Napier Port’s new health and safety contract gains first signature

A new Napier Port health and safety contract has just received its first signatory – New Zealand-based port logistics company ISO.

Napier Port has taken important strides in health and safety in recent years, with a number of initiatives that bring port partners together to better understand risk, develop innovative solutions and share safety improvements. It won a Safeguard Award last year for its collaborative approach to managing shipside safety with all parties involved in bulk cargo vessel visits.

The Licence to Operate contract is another step in this process. It sets out Napier Port’s core safety standards for businesses operating on port, and has been designed for those businesses that may not have a direct contractual relationship with Napier Port. This includes businesses like ISO, which is contracted by forestry exporters to provide log stevedoring and logistics services at Napier Port.

“This marks an important step in Napier Port’s health and safety journey,” says Adam Harvey, Napier Port’s General Manager Marine and Cargo Operations. “We want to make sure everyone who comes to Napier Port goes home safely – every day.

“We’re committed to creating a health and safety culture to be proud of, but we can’t do this alone. Businesses operating at Napier Port need to share our health and safety standards, and jointly commit to looking after our people. We applaud ISO for being the first to sign this new contract.”

ISO Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Davies, says the Licence to Operate offered an opportunity to demonstrate its health and safety values. “ISO’s overriding philosophy is that safety comes first and is our number one priority. We’re fully committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for all our people, and to collaborating with Napier Port in this endeavour.”

The Licence to Operate forms part of Napier Port’s commitment under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, setting out the requirement to ‘consult, cooperate and coordinate’ on any changes to health and safety practices at the port. Napier Port’s health and safety, finance, commercial, and culture and community teams worked together to develop the licence. Port users were then consulted, as part of Napier Port’s commitment to collaborate with its port community.

The Licence to Operate outlines a number of operator obligations, including providing copies of risk registers, hazardous substances registers and emergency response plans. It will be rolled out to other relevant businesses operating at Napier Port, through a phased approach.