Work Health & Safety
As an industry leader in Work Health & Safety, ATR has always placed a high premium on the welfare of our employees, our clients & the general public.
We work in a high-risk industry that is governed directly by SafeWork NSW where the risk of severe injury or even death are very real.
From the beginning, a pillar of our guiding philosophy has been to always maintain the highest levels of safety in an extremely dangerous industry. In order to eliminate or minimise the risks associated with demolition & asbestos removal work; ATR’s management identified key areas of our operations that would assist us to meet our goals.
Management systems – In the days where most demolishers would arrive at site with simple Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) & nothing else, ATR chose to develop a Work Health & Safety Management System (WHSMS). The WHSMS comprised of an overarching set of guidelines & principles that were to be followed & a site documentation system that required our employees to record the safety measures they implemented on a daily basis.
Training – In a highly regulated industry, many work activities require licensing or a permit in order to undertake a particular work activity. Not only did ATR ensure that its employees obtained the necessary permits, we went further & had our entire workforce complete their trade qualification in demolition. At the time, ATR was the only company in NSW to have had their workforce complete the demolition trade qualification (previously, it was only individuals that undertook the training).
ATR’s commitment to training has & will remain an integral part of our operations. In fact, ATR has one of the most qualified workforces in the demolition industry.
Another part of our WHS strategy was to invite SafeWork NSW (formerly WorkCover NSW) to become involved our operations to assist us in maintaining the highest standards in safety. At the time, this was an unusual step as most operators considered SafeWork with caution as they had the ability to levy significant penalties for safety breaches.
We saw things differently. We saw it as an opportunity to have the experts advise us through their knowledge & experience. It was a pivotal decision. Our initial contact was through a meeting where an inspector visited our offices & spoke to our employees in way that they could understand & relate to. It was the start of a long relationship. As a result of the meeting, we signed up to their Mentor program where they paired us with a major corporation to help us develop our systems further.
When the program had finished, we had completed a major overhaul of our WHSMS & we were rightly proud of our achievement. I guess they thought so too, as they invited one of our Managers to participate in their inaugural SafeWork Safety Ambassador program. He was later invited to deliver the opening address for the program at the State Library of NSW.
The benefit of this relationship also culminated in ATR winning the “Highly Commended Finalist” award at the WorkCover NSW SafeWork Awards 2009 for our WHMS. To this date, we are the only demolition company to have been a finalist in the awards.
Since then, ATR has become certified to International & Australian Standards AS/NZS 4801 Safety, ISO 9001 Quality & ISO 14001 Environment. These Standards are externally accredited & ensure that ATR maintains our high WHS ideals & our obligations to our employees, our clients & the wider public.
Environment
As demolishers & waste removal contractors, ATR has always been at the forefront of environmental management. Our company has a stated commitment to not only reduce the impact of our operations on the environment but to improve the environmental outcomes wherever possible.
Our company’s environmental goals are to minimise our operations impact to land, water, air, flora & fauna & to conserve our built heritage. We also recognise the effects of our work activities & strive to protect the environment by upholding effective & efficient environmental & sustainable work practices. This is part of our everyday business.
How can you help to minimise your environmental impact? By following the 3 R’s; Reduce, Reuse & Recycle.
Reduce
The most effective method to minimise environmental impact, is to reduce the amount of waste being generated. An easy way is to look at the amount of packaging you use when shopping.
Reuse
Does the item need to be thrown away or can it be reused elsewhere or even by somebody else. Consider friends, family or giving items away for free on site such as Gumtree or the like.
Recycle
Recycling & reusing are always the best methods, however, it’s also important to know which items can’t be recycled. Mixing non-recyclables with recycling can actually cause more damage as it may result in the entire load becoming contaminated & discarded.
On our demolition sites, recycling is a key component of our waste minimisation strategy. Most loads of rubbish that are removed from site are sorted into their respective recycle types & sent for recycling. So which items and materials can and can’t be recycled? Visit our Advice & who uses what service or FAQs pages to learn more, or alternatively contact us now to find out how we can help you remove & dispose of your waste rubbish in an environmentally conscious & friendly way.
ATR is also proud to maintain external certification to International Standard ISO 14001:2015 Environment as part of our environmental commitment.