Good afternoon all,
Wednesday night I stopped production at our Neerabup plant.
I did not make that decision lightly. I know what it means for our customers, our business and our teams. But I was not confident that we were working as safely as we must, and I will not run any part of this business on that basis.
Wednesday night a recently started employee was injured at Neerabup. That injury was not the only reason I stopped the plant. Over the past year we have had too many incidents that could have seriously hurt someone. Recently the number of serious incidents has increased, and our injury rate has gone in the wrong direction despite a lot of effort from many people.
That is not acceptable, and it must stop now. I will stop work at any site, at any time, if I am not confident it can be done safely. I expect every leader in Wesbeam to do the same.
Today I worked with the leadership and safety teams at Neerabup on what must change. The main areas are:
training, induction and onboarding, especially for new starters
making sure supervisors have the time to be on the floor
clear, practical safe work methods for the jobs we actually do
effective daily pre-starts and shift handovers
controlling non-standard and one-off tasks
leaders setting the standard, and not accepting shortcuts
A detailed action plan with owners and timing is being developed. Some changes will happen immediately; others will take time to embed. The expectations below apply from today.
Neerabup restarted production at 12:30 Thursday, after every workgroup was briefed on these expectations and our commitments to them.
Our non-negotiables apply at every Wesbeam site. They are not optional, and they are not open to interpretation.
Follow the agreed safe work procedure. If it is unclear, cannot be followed safely, or the job changes, stop and speak to your supervisor. Do not improvise and do not take shortcuts.
Wear the right PPE for the task. If you don't have it, don't start.
People and mobile plant don't mix. Keep to exclusion zones and walkways. Operators stop if anyone is in their path.
Isolate before you intervene. Your own lock goes on before you enter any machine isolation area, every time.
Secure every load. Tilt back, keep it low, and never travel or reverse with a raised or unstable load.
No knives. Knives are banned at Wesbeam unless approved for a specific one-off task through a Take 5 signed by a supervisor. Use approved cutting tools, and wear cut-resistant gloves and sleeves.
If you are not trained or not sure, ask. No one is to do a task they have not been shown how to do safely, and no one is to ask them to.
Everyone has the right, and the responsibility, to stop any job they believe is unsafe. No one will be criticised for stopping a job for safety reasons, and any leader who discourages it will answer to me.
Breaching a non-negotiable is different. Deliberately ignoring these rules, or directing or allowing someone else to, will be treated seriously and may result in disciplinary action.
Leaders, you are accountable for making these expectations achievable and for making sure they are followed. That means providing the training, equipment, time and supervision your people need; completing your safety activities; and acting on the risks you see. Production pressure is never a reason to accept unsafe work. If you walk past an unsafe act, you have accepted it.
Leaders outside WA: at the start of your next shift, take your teams through this message and the non-negotiables. Ask them what makes it hard to work safely at your site, and pass on what you hear to your manager and to me. Confirm to your manager once every crew has been briefed.
Thank you to everyone who spoke up today, and to the Neerabup teams for the way they responded. I expect every one of you to go home safely after every shift, and I expect every one of us to make that happen.
Giles Everest
CEO
0447106867
[email protected]