What safety means to me with Natasha Haddad

At Orange Hire, we’re proud of our people and their commitment to safety. In this article, our Assets Coordinator Natasha explains how working safely is an ingrained part of the culture at Orange Hire.

What safety means to me

I believe safety is about understanding the risk and making an informed choice. We take safety risks all the time: surfers and open water swimmers risk shark attacks, rock climbers and hang gliders risk falling, sports players risk injury. Ultimately, safety has its roots in ownership. Safety is a choice that ultimately rests on the individual.

Companies have a responsibility to provide the necessary information, encourage safe behaviour, provide a safe way of doing things, and exemplify safe practice, but ultimately, no one can make you do something that is unsafe except for you.

Why is safety important to you from a personal perspective?

From a personal viewpoint, workplace safety being front of mind helps to keep work and life in perspective. Work is important, but it isn’t the end goal. It’s great to have a job that you enjoy, but we don’t go to work just to go to work: we go to work to come home, to look after our families, and to support a healthy and safe lifestyle.

What does Orange Hire do to encourage, celebrate and acknowledge safe workers?

Orange Hire does a good job of keeping safety front of mind for everyone. The company acknowledges and praises individuals who speak up about safety – even simple things such as wearing safety boots in the yard.

Can you think of a time where a safety procedure has prevented a potential injury?

There was a time that a customer attempted to pick up an excavator in a truck that didn’t have the correct loading ramps. The workshop manager noted it, and followed the chain of responsibility process, and advised that the machine was not able to be loaded without the proper equipment. This ensured that we could avoid the risk of the ramps potentially failing and causing a major incident.

Do you think the hire industry overall is pretty safe, or does it have a long way to go?

It’s hard to isolate the hire industry, as much of the safety side of the hire industry is also bound up in other industries like freight and construction. However, there is always room to improve safety culture everywhere! The hire industry by nature leans towards being a bit reactive as opposed to proactive: sometimes, it can often be a bit of a mad rush, which has the potential to loosen the focus on safety if you don’t have robust systems and processes in place.

In general, safety is beginning to be spoken about more and more in the industry, which is a good start, but there’s a long way to go. Part of it I believe, is a slow response from individuals and an unwillingness to take ownership at the personal level.

Are there systems in place to keep developing a safety mindset within the team?

Orange Hire has developed the Take 5 Safety system for risk assessments of a task, as well as regular encouragement to keep safety front and centre. Our safety culture is nurtured right from the hiring stage so the people on our team already have the right mindset to work safely at all times.

How does Orange Hire’s safety culture compare to previous jobs you have worked in?

The business definitely puts a strong emphasis on keeping safety front of mind. It’s a topic that is continually spoken about, and the management team consistently ask for feedback with regards to safe work procedures. It’s one of the better places that I’ve worked, where the staff are comfortable with raising safety concerns. The question, ‘Is this the safest way to do this?’ is frequently raised.

On the equipment side of things, does the age of a machine have a bearing on its safety?

Safety is more about the machine spec than the machine age. This is regulated by completing proper machine inspections and ensuring correct compliance certification is up to date. Having said that, we focus on having a young fleet with an average machine age of just a couple of years, which guarantees better reliability for our customers.

How does Orange Hire support staff safety in other areas, such as mental health?

Orange Hire responded quickly in making the switch from working from the office to working from home during COVID, and the management team did a great job checking in with individuals to make sure everyone’s headspace was ok.