Safety in Focus, Leadership In Action

By Dean Kirkwood, General Manager, Resource Industry Network

Safety leadership was brought into focus at the annual Resource Industry Network’s 2025 Safety Conference held on the 23rd of May at the MECC. Around 200 of the region’s safety leaders came together to hear from world class speakers and to unpack the latest techniques and strategies to help to continue the high standard of safety within their business.

We received fantastic feedback from attendees which showed that the speakers had motivated them to return to their business and lead from the front when it comes to safety.

Internationally renowned speaker Dr David Proven opened the conference by translating the five core High Reliability Organisation (HRO) principles - preoccupation with failure, reluctance to simplify, sensitivity to operations, commitment to resilience, and deference to expertise - into tangible strategies for leaders, safety professionals, and frontline teams. Attendees gained insights into developing the processes, capabilities, and cultural conditions needed to embed these principles in day-to-day operations, with real-world examples from mining organisations working to operationalise high reliability.

David also spoke of the importance of hearing all voices involved in the process and that decisions should not be just made by the ‘HIPPO’ (highest paid person in the organisation).  It was a wonderful way to start the conference and the follow up keynote speakers were just as impressive.  Each keynote speaker navigated the attendees through the very topical subjects of physiological safety and psychosocial safety and how addressing these in your workplace are critical to ensuring a safe environment.

The afternoon schedule offered a diverse range of topics in smaller breakout seasons. These informative and interactive sessions reinforced the messages of the plenary sessions, and set about breaking the topics down further to give attendees practical tools to take back to their workplaces to improve safety performance.

The practical tips that conference delegates learned to be able to implement into their businesses will create a safer and improved working environment for their staff.  In addition, the connections made during networking opportunities throughout the day will allow for collaboration and information sharing which will ultimately lead to a safer region overall.

A huge thanks goes to the RIN staff for organising the event, our sponsors, the speakers and the attendees for making this year’s Safety Conference such a fantastic event.  Now it’s onto Resource Industry Networking’s gala event for the year – the 2025 RIN awards which will be held on Friday 22nd August at the MECC.

‍

Big conversations, bold ideas and a whole lot of heart — the 2025 RIN Safety Conference brought together industry leaders and changemakers for a powerful day of learning, connection and real-world solutions. Here's a glimpse at the people and moments driving safer, stronger workplaces across our region. Photos supplied

‍