2021 CCAA Innovation Awards in NSW attracts strong field of great ideas
Revegetation projects, an indigenous workplace participation program and a suite of engineering innovations are among the entries in this year’s CCAA Innovation Awards in NSW.
With COVID interrupting the usual Sydney Awards Dinner, this year’s winners will be announced online on the 3rd November.
The Innovation Awards cover four categories – Environmental, Health and Safety, Diversity and Inclusion, and Community Engagement.
In the environmental category, this year’s entries include a project to re-vegetate a migrating coastal sand dune near Newcastle using a variety of site-sourced plants, and a site replanting project on the South Coast to rehabilitate 24 hectares with native flora.
On the H&S side, entries include a variety of engineering safety controls for plant and equipment – among them an anti-tip monitoring device for articulated dump trucks, a new approach to replacing raw materials loading socks to eliminate working-at-height risks, and a warning system to remove the potential for vehicle accidents on a pit access road.
The Diversity and Inclusion category includes entries for a women’s engineering network and a workforce participation program for young indigenous offenders, while in Community Engagement the light’s been shone on an innovative water management initiative that supplied the RFS during north coast bushfires.
“These Awards underline the industry’s genuine commitment to continuously raising the bar for the betterment of its workforce and the community at large,” says CCAA CEO Ken Slattery.
“Despite the additional responsibilities that businesses are facing in managing COVID health and safety, it’s great to see the entries showcasing a continuing focus on the day-to-day challenges around workplace health and safety and environmental management.
“I’m also encouraged by the progress being made around D&I. As a traditionally male-dominated industry, we still have a long way to go, but we’re heading in the right direction.”