
A positive supportive (no blame) culture – where
we all do our best and learn from experiences
Honest and open communications
Supportive of continuous improvement
Not letting anything slide – we take it seriously,
and don’t cut corners

15. Partnership is
the key
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