MELBOURNE WATER
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Focused Performance consortia and its General Manager Bruce Kerr echoes that positivity : “ I ’ m not aware of many clients that constantly drive communication in the safety space like Melbourne Water . It feels inclusive , they want to work with all of their contractors so everyone can buy into the culture .” This culture was recognised with a WorkSafe award for safety leadership in 2018 , and has resulted in Melbourne Water being shortlisted once again for 2019 .
Kelly believes the key to engaging the workforce lies in developing relationships , and by employing authentic safety leadership in every site interaction . “ You can ’ t do that at one forum with 300 people in a room , you have to get out and about . It ’ s not about documentation and apportioning blame . We ’ re always getting new people on site so you can never take your eye off the ball . You have to talk to people , be visible on site and be seen to be taking their safety seriously .” Shepherd adds : “ We want to make working safely a habit across the water industry . This requires bridging the gap in our thinking away from more rules and tools , to decluttering our approach and building capacity in the workforce to be agile , more risk conscious and adapt work plans to suit change in the work environment .”
Through its commitment to social procurement , Melbourne Water is also facilitating a number of initiatives aligned with the Victorian Governments Local Jobs First policy . One such initiative was started within JHG . The Pathways Program began in response to Victoria ’ s infrastructure boom by exploring different avenues for the recruitment of talent . “ Migrant professionals were a relatively
Niru Gosavi , Melbourne Water ’ s Program Delivery Director ( center ) is championing the Pathways Program and is pictured here with participants Evelyn Mugisha and Chris Daramola
SEPTEMBER 2019