NRG Gladstone Power Station

Category four – Most significant improvement to work health and safety performance

Gladstone Power Station (GPS) is Queensland's largest single power station, with six coal powered steam turbines generating a maximum of 1680 MW of electricity.

In 2015 and 2016 GPS incurred six employee recordable injuries for each year, and the owners gave a directive that 'something had to change'.

GPS decided to help employees and workgroups 'own' safety. Some of the initiatives it implemented are detailed below:

• Courage to stop the job – management's consistent message to the workforce is 'you have our permission to stop the job if something doesn't feel right'. This allows employees time to re-assess the task at hand and make the job safe.
• Communication focus – targeted, site-wide safety messages sharing the good stories with fewer words and more visual approach to 'Work – Home – Vacation'. A frequent site incident traffic light system 'Red – Orange – Green' and safety alerts from other industries.
• Critical safety rules – these are 'Workplace rules that will save your life'. 10 Critical rules are displayed on large billboards as staff walk into the site at each entry point. These heighten awareness and increase focus on the critical risks that can cause serious or fatal injuries.

These changes have delivered LTIFR 12 month rolling average of 0.00 and an all injury frequency rate 12 month rolling average of 0.00 for the first time in GPS's 41 year history.

NRG Gladstone Power Station