At Pink Bins, we take safety extremely seriously. After all, we’re a people business operating heavy machinery. So, to ensure that our staff and customers are always safe, we work with Suzanne Liddington from Sage Consulting and Management. In this post, we explain what Suzanne does.
Suzanne’s interest in health and safety started in 2013. Back then, she was working as a temp for a large energy company and found herself handling health and safety across all of New Zealand.
“At the time, I didn’t know much about health and safety, but I was very interested. So, after I finished the job, I decided to start a business,” says Suzanne.
Specialising in small – and medium-sized businesses, Suzanne helps business owners understand the importance of health and safety, what it involves and what their requirements are. As every business is different, she doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach.
“I’ll visit a new client and usually take a walk around their business to see what they do. Then, I’ll sit down with them to figure out their health and safety needs. I ask questions like, ‘Do you hire contractors? Do you handle hazardous materials? Or, do you have staff that often complain about a safety issue?’”
Suzanne says that the first goal is to ensure clients comply with the Health and Safety Work Act 2015—non-compliance can lead to improvement notices or fines. However, she explains that health and safety has become much more than just ‘ticking compliance boxes.’
“A big part of my job is getting clients past the compliance stage and onto how they actually think about and protect their workers when on the job. That’s the hard part: trying to develop a work-and-safety culture.”
Suzanne says that she sees her clients, on average one to two times a month. Here’s what she does with us at Pink Bins:
- Monthly H & S meetings
- Fire drills twice a year
- Fire warden training
- H & S audits twice a year.
“Pink Bins are great to work with — Craig, the General Manager, is so funny. And, I’m happy to say that they have fully embraced a work-and-safety culture.
What happens when a business experiences a health and safety incident? Suzanne says that if it’s minor, the business should keep a record. However, when a major incident occurs, they must report it to the Government enforcement agency, Work Safe.
When a major incident occurs, Suzanne will visit the business to investigate. And, as she is well versed in health-and-safety ‘lingo’ and requirements, she will often communicate with Work Safe on behalf of her client.
Of course, there’s no doubt that some business people feel that having to implement health and safety procedures is a big waste of time. They’d rather focus on doing what they do. At Pink Bins, though, we see things differently. Let’s get real: workers who feel safe at work are more likely to stick around. Also, businesses that improve their health and safety standards can see reductions in their ACC levies.
Being safe is a ‘no-brainer, really.’
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Think Pink