For Charles Chemase, being a Site Safety Champion starts with paying attention to what is happening around him. Working as a key member of Valoriza’s operational workforce at the Dandenong food organics and garden organics (FOGO) facility gives him a close view of daily operations – and opportunities to identify where safety could be improved.
“Every day, I see what happens across the floor, so I can notice hazards or safety issues more broadly,” Charles says. “My responsibility is to speak up, raise concerns and help make the workplace safer for everyone.”
Charles is one of Valoriza’s Site Safety Champions: team members who take on additional safety responsibilities alongside their usual work. They provide another point of contact for colleagues to share concerns, observations and ideas.
“I feel honoured and privileged to be a Site Safety Champion,” he says. “With that comes an important responsibility to look out for my team.”
Giving everyday observations a voice
According to Kriushnapriya Sundararajan, Technical & Compliance Manager at Valoriza, the initiative was introduced to give workers a more active part in identifying and improving safety.
“People working on the floor are often the ones who see opportunities for improvement first,” she says. “The Site Safety Champions help make sure those observations are heard and followed up, and encourage everyone to share ideas and work together to prevent incidents.”
Concerns can emerge through everyday conversations, safety observations, toolbox talks and pre-start discussions. Once an issue is raised, the first step is to understand it and assess the risk. Depending on the concern, it can then be escalated to site leadership for further investigation.
For Charles, listening is central to that process.
“Being a Safety Champion means speaking up when I see something unsafe, listening to my workmates, encouraging open communication and working together to identify practical ways to improve safety.”
Practical changes on the ground
The champions have been identifying hazards in their normal work areas, discussing them with colleagues and helping follow up on corrective actions. One example is mapping blind spots for mobile equipment in operational areas, where the movement of trucks, mobile plant and pedestrians can increase risk.
Alongside this practical work, Kriushnapriya has seen a positive change in how the team talks about safety.
“People are becoming more comfortable raising safety concerns and discussing them before they become incidents,” she says. “The champions have helped make safety feel more like a shared responsibility across the team.”
Keeping the focus on safety
Over the next 12 months, the champions will continue identifying hazards and near misses, encouraging colleagues to speak up, and sharing lessons and ideas across the team.
“Overall, safety is part of our everyday work and we will keep finding simple ways to make the site safer,” Kriushnapriya says.
That ongoing focus will also be reflected in Valoriza’s site safety event, taking place at the Dandenong facility this week (12–16 October) as part of National Safe Work Month.
