Health and Wellbeing

sustainability health and safety - Allied Concrete

People are the lifeblood of our business

At Allied Concrete, we want our people to be safe and healthy, living and working to their full potential. We actively manage and control the hazards and risks exposed to our people in their daily activities.

Allied Concrete has fully embraced SHARP, an initiative launched in 2014 by HWR providing our approach to Health and Safety and an overarching direction for the business.

This year Allied Concrete have launched HEART, a health and wellbeing program and HELM, an in-house training system. We have developed ‘Our Code’ which outlines our crucial safety rules within the concrete division and developed and implemented improved emergency response procedures in all plants.

SHARP

SHARP is our commitment to getting everyone safely home to their family and friends at the end of every day. Allied Concrete adopted SHARP in 2015 and is a long-term campaign that is creating a culture where we all keep ourselves and one another safe.

Safety Without Compromise

We aspire to achieve a Just Culture with accountability rather than blame. It’s ok to make mistakes if we learn from them and in which we investigate to find the root cause of incidents and remove the risk. We believe that all accidents can be prevented.

Healthy People Enjoying the Journey

We need to genuinely care for the wellbeing of ourselves and each other. Not only making sure we all get home in one piece, but that we’re Healthy and Well, and able to do our job to our full potential.

Accountability for Safety on My Patch

We all need to be accountable for our actions and actively take responsibility for safety on our patch. Personal Accountability is essential in the Just Culture we aspire.

Role Modelling so that Others Might Follow

It’s the actions of all of us that’ll decide the influence we can have on safety. We’ll always have a much greater impact if we consistently Role Model the same high standards that we expect from everyone else.

Professional Standards Keeping People out of Harm's Way

There’s no room for shortcuts if they compromise the procedures and standards we put in place to keep people out of harm’s way. We’re all professionals, and we have to maintain Professional Standards.

HEART

'Heart' is HWR's wellness programme which stands for Health, Energetic, Alert, Rested and taking Time.

As an organisation, we invest heavily in trucks and equipment to ensure we lead the way. But the truth is, our staff are our most valuable asset, and taking care of our wellbeing is fundamental to taking care of ourselves and others in the workplace. If we don’t look after our own physical and mental health – what chance is there, that we will be serious in our efforts to keep each other safe?

Just as we need our fleet to be well serviced, well presented and safe to operate, having our people alert, rested, and healthy in mind and body, is even more fundamental to a safe working environment.

The Heart program has recently been launched into the Allied Concrete business. The main launch targets our front line staff to get involved via a challenge called ‘Be Like Mike’.

HELM

HELM was developed to support the delivery of inductions and specific training elements.

Since the launch of HELM in May 2019 five modules have been introduced including:

  • Health and Safety Inductions
  • Handling Hazardous Liquid Substances
  • Powder Products Handling
  • Truck Wash Procedure
  • Safe Entry & Working in Concrete Mixer Bowls

We have seen a positive uptake with 1,150 modules completed from over 500 staff over five months.

Our Code

Our Code has been developed to help guide the decisions of our people and is part of the way we do things. Our people know they will be supported if they are following the rules to keep you safe.

Our Code comprises seven safety rules that are based on staff feedback and provides clear expectations of safety behaviour.

The rules were introduced individually and are discussed as part of toolbox sessions at each of our plants. Knowing and following these rules help our people keep out of harm's way.

  1. Always look after your mates. If you see something, say something and report incidents and near hits.
  2. Follow all traffic management rules and signage.
  3. Always complete your pre-vehicle check and abide by road and work-time rules.
  4. Never attempt a task in which you are not trained and confident you can complete.
  5. Always wear the right PPE for the task.
  6. Never complete maintenance or cleaning work on plant machinery without authorised lockout in place.
  7. Always arrive to work in a fit state.