Sensible solutions making forest safety seamless and smart26 June 2018
A major national conference on forest safety practices is set to showcase how our forestry leaders have delivered both
safety and productivity benefits for people across a range of workplaces.
“Some of our most inspiring forestry leaders have developed safety improvements in both crew culture and harvesting
technologies,” says Forest Industry Engineering Association spokesman, Gordon Thomson.
“We’re delighted to have skilled industry leaders outlining their teams’ experiences – especially people who know that
safety and productivity can be improved simultaneously. It’s an intriguing line up of case studies for this year’s
conference,” he added.
“Many of our speakers have delivered real tangible safety results both in forestry and similar industries. They will
impart some really practical information. Many of them have been working with industry for a along time and know how to
apply their solutions with forestry people and cultures,” adds Thomson.
Registrations are now open for the August 2018 conference series running in Rotorua and Melbourne. Thanks to great
support industry, led by principal event partners McFall Fuel and VicForests, a special on-line early-bird delegate
registration offer is now available for a limited time. Early-bird discount rates are availalble to 30 June. See: https://forestsafety.events
Some of our ‘must-see’ keynote speakers:
•Jono Brent, CEO of Connetics – A practical leader of electrical contractors with a very applicable model explaining how they “do
safety differently” so that it works for their practical people working in the field every day with changing conditions,
just like those faced by forestry people. Jono’s teamwork results are proven through their results in practice and put
in place in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes.
•Wiremu Edmonds – Wiremu is a passionate industry consultant with thousands of hours of practical solutions. He has honed safety
culture solutions with many forestry companies and teams in both New Zealand and abroad. He has harnessed the energy of
his audiences and extended his depth of experience and practical solutions for both men and women in forestry crews;
•Lance Burdett- Resiliency, our ability to cope with pressures of a busy life, is crucial for our physical and psychological health.
Lance focuses people-centred outcomes. He demonstrates how three key areas; communications, safety, and resiliency shape
our workday. For most of us, a challenging part of the day is holding difficult conversations with others. If we
communicate more effectively then the impact on us from an emotional conversation is reduced significantly.
Our industry-leading speakers are all practical industry leaders and safety champions. They have come forward to support
the 4th FIEA Forest Safety & Technology Conference. This conference series sold out in 2017 and is running again in August 2018 in Rotorua and
Melbourne.
The summit is on 8th August in Rotorua at the Distinction Hotel. The following week - 15th March – it runs at the
Bayview Eden Hotel in Melbourne. For full conference details see: https://forestsafety.events
“We’ve teamed up with the Forest Industry Safety Council (FISC) to organise a workshops in addition to our one-day
conferences,” says Thomson. “Our conferences delegates in New Zealand will get the opportunity to be part of an workshop
lead by Fiona Ewing of FISC. Fiona’s team are hosting a workshop after the conference so people can talk as well as
listen to gain new information.”
In Australia there is a pan-industry workshop on the afternoon before the FIEA conference – from 1 to 5pm on 14th August
also at the Bayview Eden Hotel in Melbourne. FIEA has worked with Stacey Gardiner from Australian Forest Contractors
Association and Diana Lloyd of Forestworks in Australia to organise this.
ends