A new safety gate traffic-light system, a customised grain scoop, lighter-weight gumboots and concave mirrors for better visibility were some of the staff safety suggestions honoured at Australian Country Choice today.

The Brisbane-based cattle and beef company this morning named the winners of its inaugural Bright Ideas safety awards.

Presenting the processing efficiency and logistics award this morning (left to right) group WHS manager Brett Porter, winner Wade Hinchcliffe and ACC CEO Anthony Lee.

Positive safety approaches on ACC’s grazing properties, feedlots and beef processing plant earned the staff two awards of trophies and $500 vouchers each for Brindley Park properties’ Josh Cree (safety leadership) and the Babbiloora station staff (safety communication).

ACC’s group WHS manager Brett Porter said Josh Cree always delivered thorough safety investigations.

“He’s very positive about change,” Mr Porter said. Meanwhile, the Babbiloora staff and their manager Kelvin Webber have shown willingness to communicate readily about safety incidents.

“They’re not afraid to communicate to the group; it’s great to see their efforts,” Mr Porter said.

Wade Hinchliffe was named winner of the processing efficiency and logistics award with his proposal to fit stop-go lights as visual gate controls.

“He is one of the most pro-active people we have trying to reduce the number of incidents we have in the factory,” Mr Porter said.

An ergonomic hinged sample scoop to take grain samples won the engineering innovation award for the feedmill crew at Brindley Park feedlot.

“They have to take grain samples at foot-level, 20 times a day, so they created the new scoop; they made it themselves on-site. It was a great innovation,” Mr Porter said.

The safety awards attracted entries from across all ACC operations and honourable mentions also went to:

• Delainey Jenkins: concave mirror to avoid collisions in a narrow hallway
• Ricky Gunn: knife kits and traffic management changes in ACC Cannon Hill’s knife-room
• Mabel Wiki: overhauling lockers, gumboots and for her leadership
• Wayne Shelton and Rowan Saunders: communication and commitment to safety
• Phillip Brown, Jeffrey Pearce and Malcolm Hanley: mentoring processing staff – especially new starters – on knife safety and general safety

The Bright Ideas safety awards were presented on the last day of National Work Safety Month that saw numerous activities undertaken by ACC, including a new spinal health initiative and a safety walk-through of the plant by all senior executive managers.

Mr Porter said the success of the month-long safety campaign will see it repeated next year.

ACC is one of Australia’s largest vertically integrated, family-owned beef and cattle businesses, operating across 1.75m ha in Queensland, with a processing plant at Cannon Hill in Brisbane.

Source: ACC