Here at the Transport Agency we want all our people to go home safe and well every day, no exceptions. As part of this, we're committed to creating a Zero Harm culture - a systemic risk-based (or 'real world') approach to health and safety - not only within our own organisation, but across the wider roading industry. New Zealand is revolutionising the way it approaches health and safety. As an employer and a principal, the Transport Agency is also committed to providing leadership in healthy and safe work practices through working closely with employees, key stakeholders and industry groups to develop and promote innovative tools and systems, and easy to implement minimum standards.
Developed together with the Transport Agency’s Zero Harm Industry Group - representing key stakeholders, contractors and designers - each minimum standard sets a clear expectation and provides practical recommendations that allow work on the state highway network to be carried out safely, effectively, and to a high standard. Each document complements any existing procedures or legislative framework that is already in use in New Zealand such as Worksafe NZ guidelines. Please share these documents with suppliers, contractors and partners that work with us or on our behalf – we want to make it easy for everyone to be involved in Zero Harm.
We are also working on a number of initiatives to help improve our industry’s health and safety performance. One of these initiatives is the ConstructSafe competency scheme - a flexible competency testing platform that was developed in partnership with AT and ACC, and in consultation with key industry stakeholders. Another initiative is our Zero Harm Business Transformation Group (BTG), which is embedding Zero Harm across activities carried out by our Highways and Network Operations group. The BTG are focused on three areas - Safety in Design, Principal, and People and Culture.
Find more information on the 'big picture' in the 2014-2020 Zero Harm strategic plan.
By 2020 or sooner, we want all our people to go home safe and healthy, no exceptions. Policies can only do so much. It's about the decisions we make and the actions we take every day that make a real difference in health and safety. Check out our People before Policy video, which captures our core message.
For further information contact zeroharm@nzta.govt.nz.