The core aspects for the Fitness for Work Program were:

  • Fatigue Management
  • Drug and Alcohol Management
  • Heat Stress Management and
  • Psychological Stress Management.

To be successful the Fitness for Work Program required commitment from all the NQGP Alliance partners and particularly from the Construction Managers as this is the key level of implementation. Integral components of the process were the work cycle and drug and alcohol testing. Commencing with a traditional 28 day on 7 day off work cycle, fatigue and quality of life issues saw this changed during the construction program to be more in keeping with other fitness for work principles.

Drug and alcohol testing was a major initiative of the Fitness for Work Program. Not only was there random drug and alcohol testing, but voluntary testing was also available and encouraged. The approach taken on the drug and alcohol issue was not to police the social aspects but to encourage personnel to present fit for work. The NQGP Alliance was a great benefit in the implementation and on-going support of the Fitness for Work Program as it was a team decision, not a mandate.

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Jenny Thompson, Manager Safety & Risk, said “benefits witnessed from the program were evidenced in reduced cumulative fatigue in the workplace, a calm and friendly camp atmosphere, very low vehicle incident rates and generally very low severity injuries.”

Another aspect of the approach to safety was Behaviour Based Safety. This is a positive, peer reinforcement approach to safety, rather than the more traditional negative and reactive approach of inspection and policing. The NQGP Alliance initially adopted the Thiess Behavioural Safety System “Active 8” at all sites. However, systems of this nature take a lot of initial commitment, training, and ongoing drive. On a fast-track, short-term project such as the NQGP, getting measurable and meaningful culture change was difficult to attain. So, within a few months the Active 8 system was changed to a more general observation system, which placed some emphasis on the supervisors taking responsibility for observations. This system was also more acceptable to the pipeline workforce.

“Having a consistent high standard of safety expectations in the NQGP Alliance was our foundation to achieving good outcomes” said Thompson. “The success of the program throughout the construction phase of the Project was a credit to the NQGP Construction Managers.”