Boyne Smelters Limited’s (BSL) workforce has achieved history-breaking safety milestones this year, owed to working as one team striving to achieve a vision, focusing on one task at a time and team members looking out for their mates.

On 28 September this year, BSL’s 1,200 staff and contractors achieved two million hours of work recordable injury free, a milestone never before reached in the plant’s 32 year history and one that is seldom seen in any heavy industry environment.

Now over two million hours recordable injury free on site, BSL General Manager Joe Rea said this was an incredible accomplishment that team members and team leaders at BSL are extremely proud of.

“These milestones don’t come from luck, nor do they come from focusing on breaking records by the accumulation of consecutive safe days building on our safety board at the site’s entrance,” he said.

“They only come from the way we work, the way we lead, the way we support each other and especially the way we talk openly about the opportunities we have to ensure every person’s safety is never compromised, and that’s precisely what our workforce has done to achieve this fantastic performance.”

Mr Rea said BSL team members and leaders had worked on a number of complementary initiatives in the past 12 months in a bid to improve the site safety result.  In 2013 the site introduced its new vision ‘Proudly Australian, operating beyond 2030’, which has become embedded across the plant and serves as the guiding principle for the plant’s safety and business decisions.

“Our vision is a thread of Aussie pride that is woven through everything we do to ensure we aspire to continue adding value to Australian natural resources, through the production of aluminium. It’s not just about what we do to keep the business viable against increasing overseas competition, but also, and more importantly, how and why we do it,” Mr Rea said.

“The how is with Australian pride and that starts with no injuries to our workmates. The why includes strengthening the manufacturing future for young Australians.”

Timeline of recent safety records