Taking The Fear Out Of Mining Safety Culture

With mining incidents and deaths on the increase over the past few years, it’s understandable that ‘safety’ has become a predominant industry topic; however, one local business is championing a reputation shift – in a monstrous way.

Locally owned Mackay Safety is taking an unconventional approach to awareness of the topic, by showcasing an oversized full bodied blue monster mascot at this year’s Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition (QME) next week.

Mick Storch, Managing Director of Mackay Safety and 4PS Software, said that safety had become a bleak topic across the industry and he believed it was fear-based and time to flip the reputation on its head.

“It’s a bit radical but the situation needs shaking up. It’s about simplifying the concept of safety by exposing the monster in the room – we need to reveal the big hairy audacious topic it has become (with a bit of humour) and start looking at how we can take a fresh approach moving forward,” he said.

The annual QME event is an opportunity for local and regional businesses to showcase what’s available across the region, including Mackay Safety’s different approach to software development that is both predictive and preventative in nature.

“Safety doesn’t need to be scary. Our experiences, services and advice have come a long way and while tragedies should never occur, we have developed better understanding and learnings from them for future preventative action. Our software reflects this, and we want to ignite more conversations around safety advancements,” he said.

Mackay Safety have in-depth knowledge and exposure through their work across risk registers, accident investigations, resourcing safety management personnel, safety management systems, safety plans, and assistance with tendering, etc.

“Having worked in the safety industry for decades, I have seen its evolution across trade, safety, and compliance. The daring representation of a monster is a creative way to trigger the thinking of the industry and the underlying factors behind safety. We still have a long way to go, but we believe revealing this is part of the process of reframing the concept of safety and its impacts.

We need to embrace a forward-thinking and positive approach for the generations of men and women going through the industry that rely on safety to get them through their shift and home safely, every time. It requires a full industry adoption to remove the fear and focus on the solutions of the future,” he said.

To learn more about Mackay Safety and 4PS Software, visit their website or stall at this year’s QME event.

Keep aneye out for the Safety Monster at QME!

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