Safety first for forestry specialists

Safety first for forestry specialists

Rayonier Matariki Forests will kick off its New Year programme with the first of its nationwide Safe Start breakfasts promoting workplace safety best practice starting early January.

The ACC sponsored safety seminars will take place in 10 centres around New Zealand between 5 and 13 January, bringing all Rayonier Matariki staff and contractors together with all the right tools to stay safe as they work into the New Year.

Rayonier Matariki Managing Director Paul Nicholls considers the Safe Start breakfast seminars as one of the most important events on the company’s calendar each year.

“We have a responsibility to each of our staff to ensure they have all the right information and motivations to not only be successful in their jobs, but also follow the best possible safety practices. The breakfasts are a chance to bring each member of the Rayonier Matariki workforce together across the whole country to celebrate our past safety successes, review and discuss any areas where we could improve and take a proactive approach to managing safety in the coming year,” he says.

“The focus is always on taking ownership, cutting out risk and making good decisions, and showing all staff the pathway to doing this. The past six years of Safe Start has been about growing a safety culture and I think, with solid improvement year on year, we are really seeing these breakfasts pay off.”

Indeed the results have impressed, with three of Rayonier Matariki’s regions coming in well under the national accident average for forestry, and the remaining three improving on previous years to sit just above.

The theme for this year’s breakfasts is team work, with ex-Kiwis league superstar Tawera Nikau speaking at two of the North Island seminars. The former lock will speak on the role team building plays in achieving success, while also touching on the effect a safety related incident has had on his life, after a motorcycle accident in 2003 saw his right leg amputated.

Nutritionist Christel Dunshea will also join the seminars to discuss the role practical high energy foods, adequate sleep and hydration levels play in performance and concentration.

Safe Start breakfasts will be held in the following centres around the country in early January:
Ø Hawkes Bay / Canterbury – 5th January
Ø Whangarei / Whangamata – 6th January
Ø Picton / Wanganui / Awakeri – 10th January
Ø Upper Hutt – 11th January
Ø Balclutha – 12th January
Ø Winton – 13th January
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