Wednesday 29th April 2026
Koala Cherries continued to build its safety culture by hosting its second full day internal safety workshop with all permanent staff on Wednesday 29th April 2026 following on from one held eight months earlier.
PLANNING AND AGENDA
All staff received a ‘Save The Date’ a few months prior to this event to maximize attendance levels. Communication in the lead up to the day was again strategic. We hosted external training workshops with the Victorian Farmers Federation earlier in the month at two of our growing regions which created a ‘build up’ to our own internal day.
Posters (above) promoting the agenda for the day were circulated and placed in strategic places around the office, tearooms and workshops.
The day had two sections –
Part 1 – Reviewing our OH&S incidents and near misses, incident reporting and investigation pathways, and highlighting the shift in our safety culture.
Part 2 – Four on-site and hands on demonstrations of high-risk tasks across different areas of the business.
PART ONE
Our Compliance Administrator Laura Skipworth opened the day with some housekeeping and a warm welcome. The groups for each activity were announced with a ‘captain’ nominated for each group and an outline with the rotations of each of the four demonstrations displayed on a presentation slide.
Our Compliance Administrator Laura Skipworth welcomed everyone and went through the agenda and all housekeeping.
OH&S incident & near misses summary
Our Quality Assurance & Compliance Manager Lisa Rouget presented an overview of the incidents and near misses recorded on SkyTrust, our WHS digital platform.
A table comparing two time periods (1/3/2024 to 28/2/2025 and 1/3/2025 to 28/2 2026) was analysed, highlighting trends and several advances, including a reduction in Lost Time injuries.
Staff were congratulated for increasing their reporting using SkyTrust and embracing the uptake of our safety culture. Lisa communicated key takeaways from the analysis and identified that some incidents were related to a failure to respond to change. The outcomes and actions of each of the near misses were explained and remediations identified.
The Lifecycle of an incident report was outlined
Incident – incident Report – Incident Investigation – Action
Lisa went through what each step in the lifecycle entailed and showed screenshots of an actual incident and how it was managed throughout its Lifecycle, showing all the notes and outcomes, detailing the stages of the investigation and how it was recorded in SkyTrust.
Staff were reminded of the importance to comprehensively complete all sections of the report including full, clear signatures and complete dates. This would ensure that the records we are compiling were compliant and we could rely on them in the event of a serious incident when WorkSafe performs an investigation.
PART TWO – DEMONSTRATIONS
How to register a planned burn
In preparation for one of our planned activities, Aaron Hinss, our North Yarck Farm Manager stepped us all through how to register a planned burn. He went through two options – using a mobile phone service and logging it online. It was demonstrated ‘live’ on a screen and staff were made to feel confident with the process and fully supported if they required assistance.
Aaron Hinss stepped staff through a ‘live’ demonstration of how to register a planned burn
After morning tea, the staff broke up into their four groups and made their way to each demonstration site. Two demonstrations were at the Packhouse and the remaining two were at our Henke Lane Farm, a short 5-kilometer drive.
DEMONSTRATION 1 - Lighting a burn pile
Staff were handed a printed copy of the Safe Operating Procedure (SOP) relating to this task and Jarrod Kerr, Assistant Farm Manager and Aaron Hinss, Farm Manager walked us through each step demonstrating how to plan, prepare for and action the safe lighting of a burn pile. 
Taken from Happy Hill, Henke Lane looking back at group following our SOP for Lighting a Burn Pile
Staff were encouraged to hold, test and operate fire equipment. We took note of the weather, wind, and proximity of all assets in the vicinity of the fire.
Below our Financial Controller Kevin Martin is shown by Jarred Kerr how to manage the water pressure on the fire fighting hose
Below Aaron Hinss explains how vital it is to check that the firefighting pump is always ready and able to be operated.
DEMONSTRATION 2 – Driving on slopes
The following key concepts were explained –
- the very basics of driving on slopes – straight up and down
- lower centre of gravity is much safer
- awareness of weight and capacity
- wider stance increases stability
- stability changes with load and terrain, different angles and unexpected dips in the surface
Several different vehicle types were parked on the hill and the orchard production team ran through the considerations and planning required for different scenarios and jobs, such as tree spraying, hedging, planting and harvesting.
Farm vehicles atop ‘Happy Hill’
A practical demonstration was given with several of the vehicles were moved safely on the slope to reinforce the 6 key takeaways being –
- keep centre of gravity LOW
- avoid diagonal driving
- use low gear BEFORE slopes
- never clutch or go to neutral
- adjust loads for conditions
- if it feels unsafe – don’t do it!
This demonstration was held on the top of “Happy Hill” at Henke Lane – a very picturesque vantage point that looks over the Yarck Valley and backs onto the range that was devastated by bushfires 3 months earlier. For many of the staff,this was their first visit to this part of the farm and also the first time they had seen the damage from the recent bushfires.
Discussing considerations of different vehicles when driving on slopes
Demonstration of tractor operator driving on slopes
DEMONSTRATION 3 – Tying loads down
An older style ute was set up with a heavy load in the tray and the group were all asked to assess the safety of the scene and suggestions were made on how to correct it.
Equipment was loaded on and off a transport trailer and demonstrations of safety considerations and practices were conducted. Correct use of restraints, weight and capacity considerations and avoiding potential mishaps were discussed.
Tractor on a tilt trailer
DEMONSTRATION 4 – Using the Loading Dock
With the installation of a new coolroom prior to harvest, many staff had not walked through the changes to the traffic management plan in the Packhouse. We took this opportunity to do a careful walk through and point out new forklift, no-go and shared zones.
Once inside the new coolroom, the Facilities Manager, Ben Dolphin, gave us an overview of the new loading dock fittings, switches and zones.
We were shown how to operate the newly installed loading dock ramps and all the safety risks were highlighted.
Demonstrating the loading docks
Our Supply Chain Analyst Ploy Dueanchaem and Assistant Administration Manager Amanda Futcher both demonstrated using the docks and driving the forklift into the back of a truck for safe stacking and loading / unloading of freight and fruit.
Ploy loading fruit bins and Amanda using the docks
LEARNINGS / OUTCOMES
Our staff came away from this second internal Safety Workshop with many different learnings based upon the high level of engagement and feedback.
Key learnings were:
- Increased familiarity with SkyTrust and its function and versatility
- Acknowledged the strengthening of our safety culture and the benefits of embracing change
- Understanding how the SkyTrust reports are investigated and the lifecycle of an incident.
- The location and accessibility of our Safe Operating Procedures
- That our Safe Operating Procedures are written in plain English and are simple and straight forward to follow
- Bringing to life and appreciating the various tasks undertaken by colleagues across the business
- Understanding the skills and experience required to operate machinery
- Raised awareness for the need for specialist training in many areas across the business
- Raised awareness of the importance of reducing risk for casual staff and the importance of training, SOPs and monitoring by skilled and experienced permanent staff
- Appreciation for the need for continued development of SOPs, training, inductions, and Prestarts across various tasks
- Training opportunities for staff
FEEDBACK
Staff were invited to complete a feedback form, and we were inundated with very positive endorsements about staff’s experience of the day. It was clear that many learnings were had and there is an increased respect for our safety culture.
These quotes from the feedback forms sum up the reflections of the day -
“A good mix of workshops…moving around different areas of the business…great to see how everyone does things”
“Everything was very well explained and shown,very safe ways to work and communicate”
“Increased awareness and clear explanation of why we are reporting on and learning more about safety…understanding the benefits of all the paperwork”.
We received some excellent suggestions for topics for our next Safety Workshop from the survey. This confirms there is an appetite to continue safety education and the building of safety culture at Koala Cherries.