2011

FINALISTS

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STAR Awards finalists

Winners in the inaugural Transpower STAR Awards recognising achievement and excellence in safety in the electricity transmission industry were announced at a gala dinner on 10 August 2011.

The STAR Awards were developed to recognise achievement and excellence in safety in the national grid high voltage transmission industry and are open to all Transpower employees, sub-contractors and consultant employees.

All the nominees and finalists have shown leadership, innovation and performance in regard to safety and are to be congratulated. This publication details the projects and initiatives of all the finalists with the purpose of sharing their learnings within the transmission industry.

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F I N A L I S T S :

This STAR Award recognises the project with the best safety culture and performance record. The award seeks exceptional safety performance for the duration of the project, which may be a new investment, customer job, replacement, refurbishment or policy project, or maintenance job.

Finalist:

Crew from Electrix Ltd, Gore for live line work replacing subconductors spans on 90 spans of the Manapouri-Tiwai A and Invercargill- Manapouri A 220kV lines.

Live line skill and team work

This crew has been nominated for its excellence in project safety. The work was undertaken live, using a helicopter and helikarts access methods. The crew faced a range of significant safety risks, including access to live conductors, work on transmission line conductors, work at height and hazards presented by overcrossed services and obstacles such as roads, low voltage distribution lines, trees and buildings. Helicopter assisted, live line spacer replacement is a complex and high-tech operation that relies on skilled competent workers, rigorously tested procedures, high-tech communications, excellent planning and personal discipline. Essentially, it is the ultimate team effort.

The whole Gore crew, and in particular the individuals Kim Sheridan, Jason Kingi, Regan Dawson and Blair Davers, demonstrated exemplary safety standards in their live line work and carried it out with almost military precision. The crew has established an enviable reputation for safety and efficiency in live line spacer replacement to a standard that is truly worthy of recognition. The team’s manager has commented he never ceases to be impressed with all aspects of the team’s operations and that the whole company is very proud of them.

Finalist:

Northern Grid Alliance, for work on North Island Grid Upgrade project, based in Hamilton.

Establishing a safety culture

The Northern Grid Alliance team, comprising Belfour Beatty, United Group and Transpower is responsible for one of the largest infrastructure projects under construction in New Zealand since the 1960s. The statistics are stunning: 426 400kV towers to be erected on over 300 landowners’ properties - each tower weighing up to 30 tonnes and the height of a 15-storey building - 460 towers to be dismantled and removed, 300 employees and subcontractors and an average of 10,000 kilometres travelled per day by project staff. Equally as important, the Alliance is responsible for the safety of the landowners and communities living and working near the new line during construction.A project as large as this faces numerous health and safety issues, including establishing a safety culture within a new team, addressing numerous project ‘firsts’, site conditions and geography, communications and skills shortages. The Alliance prioritised establishing a safety culture focussed around a Zero Harm Leadership approach. The team found communication, both internal and external, was core. All aspects of the project were considered from a safety management perspective and a number of bespoke innovations developed.The Alliance has an excellent safety record and key indicators are trending downwards. Notably, subcontractors are increasing safety resources and basing their own reviews on templates and monitoring established by the Alliance.The safety initiatives and culture developed throughout the project has empowered the whole project team to have confidence in their work practices and set and achieve high standards in health and safety management.

Finalist:

Opus International’s team of Project Managers and construction team, based at Otematata, Otago.

Attention to detail

The Opus team’s nomination is for its work in the planning and safe execution of a project to replace the crushed metal within the Halfway Bush switchyard. The work involved use of mobile plant within the switchyard, which posed a range of safety risks and required a high level of competency, supervision and observation. This team excelled at attention to detail, ensuring all conceivable issues were addressed, including a number of potential hazards being identified and remediated prior to starting work on site. The team was been instrumental in developing a Work Planning process that comprehensively and practically integrates all health and safety, resource management and Transpower policy. The expertise of the Opus team was recognised by Transpower’s assessors who complimented them for their initiative in addressing changes and sound decision making processes.

Top Project – Safety and Health Maintenance

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F I N A L I S T S : Best Safety and Health Performance (Team)

This award recognises teams with a strong collective safety culture that consistently demonstrate a commitment to safety.

Finalist:

Grid Projects Northern North Island Team, for Grid Projects, Transpower.

Safety by design

This team was nominated in recognition of their huge contribution to leading the charge for safety improvements on site. Significant effort was made by the team with a focus on safety by design through SCORED workshops and in making changes on site. A focus of the team has been on ensuring people with construction and maintenance experience input into site design so that safety is optimised. The increased emphasis and hands-on approach of management to improve on-site safety has inspired the whole team to adopt high expectations of each other.

Finalist:

Transmission Line mechanic team from Northpower, based in Hamilton.

Well prepared

This team of five was nominated for their work on the preparation and control of a worksite on the Bombay-Otahuhu A 100kV tower shift project. The project involved relocating a double circuit 110kv line tower, in a heavy traffic area, to allow for the widening of the Papakura overbridge across State Highway 1, South Auckland. The Northpower team impressed the judges with their comprehensive risk assessment process, and clear communication to subcontractors and visitors on site. It was their thorough preliminary preparation and awareness of hazards that enabled them to work safely and efficiently and complete the work will within the five day outage allowance.

As the client on the job, Transpower commended the Northpower team with glowing feedback. In particular, they noted the team’s great understanding of site hazards, work methodology and site induction requirements.

Finalist:

ABB Christchurch Substation Service Team.

Seven years lost-time-injury free

This ABB team has demonstrated a strong commitment to safety, applying health and safety systems to an exemplary standard, including training, participation in collaborative health and safety meetings, carrying out safety observation tours and near miss reporting.

The team’s strong safety culture is also attributed the culture of open discussion of near misses and incidents during safety toolbox meetings. This open culture has allowed staff to constructively challenge behaviour in the pursuit of safety. They say ‘challenging safety is seen as a healthy act and is encouraged by all’. Likewise, achievements in safety are celebrated, which again contributes to the positive safety culture. The team has achieved seven years lost-time-injury free and is well on the way towards their own goal of 10 years lost-time-injury free.

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F I N A L I S T S : Best Safety and Health Performance - Individual

The purpose of this award is to recognise consistent high performance in safety leadership, whether in the field, at the depot or in the office.

Finalist:

Vern Rosieur, Northpower.

Developed training material

Vern is the Safety and HR Field Services Manager for Northpower. He recently brought together Northpower, EPMU, Electrix, Transpower and Top Energy together to create a combined safety video using industry people and equipment.

The video was developed to address drug and alcohol abuse, PPE gear not being worn correctly and poor behavioural decisions being made by field staff. The actors in the video were electrical workers in the industry who volunteered to take part.The video has been shared with several network owners and service providers and had been very well received.Vern is a passionate leader in safety who works with people to do the right thing. The video is an example of Vern’s commitment to seeing an opportunity and following it through from conception to roll out.

Finalist:

John Anthony Wilson, Transpower.

Programme to keep linesmen safe

John is the Maintenance Manager (Lines), based in Palmerston North. He has been instrumental in setting up the current lines Behaviour Based initiative (BBSI). In early 2009 John recognised that minor behaviour incidents indicated a lack of understanding of basic safety requirements. John identified the need to address the behaviour that was affecting performance and productivity of his contractors. The BBSI programme initially addressed local issues. It was based on surveying the experiences of linesmen, turning these into safety action plans, and following up with actions undertaken by management to change behaviour. The value of the local programme was soon recognised and the programme was rolled out across New Zealand to all other field contract and Transpower groups. Safety has improved, not only directly in the field, but Linesmen are now not as hesitant as they were to raise safety issues.John’s manager, Wayne Youngman, said that John is a dedicated and loyal employee who is absolutely passionate about safety to himself, his workmates and contractors.

Finalist:

Remi Emery – Transfield.

Relationships get results

Remi works at the Otahuhu Substation, he has been instrumental in the founding of the Safety Action Group that was set up in 2002 and has either led or sat on the group ever since. Over the years the Safety Action Group has introduced a significant number of initiatives that have been endorsed by management and made mandatory for the N2 (Transfield Services Substation) Group.

Remi says that they have managed to build a safety culture which is defined by the engagement and ownership of safety by the substation team, through building relationships of trust between and for one-another, their Transfield Services managers and supervisors, the SAG and for the client. Remi has a talent for getting buy-in from peers and constructively looking for areas to improve.Remi’s manager, Peter Thornton, said that “Remi is relentless, he’s like a parrot on my shoulder. He won’t let it go and I appreciate that because as a manager you have so many demands made on your time, so many priorities that things can slip by. Remi and our Safety Action Group reps also deal to smaller safety

issues as they arise, and they’ll hear about it later. They are out there and active all the time.“I have enormous respect for Remi and what he does for our guys. His commitment to safety and lifting safety awareness out there in the yard is unparalleled. The guys listen to him, he’s got a way about how he goes about talking to people that gets results”.

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F I N A L I S T S :

This award recognises the best depot, site or office that demonstrates a proactive and collective approach to safety improvement, including an exemplary safety record.

Finalist:

Transmission Line Maintenance Depot – Gore, for Electrix Limited.

Pride, performance and value

Electrix describes their Gore team as for many years setting the benchmark for other regional branches to attain. They say many innovations, including live line techniques such as Helikarts, have been developed by the Gore team.Specifically, the Electrix Gore depot has provided leadership in safety, quality and innovation for many years with excellence in developing a culture of responsibility, pride and ownership of outcomes, achieving a high level of engagement in safety processes, development of new and improved work and safety procedures, and engagement with Transpower. These contributions have resulted in consistently high performance in all safety measures, and high level of customer satisfaction. They are said to exemplify the Electrix Statement of Purpose: Pride, Performance, Value.

Finalist:

HVDC Pole 3 Project at Benmore, for Siemens, Mainzeal and Transpower.

Engaged and informed staff

The Benmore site has been nominated for this award on the basis of the overall excellent quality and thoroughness of the health and safety culture on site. A number of initiatives have been installed on site, responding to the specific requirements and conditions at Benmore. These include managing the effects of heat stress in summer, and cold in winter, and ensuring medical facilities are available given the site’s isolation. Numerous other construction and safety management systems and performance improvements have been put in place. These additions are supported by engaged and informed staff which leads to a high level of awareness of safety issues and strong safety culture, demonstrating the team’s safety motto: Think Safe, Work Safe, Home Safe.

Finalist:

Otahuhu Stations N2 Depot, at Otahuhu for Electrical Services NZ, Transfield Services.

A pioneer and innovator

Transfield’s National Stations Manager nominated the N2 depot with the comment that the group has been a pioneer and innovator in many of the practices that form the basis of the company’s safety programme today. The team’s safety culture and continuing progressive focus on safety training, celebrating and improving processes has been instrumental in their outstanding achievement of nine years, or more than 1.3 million man hours without a lost time injury. This track record is underpinned by a close working relationship between management and the field staff, with both groups sharing the common goal of safety engagement in the pursuit of the Transfield’s safety goal is ‘No injuries to anyone, any time’.

Top Depot, Site or Office

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F I N A L I S T S : Best Safety by Design for Projects or Maintenance

This award recognises the best safety design in the planning stage. It rewards innovation resulting in greater safety, be it for field workers and/or the general public.

Finalist:

Northern Grid Alliance Design Team, based in Hamilton, for work on North Island Grid Upgrade project.

Virtually eliminated risk

The Northern Grid Alliance design team included design engineers, maintenance managers and construction engineers to develop safe solutions for the design of steel monopoles as part of the 400kV line project. Design challenges included access for maintenance – with structures up to 68m tall and electrical clearances requiring longer crossarms, exposing maintenance staff to a potential fall hazard for a longer period of time. The design team devised four features to improve access and reduce the fall risk on the monopoles. As a result, the monopoles are safer, the risk of personnel falling is virtually eliminated and the work environment is more comfortable.

The work on improving monopole safety led to other improvements being made such as to maintenance construction rigging points on the structures. The team’s approach exemplifies varied disciplines working together at the design stage to ensure safety needs of both the construction and maintenance staff.

Finalist:

Steve Peake and Bob Bell, Transpower, for work on Hobson Street GIS substation, as part of NAAN – North Auckland and Northland project.

Methodical approach

Steve and Bob took a methodical approach to incorporating safety in to the early design of the GIS project, working with the consultant to ensure the design was thoroughly assessed for items that contribute to safety issues during construction or operation. This approach was followed up by incorporating a strong involvement from the contractor during the detailed design phase to further optimise the design. Steve and Bob were nominated by Paul Duffy, Project Director NAaN, who said “the work both Steve and Bob have done on Hobson St has been cutting edge for Transpower. It’s set the standard going forward for how safety should be managed during the design stage of a project to ensure ‘Safety by Design’ is fully considered and incorporated into the design.”

Finalist:

Design Team, Northern Grid Alliance for based in Hamilton, for enabling work on 400kV North Island Grid Upgrade project.

Dynamic solutions

A particular challenge on this project was the variation in topography and geology across the line route. They had to contend with low lying, flat sites on soft, highly compressible soils. This demanded special measures to provide safe access and working areas for heavy plant. Steep terrain presented similar challenges.

The project team approached these challenges methodically, but looked for dynamic solutions. Initial assessments of tower sites enabled the project to understand the level and complexity of required works. Specs were obtained for all major plant, and from this, safe working gradients and environments were determined. A process map was developed and embedded in construction protocols. Following site visits, data was inputted into CAD design software to enable drawings to be generated and any constructability issues spotted.

This is an excellent example of reviewing the construction approach based on experience, and developing improved approaches at the design stage.The use of enabling works has been described as a step change for overhead line work. Not only has there been a growing appreciation of enhanced safety, this has been a key element in proving and extending the project’s overall commitment to safety.

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F I N A L I S T S : Apprentice of the Year

This award celebrates consistent high performance in safety leadership shown by an apprentice, whether in the field, at the depot or in the office.

Finalist:

Chris Ruthven, apprentice electrician at Seven Electrical Ltd, for work on Haywards HVDC Pole 3 project.

Active involvement

Chris has demonstrated safety leadership in the way he approached changes in the electrical regulations, particularly becoming fully conversant with requirements placed on construction sites. Chris’s awareness resulted in changes to installations at the Haywards construction site to ensure the HVDC Pole 3 accommodation and site power remained compliant for the project.

Chris’s manager nominated him for his award with the words: “Chris’s active involvement in toolbox talks and tailgate meetings has contributed to the safe installation and maintenance of the electrical installations at Haywards Pole 3. He has expanded his knowledge of the relevant standards and gained valuable experience.” Siemens NZ have also endorsed Chris as a key part of a reliable and competent team at Seven Electrical.

Finalist:

Travis Terry, trainee line mechanic (E1) at Electronet Transmission, based in Greymouth.

Exceeds expectations

Travis has consistently displayed proactive leadership in safety across all aspects of his work. He volunteered to join the safety committee, and immediately made an impact with the way he got involved and suggested improvements. He quickly gained the respect of his managers, supervisors and fellow workmates. With these skills, it’s clear he will become a very good line mechanic and valued member of the team.

Travis’s manager describes him as continually exceeding expectations. This was endorsed by trainers at Omaka where he was described as “the best performer, and an exciting prospect with a great future.”

Finalist:

Matthew Sarten, apprentice electrician at ABB Power System Service, at Stratford.

Questions and learns

Matthew has been commended for his development in the area of health and safety awareness. He has demonstrated a keenness to learn and has a sound awareness of how each individual’s behaviour affects the team, which has contributed to the Stratford group reaching 6.5 years lost time injury free. His managers have said that over his apprenticeship he has impressed with the quality of his queries around health and safety when working on Transpower sites, and note that he will happily question anyone seen carrying out an unsafe act.

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F I N A L I S T S : Best Safety Innovation

This award recognises either a team or individual’s safety innovation: the application of an approach, device or process to minimise safety risk in the field.

Finalist:

Selina Corboy, Communications Advisor, for work on NIGUP – North Island Grid Upgrade project.

Creative engagement

Selina devised a creative and engaging way to communicate safety issues to workers in the field “without it being a lecture”. Traditional safety briefings relied on individual take up of written material and resulted in a feeling of safety overload. Selina recognised an area for improvement and devised a much more engaging ‘Transmission’s Transmission’, a radio broadcast over the RT to staff returning to the project office.

Selina was nominated by Ian Ditchfield, Project Manager NIGUP. He says her unique radio show is an excellent idea on how to convey safety messages in a way that engages the key audience. Listeners are now contacting Selina with ideas and issues to cover in the show, and the show is being looked at as a template for other projects and is supported within the wider NIGUP team as a fantastic initiative.

Finalist:

HVDC Pole 3 – Team, for work at Benmore and Haywards Substations.

Site specific innovations

The HVDC Pole 3 team came up with innovative and practical solutions to a number of health and safety challenges at both the Benmore and Hayward sites. The summer heat is a challenge at Benmore, but information on heat stress and how to treat it is provided to workers. A shower block was installed to allow for cool showers and drink bottles and electrolytes are provided and an ice truck on site maintained a supply of ice. Extra monitoring of workers and breaks was done when temperatures got above 30 degrees. Likewise the team recognised Benmore’s isolation from a medical centre and established a fully equipped first aid room on site. The team also recognised the need to establish a hazardous goods storage area at both Benmore and Haywards, and undertake appropriate training. They initiated a ‘yellow card’ system to easily report hazards and near misses around the construction site at Haywards, and initiated a number of safety stations or ‘dog boxes’ as a one-stop-shop for safety information and equipment at Haywards. At Benmore too they recognised the issue of construction area adjacent to a live switchyard, and separated these with a semi permanent non-conductive fence. The team’s approach in initiating these solutions helped to manage what could have become very real health and safety issues.

Finalist:

Opus International Consultants (Development and Implementation Project Managers team).

Security = safety

Opus has been instrumental in initiating, developing and implementing a suite of safety innovations at substations nationally. These have been derived by proactively reviewing existing procedures and developing solutions that are practical and effective. A particular focus was placed on security measures, which provide safety benefits to the public and those working on or near high voltage substations.

Opus identified and implemented five key safety innovations: improvements to outdoor switchyard emergency egress including a new gate design, alarm monitoring of personnel gates, free egress from operational buildings, improvements to key systems at switchyards and a HV power security fence isolation system.

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