The global awards is said to highlight the continued focus of the Brambles Group of companies, including CHEP, to improve the safety and wellbeing of employees, customers, contractors and visitors. Workplace safety initiatives put into practice within New Zealand are leading the way in the Brambles group, globally.

CHEP New Zealand’s Wiri Service Centre health and safety representatives were local award winners for their work with the Tano’a Projectand went on to win the regional Asia-Pacific award in the category of Supplier/Third Party Engagement.

Tano’a is a Pacific Island Health and Safety committee established by Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) to address the vulnerability of Pacific Island workers to injuries in New Zealand. CHEP’s Wiri Service Centre health and safety representatives, under the leadership of Service Centre Manager, Ed Fili, were members of the original ACC committee. He and his team develop and conduct safety-training sessions relating to near-miss reporting and manual handling injuries, to improve the workplace health and safety of employees at CHEP’s Wiri Service Centre.

“The key to improving workplace safety is about understanding the predominant culture of your workplace,” Fili says. “A workplace like ours, made up mainly of Pacific Islanders has a unique culture. We treat each other as family, respect each other and look out for each other. We translate training modules into Samoan, showing we respect that culture and ensuring a shared understanding and commitment to safety.”

CHEP New Zealand Country Manager, Mike O’Brien, describes the Wiri Service Centre team’s commitment to workplace safety as a significant contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of CHEP employees across New Zealand. “The team has demonstrated outstanding leadership to develop and implement workplace safety programs. As a direct result, the Wiri Service Centre has a highly engaged workforce and has achieved a long period of injury-free operation with no lost time injuries for over eleven years.”

The leadership and collaborative management style demonstrated at the CHEP Wiri Service Centre has provided development opportunities for team members and has made CHEP a better place to work.

Building on the success of CHEPs training programs and workforce engagement, Ed and his team have worked closely with ACC and Tano’a to share their knowledge and expertise with other organisations – to help ensure Pacific Island workers return home safely each day.

Recognised by ACC as safety champions, the CHEP team has represented ACC and visited many large workplaces with Pacific Island workers to give guidance on safety programs. They also attend quarterly meetings with other organisations to share knowledge and keep abreast of the latest safety initiatives. In addition, CHEP New Zealand was one of only two companies filmed by ACC for a workplace safety culture DVD that was distributed to more than 1,500 companies.

“Ed and his team are well respected in the manufacturing, food and grocery industries and have assisted numerous organsiations to understand the strong cultures of their workforce, adapt and change processes and ultimately reduce workplace injuries. The team exemplifies the leadership qualities and values of CHEP New Zealand,” O’Brien says.

The Brambles Safety Awards attracted 346 submissions across three categories – Safety Performance, Continuous Improvement/Innovation and Supplier/Third Party Engagement.