TigerTurf Embraces New Health & Safety Regulations

TigerTurf installation teams in New Zealand have welcomed the Health and Safety regulations introduced in April, 2016, and the safety of their staff, clients and the public has always been top of their priorities in assessing sites and establishing safe operating procedures for each project.

TigerTurf feels that the new regulations better define worksite safety procedures and processes, and as Ross Galloway, Operation Manager at TigerTurf, says, “Previously we were sure we were operating safely; now we know we are, having conducted audits of our processes and checked our Standard Operating Procedures.”

As a case in point, bringing the materials on-site, using cranes to lift material onto rooftop sites can be a challenging exercise. Recently, TigerTurf has undertaken several roof-top installations of lawns, golf putting greens, tennis courts and landscape gardens. These are enormously popular as space in our cities becomes limited. Roof top gardens and playgrounds and other recreational activities also offer unimpeded sunshine, while taller buildings can shade ground level gardens.

TigerTurf use cranes to lift materials and equipment onto these rooftop sites, and these operations demonstrate their care and attention to the safety of their crews, the public and the clients. These projects have been successful in creating attractive settings in previously unused areas, which are now appreciated and used by residents in apartments and staff in workplaces.

Similarly, TigerTurf teams have  safely overcome difficult access to sites Many of the sites on which they have built tennis courts and multi-sport courts have had only restricted access for their materials and equipment. However, they are well used to resolving these problems of accessibility, with their prime consideration being the safety aspect for staff and clients. After decades of experience in overcoming most obstacles, their safety protocols are well tried and tested, and they know what can be managed safely and how to achieve that.

New Zealand’s new Health & Safety Act states that “Everyone in the workplace is responsible for health and safety”, which sums up TigerTurf’s approach to worksite safety. To this end, all installation staff members are undergoing an intensive process of training from first aid through to the use of all their machinery and the processes followed to complete the various tasks. Applying this ‘safety net’, or shared responsibility for safety, is far more effective than the previous ‘ladder of responsibility’ that dominated safety regulations in the past.

At all TigerTurf NZ’s’ worksites, the project manager outlines the tasks for the day at morning toolbox meetings, and the hazards to look out for, including ditches, trenches, truck movements and unknown underground services. Every team member knows he or she is a critical part of the safety of everyone on-site and takes that responsibility seriously.

This attitude to the new Health & Safety rules is an integral part of TigerTurf’s overall customer care and service, so for more information on their synthetic turf products, please visit the website at http://tigerturf.com/nz/