Arrival & Registration

45min

Welcome

Tyron McGurgan, CEO, Focus Network

20min

Tyron McGurgan

Tyron McGurgan is an accomplished entrepreneur, media specialist, and events professional with over 17 years of experience in the industry. He is [...]

Master of Ceremonies

Rod Hampel, Director & Head of Business Development, Bodycare Workplace Solutions

5min

Rod Hampel

Rod Hampel, takes a strategic and commercial approach to networking, building strong client relationships and growing Bodycare’s footprint in the [...]

Keynote Presentation – We are ready for our next step in safety but I don’t want more rules, checklists and procedures – The reality of that journey, a life lost, change made and an opportunity to leave a legacy through an EU

Kurt Warren, Head of HSEQ & Sustainability, Hansen Yuncken

Leadership mandate to advance safety performance through people set a course of listening to workers, challenging perceptions and norms with strategy development. Execution of that strategy was confronting and a learning experience from Boardroom to workers that change their meaning of safety performance.

A worker fatality during the delivery of the strategy cemented their conviction to progress and an opportunity to share, research and advocate for industry change through an extensive EU that commenced in March 2023.

This presentation is the before, during and outcomes from the last four years, culminating in the future state opportunity of the EU.

30min

Kurt Warren

Kurt is a highly accomplished, insightful & business focused safety executive offering over 20 years’ experience in a range of safety [...]

Keynote Panel Discussion – Transforming Psychosocial Risk Management: From Individual Interventions to Systemic Solutions

Panellists:

Mark Oostergo, Chief Executive Officer and Principal Psychologist, Australian Psychology Services

Matt Browne, Founder,  HSI Donesafe

Darren Evans, Chief Safety and Risk Officer, Auckland Airport

Moderator:

Ben Evans, Director of Product Marketing and Customer, HSI Donesafe

30min

Mark Oostergo

Mark is a passionate and conscientious psychologist who has a keen interest in workplace psychological well-being and high performance. He has [...]

Darren Evans

Darren leads Auckland Airport's Safety & Risk function, overseeing Operational Risk and Assurance, Occupational Health, Safety & Wellbeing, [...]

Matt Browne

  As Managing Partner at Black Nova Group and Black Nova Venture Capital, Matt oversees the qualification, proposal and selection of all [...]

Ben Evans

Bio coming [...]

Keynote Presentation – Acts of violence & aggression – a once emerging risk that is here right now

Denva Wren, Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing, Woolworths NZ

Acts of violence & aggression towards team, customers & contractors is a very real physical and psychosocial risk that many industries are challenged by. Experience a shared discussion including some of the learnings and experiences of Woolworths (and others) on how organisations are needing to test, learn, deploy and evolve at pace to keep people safe no matter their role.

30min

Denva Wren

Denva has a background of over 15 years experience in retail & supply chain within the Woolworths Group in various roles across Aotearoa, New [...]

Networking Break

15min

Keynote Presentation – The Space Shuttle Columbia Crew Survival Investigation

Nigel Packham, Associate Director, Safety and Mission Assurance, NASA Johnson Space Center

On February 1^st 2003, early on a crisp, sunny Winter’s morning, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over the skies of Texas taking with her the lives of all seven crewmembers aboard. The crew of Columbia had spent the previous 16 days in space performing ground-breaking science experiments and was anticipating a happy reunification with family and friends after they landed at Kennedy Space Center later that day. It was not to be. The fate of Columbia and her precious crew was sealed as soon as the commitment to the de-orbit burn was given to drop them out of low Earth orbit.

Many will question why, after over 20 years have passed since that fateful day, we still continue to communicate the events that led up to and which progressed during Columbia’s atmospheric entry.

Ironically perhaps, now is the most opportune time to do so. Today’s commercial space industry is expanding at an alarming rate, not just in the area of payload deployment in the near Earth region, but in response to much, much wider and loftier destinations. Proposed designs for flying astronauts are appearing, it would seem, almost daily. If providers of such services are unaware of the details behind the tragic lessons that we, NASA, have learned, then no-one can expect that the same mistakes will not happen over and over again. Since the accident, a small group of the investigation team have given the presentation to over 85,000 people world-wide in an attempt to spread the word as widely as possible.

This presentation examines what happened to the crew and the crew module of Columbia during entry. It does not address the cause of the accident. That was more than adequately addressed by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board, formed on the day of the accident as a Presidential Commission. It will examine the five events that occurred post de-orbit burn that had lethal potential. By evaluating each event in turn, a picture of crew survivability for future accidents can be painted. Of course, the Columbia crew experienced all five events from which there was no hope of survival.

Should you wish to read about the investigation in detail, please go to: https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/298870main_SP-2008-565.pdf

30min

Nigel Packham

Experienced Safety Director with a demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry. Skilled in Safety Management [...]

Fireside Chat – Navigating the challenges of risk management: Overcoming the key hurdles to building a robust safety system

Kerry Wagstaff, Project Manager – Quality and Compliance Implementation, T&G

Craig Bleakley, Safety and Risk Consultant, ecoPortal

This fireside chat will cover:

Exploration of the critical challenges faced by organisations in risk management.

Outline the six biggest hurdles to establishing a strong safety system and share actionable strategies to avoid them. Insights into how to enhance safety culture, optimise risk management processes and align safety initiatives with business objectives.

Solutions that empower leadership to drive meaningful change in health and safety practices across the organisation.

30min

Kerry Wagstaff

With nearly two decades of experience in health and safety management, Kerry is a seasoned professional dedicated to enhancing organizational [...]

Craig Bleakley

I am an accredited health and safety professional having worked with hundreds of companies and organisations across New Zealand and Australia, [...]

Keynote Panel Discussion – Creating a stigma-free workplace and encouraging mental health dialogue

Panellists: 

Adele Saunders, Manager of Psychological Health & Wellbeing, St John

Afele Paea, Health & Safety Manager, Te Roopu Taurima

Megan Elmiger, General Manager People, Safety and Marine, CentrePort Limited

Benny Mathews, National Health & Safety Governance Manager, Kmart

Moderator:

Rod Hampel, Director & Head of Business Development, Bodycare Workplace Solutions

In the modern workplace, mental health is a crucial component of overall employee well-being. Despite growing awareness, stigma around mental health issues persists, often preventing employees from seeking the help they need.

This panel discussion will explore strategies to create a stigma-free workplace, promote open dialogue about mental health, and foster a supportive environment where all employees feel valued and understood.

Key Takeaways Include:

• Learn how to develop and implement comprehensive mental health education programs that raise awareness and understanding of mental health issues for your employees
• Discover best practices for training employees and management to recognize signs of mental health struggles and how to respond appropriately.
• Ways of Building a Culture of Openness and Support
• Gain insights into creating and enforcing policies that explicitly address and combat mental health stigma.
• Discover effective ways to provide employees with access to mental health resources, such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), counselling services, and peer support networks.

30min

Adele Saunders

Adele Saunders is a Psychologist, working as the Manager of Psychological Health and Wellbeing for Hato Hone St John. In her role, Adele leads a [...]

Afele Paea

Hugely passionate about the HS & Well-being of all people and am advocating for them all day. In his current role, he facilitates [...]

Megan Elmiger

Bio coming [...]

Benny Mathews

Bio coming [...]

Rod Hampel

Rod Hampel, takes a strategic and commercial approach to networking, building strong client relationships and growing Bodycare’s footprint in the [...]

Speaking Presentation – Advancing contractor compliance and safety culture

Ilche Vojdanoski, Account Executive APAC, Avetta

• Understand contractor prequalification, worker compliance and worksite safety innovation and best practices.
• Gain valuable insights into the latest Workforce Management technologies, including AI and mobile applications.
• Examine the links between Environment, Health and Safety maturity and financial, social and regulatory performance.

30min

Ilche Vojdanoski

A business professional that has experience delivering successful results through leading: - the development and execution of customer focused [...]

Networking Lunch

40min

Speaking Presentation – Measuring safety performance: Beyond the theory

Christian Frost, General Manager - Business Evolution, Ventia

With many organisations challenged by current approaches to measuring safety, this presentation showcases an approach that could be the next evolution to measuring safety performance – beyond the theory.

We look at how a listed organisation is elevating its approach and committing to this publicly. Attendees will hear about the principles and frameworks adopted and how these drive leadership behaviour and focus.

Case study examples are showcased for context and resources will be available to take away and apply in your organisation today!

30min

Christian Frost

He is an experienced leader having worked in large, complex organisations and high-reliability environments. Most recently, Christian was a [...]

Speaking Presentation – The Evolution of a Safety Leader

Glen Johnson, Head of Health & Safety, Southern Cross Healthcare

Glen's journey into safety leadership unfolds uniquely from a natural connection with people from all backgrounds and his instinctive creativity, weaving together a narrative that challenges the conventional. From his humble beginnings on the shop floor to pivotal moments in his career, Glen's story is an ode to resilience, transformation and finding your unique voice. A life-long passion for music has led him to a distinctly individual and modern leadership approach to safety, conveying his deep experience through storytelling and entertaining sounds.

20min

Glen Johnson

        Glen has spent his working career working mainly in heavy industry, from a start in a meatworks to 19 [...]

Breakout Session – Elevating safety engagement: Practical tools from the frontline

Jess Daly, Chief Strategy Officer, Everyday Massive

Unlock the transformative power of engagement in health and safety practices during this dynamic session. Drawing on research, this session will delve into innovative strategies and practical tools that are proven to foster deeper engagement in safety initiatives across various industries.

Participants in this session will gain:

• A deeper understanding of the crucial role engagement plays in the success of health and safety programs.
• Hands-on skills to design and implement effective engagement strategies for your safety initiatives.
• Access to a set of robust tools and methods that can be applied annually to rejuvenate your approach and ensure a long-lasting impact on safety outcomes.

Ideal for safety leaders and professionals eager to enhance their programs' effectiveness, this session promises practical takeaways that will empower you to connect with your teams and achieve tangible results in safety engagement.

40min

Jess Daly

Jess Daly works as the Chief Strategy Officer at Everyday Massive. She joined Everyday Massive in 2022 after a 20-year career spent asking [...]

Breakout Session – Injuries in the Workplace: From prevention to recovery

Pranav Thiagarajan, Lead Consultant, Bodycare New Zealand

Daniel Covich, National Operations Manager, Bodycare New Zealand 

Join us for an engaging round table on the critical importance of a robust on-site injury prevention program and effective rehabilitation support.

In this interactive discussion with industry experts, we will explore proactive strategies to enhance workplace safety and minimize injuries.

Participants will also examine how to establish supportive recovery pathways and the benefits of a comprehensive injury management program. Together, we aim to foster a culture of safety and wellness that benefits both employees and employers.

Don’t miss this opportunity to share insights and learn how to strengthen your injury prevention and recovery initiatives!

40min

Pranav Thiagarajan (BPhty, PgDipHSc, HASANZ)

Meet Pranav, a skilled occupational health physiotherapist and an invaluable asset for businesses looking to achieve health and safety excellence. [...]

Daniel Covich

Meet Danny, An Occupational Physiotherapist and strategic asset for businesses ready to optimise workplace health and safety. As a New Zealand [...]

Breakout Session – Navigating the hazards: How to avoid common OHS digital transformation pitfalls

Craig Bleakley, Safety & Risk Consultant, ecoPortal

Dr Manuel Seidel, Founder & CEO, ecoPortal

Technology projects fail at a rate of 69% and OHS software is no exception! Join Dr. Manuel Seidel, Founder & CEO at ecoPortal and Craig Bleakley, Safety and Risk Consultant at ecoPortal, in this interactive session on how to avoid common software implementation pitfalls to realise a successful OHS digital transformation. 

We'll ask the tough questions and, through the sharing of real-life stories from ecoPortal's core verticals including retail, manufacturing, transport and logistics, facilitate a session that will leave you with practical steps you can take to:

• Place your OHS system at the heart of you safety program;
• Ensure all your stakeholders' needs are catered for;
• Manage change in order to achieve user acceptance;
• Drive adoption and foster a positive safety culture. 

This session is ideal for those in the process of reassessing their existing OHS solution, or evaluating, selecting or implementing OHS software at their organisation.

40min

Craig Bleakley

I am an accredited health and safety professional having worked with hundreds of companies and organisations across New Zealand and Australia, [...]

Dr. Manuel Seidel

Manuel is passionate about transforming traditional 'box tick' health & safety, sustainability and risk management systems into modern [...]

Networking Break

15min

Keynote Speaking Presentation – Attitude is Everything

Sir Ken McKenzie, Head of Security Health and Safety, Auckland War Memorial Museum

High risk industry often struggles to manage safety risk and drive down Lost Time Injury Frequency Rates (LTIFR) across their workforce. There are numerous means of monitoring and supervising the frontline workforce (blue collar workers) but who and how are those monitoring the workers safety performance, being assessed as competent to manage safety risk?

As a result of the Glenbrook and Waterfall Train crashes in New South Wales, the State Coroner brought down findings that had a major influence over rail safety risk management. The NSW Rail Safety Act 2008 demanded that Rail Transport Operators and Rolling Stock Operators MUST be able to demonstrate the competence of their “Rail Safety Workers”.

For the NSW Rail Transport Construction Authority this presented a major challenge as to how this legal requirement could be benchmarked, delivered and demonstrated in a way that satisfied legal expectation and commercial performance capability of the Authority.

A systematic approach to safety risk management was the first step, and simultaneously a competency assessment framework and methodology was developed. The fundamental principle of the Health & Safety Laws in New Zealand is that Leadership must be accountable and responsible for Health & Safety in the workplace and demonstrate that.

Research with Latrobe University and a Registered Training Organisation resulted in a true definition of how to measure competency. Five elements were clearly identified that must be assessed to demonstrate true competency in safety risk management.

Skills  - Knowledge - Experience - Behaviors & Attitude - Fitness

The result was the development and adoption of a Risk Based Competency Assessment Model that assessed the unconscious risk appetite of Rail Leaders (white collar workers) including Directors, Senior Project Managers, Project Engineers, Design Engineers & Technical Specialists and Health & Safety workers.

In 2010 the Authority was running an average LTIFR of 27 per million man hours worked. Following the deployment of the competency assessment framework, by 2016 the LTFIR had dropped to under 1 per million man hours worked, construction projects were coming in on time, in full, on or under budget with a focus on “what is best for project”.

The assessment model was tested by ASQA (Australian Standards Qualifications Authority) as robust, measurable & defendable. The assessment model was subsequently adopted as the assessment benchmark across all Australian Rail sectors and remains the benchmark today.

Key Takeaways

1. How to increase safety in high risk industry
2. How assessment will drive down LTIFRs in high risk industry
3. What the assessment model explores
4. How to effectively assess unconscious competence in safety leadership.

20min

Sir Ken McKenzie

Ken brings solid industry experience encompassing construction, transport, emergency management, security, health & safety, private security [...]

Keynote Presentation – Technology and culture – good H and S practice in addressing barriers

Anton Tyers, GM Safety and People, Nexus Logistics

How using technology is a critical aspect of reducing barriers to accessing Health and Safety at a worker level. Cultural engagement with safety relies on barriers being minimised.

4 key takeaways:

• The key aspects of what culture is
• Why good culture matters
• How technology enables cultural improvements with safety
• A road map for success

30min

Anton Tyers

Anton has worked in the broader occupational health, safety and wellbeing field for the past 20 years, holding senior roles in Safety, HR, [...]

Breakout Session – How are you assuring your board and leadership that your critical control verification program is effective and functioning as intended?

Karen Cameron, General Manager - Safety & Business Risk, MainPower

This workshop will cover the essentials of risk ownership and offer a hands-on approach to establishing an effective critical control program.

Participants will gain valuable insight to gain buy-in, develop and implement strong control measures, and provide some tips to evaluate their effectiveness to ensure robust risk management.

30min

Karen Cameron

Karen Cameron is the General Manager of Safety and Business Risk at MainPower NZ Ltd based in North Canterbury. Karen has over 25 years' experience [...]

Breakout Session – Simplifying Safety

Craig Dodds, Head of Health, Safety & Compliance, Argosy

We can all agree that all the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures in the world don’t make any difference to safety on site, these just become an exercise in box ticking…Unless we get ‘buy in’ from every person involved in the process. 

Some of the most comprehensive and well written SOP’s, SSSP’s or JSA’s have failed simply due to the end user, either didn’t agree, didn’t adhere or wasn’t involved with the process…no ‘buy in’.

The most successful safety procedures are those that have the support of all stakeholders. 

So, how do we get collaboration?  What would make a person want to do the right thing the safe way? 

Simple…Make it simple, if it's easy to do it is more likely to be done and more people will be happy to do it.

Key takeaways:

• Easiest ways to get ‘buy in’ 
• Benefits of Standardising Safety procedures
• Why collaboration is a must
• Complicated almost never means safer?

30min

Craig Dodds

After working for 16 years for one of the countries largest listed commercial property owners, I am still on a learning path. I have been [...]

Breakout Session – Beyond the Checklist: Inspiring Innovation in Safety Leadership

Paul Robertson, GM H&S Business Partnering (COO), Fonterra

This session explores how safety leaders can break free from the constraints of traditional checklists and compliance-driven practices. By embracing innovation, leaders can encourage creative problem-solving and new approaches to safety management.

The discussion will cover practical ways to experiment with new technologies, methodologies, and mindsets that drive continuous improvement and enhance safety outcomes across the organisation.

30min

Paul Robertson

Proactive, practical and effective health, safety and wellbeing professional with experience in strategic national and international H&S [...]

Free Time

40min

Networking Drinks

30min

Networking Dinner

2h 30min