Past winner Kalari encourages industry to submit entries for AFIAs

With just under a month until entries to the 2017 Australian Freight Industry Awards (AFIA) close, the winner of last year’s Best Practice Safety category has called for the industry to get behind the event by submitting an entry.
Kalari, one of Australia’s most innovative and prominent specialist bulk logistics providers, won the much-sought-after Best Practice Safety AFIA in 2016, with Managing Director Peter O’Shannessey saying the award was recognition of the company’s efforts to enshrine safety within its culture.
“It was very clear to me that everyone in the organisation owned and were proud of the award,” O’Shannessey said. “The shared success was a very positive contribution to our team culture and Zero Harm goal.
“Our customers understand and appreciate that an Australian Freight Industry Award is not easily achieved. The award served as objective evidence of Kalari’s commitment to continuous improvement and relentless pursuit of best practice in safety.”
Kalari’s award followed a concerted effort to provide a safe and incident-free workplace, which included eliminating hazards and recognising fatigue as an important area of focus.
The company held face-to-face safety days with employees around the country over 12 months leading up to the award win, with a fatigue consultant attending each session to equip teams with tools to carry out personal fatigue risk assessments, and to recognise and manage fatigue of colleagues.
Kalari had also installed Guardian proactive technology across its fleet to help tackle driver fatigue and distraction using driver-facing sensors.
VTA CEO Peter Anderson said Kalari set a terrific example for other operators to follow.
“Safety is the most important thing for any operator to get right, and it’s important that the many safety success stories happening right throughout the industry are acknowledged, which is where the AFIAs make a real difference,” he said.
“We invite all members of our industry to share their success stories by nominating for an AFIA. It is more important than ever for us as an industry to create awareness in the general community of the many positive contributions we make.”
Entries for the 2017 AFIAs are now open across six categories, closing 14 August. For an entry form, please contact the VTA on 03 9646 8500 or reception@vta.com.au
The winners and finalists will be announced at a presentation celebration in Melbourne on 2 September.