A water infrastructure project in regional Australia called the Goulburn-Murray Water (GMW) Connections project has achieved a significantly better safety record than the national average for the construction industry. Since beginning in 2009, the project has experienced only eight injuries resulting in lost work time, despite over 2 million hours of work completed. The project's Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate of 3.5 is well below the national construction industry average of 8.4. The construction manager attributes the successful safety record to rigorous policies and procedures implemented for both staff and contractors, as well as accreditation requirements for its main contractor.

1. Local project smashes
national safety average
A SIGNIFICANT water infra-
structure project in the region
has maintained a positive safety
record, outperforming the na-
tional average for limiting time
employees lose to work due to
on-site injuries.
Since commencing in 2009,
construction works on the Goul-
burn-MurrayWater (GMW) Con-
nections irrigation infrastructure
project have caused eight injuries
that led to workers needing to
take time off work.
This was despite having had
more than 2 million hours of
work done on the project.
The project’s latest data (for
2012 and 2013) has tracked at a
Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate
(LTIFR) of 3.5, well below the na-
tional average for the construc-
tion industry, 8.4.
The LTIFR is the national
benchmark companies use to
compare how much lost-time
injuries they incur, and reflects
how many incidents resulting in
a loss of at least one day or shift
of work occur every million hours
of work.
GMW Connections construc-
tion manager Mark Poole said
the water corporation was proud
of the project’s safety record.
“I have a wife and children who
rely on me to come home safely
each night. This is why safety is
important for me and our work-
force,” Mr Poole said.
“With more than 300 contractor
staff on the ground delivering our
works program throughout win-
ter, we’re doing everything we can
to make sure they’re safe at work.
“We want all our staff and con-
tractors to go home to their fami-
lies every day.”
Mr Poole said GMW had devel-
oped a “series of critical policies
and procedures for our staff and
contractors to adhere to” for the
project, while it required its main
contractor, TransCom, to have
Federal Safety Commission ac-
creditation.
“The lost-time injury rate we’re
achieving is testament to every-
one’s hard work and all involved
are to be congratulated for this,”
Mr Poole said.
WORK SAFE: GMW Connections construction manager Mark Poole,
pictured with program manager Jason Williamson at a winter works site
in Cohuna, said he was proud of his company's safety record.
Page 1 of 1
05 Aug 2015
Swan Hill Guardian, Swan Hill VIC
Section: General News • Article type : News Item • Audience : 3,739 • Page: 13
Printed Size: 217.00cm² • Market: VIC • Country: Australia • ASR: AUD 389 • Words: 325
Item ID: 445653279
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