Meet our people – Sarah OSH - video transcript
[Sarah, Senior Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Consultant]: My role at Water Corporation is Senior OHS Consultant for prevention of falls, confined-space entry, rescue and asbestos management. I’m in the OHS Branch, and I'm actually acting as Special Services Manager at the moment.
I have a degree in physiotherapy and I was working as a physiotherapist for 10 years, both in Perth and London, before joining the Water Corp 3 and a half years ago. I was looking for a career change and this just happened to be a job that popped up and I was able to apply for.
My job on a day-to-day basis is really varied. I will do anything from OHS consultancies in my specialist areas, across the business. It can be from a guy in the field to various people within the business in different departments. It could be reviewing standards and procedures...looking at new ways of training and development, basically influencing the safety culture.
One of the management priorities at the Water Corporation is “Zero Harm” – ensuring that all of our employees go home safe at the end of the day. Working in the OHS Branch we have a massive influence in that area. So, what I enjoy about my job is the fact that it is seen as a priority so we get the support from around the business to enable us to make the difference.
The OHS Branch is a fairly large team. It’s made up of 30 people in the Corporate OHS Team. We also have people out in the field that are our OHS coordinators…that we have a lot to do with as well. Ours is a fairly new team. We had a restructure not long ago, so it’s a fairly dynamic and a diverse team. It’s a great team to work in. We’re all willing to lend a hand and step up when needed.
I’ve also enjoyed the ability to travel across the State. I’ve probably been to 60 different depots across the state, all the way from Kununurra and Halls Creek, down to Esperance. I've seen a lot of the State through work. And also the flexibility, the flexible working hours and that ability to take time to study if needed…and also the opportunity to participate in outside courses as well.