The slowdown and uncertainty in forestry at present means some forestry businesses, their workers and families are doing it tough.
We still don’t know what is going to happen with the impact of Coronavirus on the Chinese market or with log prices. But in the meantime, we need to be looking out for each other.
Taking a long-term view, and trying to managing the impact of the downturn on businesses, will help protect the wellbeing of people and will also ensure the industry can recover faster when the market improves.
FOA, FICA and the Wood Councils are providing information to their members and are looking at what government support might be available in the longer term. In the meantime, it’s important that people are proactive and communicate with each other about what’s happening.
Safetree’s Toroawhi, Richard Stringfellow and Wade Brunt, have started their new jobs working to get forestry workers more involved in health and safety decision-making.
Richard is based in Taupo covering the Central North Island, while Wade is based in Gisborne covering the Gisborne/Tairāwhiti region. Richard and Wade will be offering practical advice based on their considerable experience and will also listen and learn from you about your concerns and how you deal with issues.
Find out more about them by watching these short videos:
Click to watch Richard Stringfellow: Contact Richard at richard@safetree.nz
Click to watch Wade Brunt: Contact Wade at wade@safetree.nz
Register for the Safetree Conference before 14 February to get the Earlybird rate of $250 plus GST (saving $100 saving on the full price). The conference runs on Thursday 26 & Friday 27 March at the TSB Auditorium (Shed 6) Wellington.
We’re pleased to have former NZer of the Year, Dr Lance O’Sullivan, as our keynote speaker. Lance will talk about the challenges forestry workers face staying healthy. Early starts, long days and working out of town can make it hard for them to access good health care – particularly when many medical centres only operate during business hours.
Lance will talk about his experience with workers from the bush who are committed to their health but who need new models of care so they can access services.
See this new guide on dealing with incidents that have to be notified to WorkSafe, such as work-related deaths, or serious injuries and illnesses. It includes information on WorkSafe investigations and advice on looking after victims and their families.
If you haven’t already done so, check out Safetree’s Faller Game. This online and mobile app game can be used to test whether a tree faller is ready to be assessed for certification.
The game can be downloaded for free from the App Store or the Play Store, or you can play online. You need to register first to get a login code to play the game. If you are a company, you can register your workers and have access to their results.
Click here to register and get a login code
Download game from App Store (iPad and iOS)
Download game from Play Store (Android)
The information below can be used to take a ‘sense-check’ of whether the people in your team have the right training and skills to do their jobs safely and professionally.
It comes from Safetree’s Growing Our Safety Culture programme. The programme helps businesses understand the true state of health and safety within their workplace, and helps them harness the expertise in their teams to identify ways of improving.
Training and Competency – Track it
With your team, answer the questions below to get a sense of whether your training and competency practices are on track or need action:
In our crew/team, we Seldom, Sometimes or Always do the following:
If your team answers Seldom for any of these questions, urgent action is required.
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