NZHSP: COVID-19 Response with Jennie Burt, Health and Safety Advisor

Most safety board reports get skimmed. Matthew Bray asked his board a simple question first: what do you actually want to know? The answer killed a 50-page report with 200 graphs and 47 KPIs and replaced it with a single page. Now every manager sends one page, the board reads all of them, and the feedback comes back.Matthew is Health and Safety Manager at Blackhead Quarries and a member of the NZHSP Safety Connect community. He moved from healthcare into quarrying five months ago and spent the first two months doing nothing but listening. In this episode he unpacks what changed as a result.What we cover:- Why he unlearned nothing moving industries, and learned everything instead- The line that won a room of 30 quarrymen in one sentence- Working with WorkSafe as a guide rather than a threat- Reclassifying incident severity so the board only sees what matters- Rebuilding pre-start checks site by site, live, with the manager's iPad in hand- Making a photo mandatory so a tick box becomes real evidence- QR codes on assets to cut 40 items of scrolling down to one scan- Inspections lifting from 200 to 250 to 318 a month- A tyre bulge spotted, reported and fixed inside 24 hours, and why the machine stayed on the road- Buying TVs for the staff rooms so safety alerts stop getting buried under someone's lunchbox- The standard you leave at the end of the day is the standard the next shift starts fromMatthew's closing thought: health and safety is not about controlling people. Understand the work properly and you design systems that make it easier, not harder. Then people stop complaining about safety and start believing in it.Health & Safety Unplugged is hosted by Matt Jones, founder of Advanced Safety and the New Zealand Health and Safety Professionals network.Join NZHSP Safety Connect: https://safety-connect.circle.so/join?invitation_token=128727fdd51ef687ad0b0a602e5419c35caab02d-9b2559d9-e0e0-4750-aa6b-c852a54852d7Safety Summit 2026, Christchurch, 15 October: https://www.safetysummit.co.nzAdvanced Safety: https://www.advancedsafety.co.nzSeries 5, Episode 6.#HealthAndSafety #SafetyLeadership #QuarrySafety #NZHSP #BoardReporting #CriticalRisk #SafetyCulture #WorkSafeNZ #HealthAndSafetyUnplugged

Your exec team isn't ready. And the simulations prove it.Dave Greenberg spent 25 years on the Westpac rescue helicopter in Wellington — 4,000 missions. Now he runs executive crisis simulations across New Zealand and he has never once walked into a boardroom where the CEO doubted their team.The simulations tell a very different story.In this episode we cover:→ Why executives slide from governance into operations when crisis hits→ The gap between assumed readiness and observed behaviour→ What strong executive crisis performance actually looks like (and how rare it is)→ The perishable skill problem — and why your 2022 simulation won't save you→ How small businesses can build genuine resilience without a big budget→ The Santa Claus story every safety leader needs to hearDave Greenberg | Emergency Preparedness ServicesLinkedIn: Dave Greenberg (the only one in NZ)Website: thedavegreenberg.comJoin NZHSP ConnectIf you want deeper conversations, resources and community learning, join NZHSP Connect, our new free professional platform on Circle:https://www.advancedsafety.co.nz/nzhsp-connect-free-community/NZHSP Safety Summit Early Bird Tickets are now available - less than 100 left, sale ends 29 May 2026: https://www.safetysummit.co.nz

In Season 5, Episode 4 of Health and Safety Unplugged, Matt Jones speaks with experienced health and safety leader Sarah Thomas about the real role of the modern health and safety professional. This episode goes beyond compliance and dives into: Why health & safety professionals fall into the “rescuer” trap Why you can’t break a business in the name of safety How to influence boards, executives and frontline teams differently Speaking in the right “gear” to match your audience Aligning safety strategy with operational reality Boundaries, burnout and professional maturity in H&S If you're a health and safety professional, PCBU, director, operations manager or business leader navigating HSWA responsibilities in New Zealand, this conversation is essential listening. This is real-world safety leadership - not theory. Season 5 continues to challenge what it means to lead health and safety well in complex operational environments across construction, manufacturing and high-risk industries. Join NZHSP Connect If you want deeper conversations, resources and community learning, join NZHSP Connect, our new free professional platform on Circle:⁠https://safety-connect.circle.so/c/start-here⁠ Join the waitlist for the NZHSP Safety Summit 2026 ⁠https://www.safetysummit.co.nz⁠ About the Host – Matt JonesMatt Jones, a HASANZ-registered health and safety professional and founder of Advanced Safety.Matt advises New Zealand business leaders on practical health and safety system design, HSWA compliance and risk management, with a focus on construction, manufacturing, and complex operational environments. He is also the host of the Health and Safety Unplugged podcast, where he speaks with industry leaders about real-world safety challenges and emerging practice. Advanced Safety is a New Zealand-based workplace health and safety consultancy providing compliance audits, ISO 45001-aligned systems, risk assessments, and ongoing safety management support for construction, manufacturing and commercial businesses.

AI is already changing workplace safety — most people just don’t realise it yet. In this episode of Health and Safety Unplugged, I sit down with Tane van der Boon, Founder of Inviol, to unpack how computer vision and AI are being used to prevent serious injuries and fatalities before they happen. This is not theory. This is not hype. This is what’s happening right now inside high-risk industries like logistics, steel, and manufacturing. Tane’s story is one of the most unusual origin stories in safety tech: From tracking Maui dolphins with AI-powered aircraft, to deploying real-time computer vision systems that identify unsafe behaviour in workplaces, this conversation goes deep into what proactive safety actually looks like. In this episode, we cover: Why complacency, not ignorance, is the biggest risk in high-hazard workplaces How AI identifies leading indicators of harm before incidents occur Why traditional audits and site inspections miss most real risk How computer vision fits into existing CCTV systems (without “Big Brother” backlash) What it really takes to change safety culture, not just monitor behaviour How to introduce AI into workplaces without losing trust Why safety data should enable conversations, not punishment What the future of proactive, AI-assisted safety looks like over the next 5 years Lessons for founders building technology inside traditional industries This episode is especially relevant if you’re: ✔ A Health & Safety Manager ✔ A Business Owner or Operations Leader ✔ A Safety Consultant ✔ Working in logistics, manufacturing, transport or construction ✔ Curious about how AI actually works in the real world Most serious injuries and fatalities aren’t caused by “one bad decision.” They happen because risk slowly creeps in unnoticed, unmeasured and unchallenged. AI doesn’t replace people. It helps humans see what they can’t see consistently and act before harm occurs. This conversation is about keeping people alive, while still letting businesses operate efficiently and profitably.

Digital safety is changing faster than most businesses can keep up – and this conversation pulls back the curtain on exactly what’s happening on the ground, what practitioners are asking for, and how tech is reshaping the future of health and safety in New Zealand.In this exclusive episode, I sit down with Storm McDonald (Head of Sales, Site App Pro) and David Masters (Strategic Partnerships Manager, Site App Pro) to unpack the real-world challenges, breakthroughs, and transformational insights driving the rapid shift from paperwork to digital safety systems.Across New Zealand, businesses are moving away from outdated manual processes and embracing automated reporting, real-time visibility, mobile-first engagement, and AI-driven insights. Site App Pro sits right at the centre of that evolution – and in this interview they reveal:What you’ll learn:Why in-person site visits are accelerating innovation in safety techThe biggest frustrations practitioners face with paper-based systemsHow digital workflows improve engagement, compliance, and decision-makingWhat NZ health and safety consultants are asking for right nowThe inside story behind Site App Pro’s new equipment moduleHow partnerships, collaboration, and customer-led development shape product evolutionWhy failing fast is now essential for modern safety leadershipHow to shift teams from resistance to buy-in when going digitalWhether you’re a health and safety manager, a business owner, a consultant, or someone curious about the future of safety technology, this episode gives you practical insight into what’s driving the biggest industry transformation in years.Why this mattersThe companies that modernise their safety systems now will move faster, gain deeper visibility, make better decisions, and significantly reduce preventable harm. The ones that hold onto manual processes are already falling behind.This conversation is your blueprint to understanding what’s changing – and how to stay ahead of the curve.Connect with Site App ProAbout the HostMatt Jones is the founder of Advanced Safety and organiser of the Safety Summit, helping NZ businesses modernise their safety performance and adopt tools that actually move the needle.Join NZHSP ConnectIf you want deeper conversations, resources and community learning, join NZHSP Connect, our new free professional platform on Circle: https://safety-connect.circle.so/join?invitation_token=128727fdd51ef687ad0b0a602e5419c35caab02d-9b2559d9-e0e0-4750-aa6b-c852a54852d7#HealthAndSafetyNZ #HSWANZ #SafetyLeadership #HealthAndSafetySoftware #MattJonesNZ #AdvancedSafetyNZ #NZHSP #NZHSPConnect #SafetyPodcast #HealthAndSafetyPodcast #SafetyCultureNZ #WorkplaceSafetyNZ #SafetyProfessionalsNZ #SafetyApp Join the waitlist for the NZHSP Safety Summit 2026https://www.safetysummit.co.nz