Zero Harm reward and recognition initiative

10/06/2018

Downer’s Otraco business has successfully trialled and implemented an improved and award-winning employee reward and recognition program. The program seeks to harness the innovation, practical skills, experience and problemsolving potential of its workforce by incentivising workers to take ownership of solutions. The program encourages healthy competition across the business for sites to develop innovative solutions to existing health and safety risks, either within the business, or across the industry.

The focus is:

• Recognition of values
• Zero Harm or productivity improvements
• Achieving a specific quarterly challenge to remove or minimise an identified risk.

Key to the program’s success has been the championing of the program and support from senior executives, transparent entry and determination criteria and prompt rewarding of successful parties.

The program has resulted in several safety initiatives within the business, improving not only safety at Otraco, but within the large tyre industry. Examples of these improvements include the development of an inflation tool, redesign of two regularly used tools and a reduction in risk across the large tyre industry reducing risks associated with misthreading.

The program has also had success externally, winning the following awards:

• Winner 2017 NSCA Foundation/GIO Workers Compensation National Safety Awards of Excellence
• Finalist 2017 Australian Mining and Prospect Awards
• Finalist Hunter Safety Awards 2018.

After two years the program is well recognised and embedded within the business and a team is currently reviewing opportunities to expand the program. This initiative demonstrates Downer’s contribution to achieve the following Sustainable Development Goals: