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October 2021 - Issue 40.

Dear FICA Members, Sponsors & Industry

It is a bumpy road for New Zealand as we are guided through the Delta variant of CoVID and we assume that the world will not be the same for some time ahead. Braced in position to take what ever is thrown at us, it can wear on ones resilience. We feel for those who have been in lock down in Auckland, now further south and even those in Northland that are hemmed in and challenged with travel across the border.

I guess the word out is that vaccination levels will be our guiding repreive from further lock downs, that vaccinations although a choice, are a precaution that you are doing more for those around you, your family, whanau and friends than for yourself. We continue to advocate to ensure our industry is vaccinated if you want to see our industry ahead of any further outbreaks, any reasons to lock down our industry and any reason to hold back your team.

FICA have been rolling out some significant communications to government these last few months in collaboration with NZFOA, NZFFA and NZIF and these communications continue with MPI and Te Uru Rakau and the leaders of our sectors.

We are also pleased to have almost got through to a final review of the Safetree Certification with positive changes, modifications and upgrades being made, so please read more about this below. We have worked alongside a great team within the TAG (technical advisory group) and will continue to bring updates and stay involved over the transition period.

Another group has been stood up to be an industry voice to the entities within ROVE - Reform of Vocational Education. The Forest ROVE Advisory Group (FRAG) are a diverse team from NZFOA, trainer/assessors, contractors and also Future Foresters with the involement of Competenz to support our work to investigate how we create the best environment for industry training and delivery. The options are many and we will take this group through the exploratory phase, transition phase and implementation phase to get the best outcomes. More to disgest about FRAG below.

We also initiated a sample of our discussion topics FICA in FOCUS, important to our members from our last FICA Board meeting. We will make this a regular communication tool and it will give you an overview of the work behind the scenes to maintain our position in the industry and our focus on the Strategic areas laid out to ensure a safe and sustainable future, collaborating with, influencing and suporting industry partners to co-design, a sustainable supply chain.

This month we launch our MSD-FICA Harvesting Subsidy scheme which will allow contractors to register any vacancies with us, for us to align new people lookin for jobs with pastoral support and to hopefully make matches made in heaven! Check out more info online  SUBSIDY INFO

Thanks to those of you that participated in the FICA Strategic Plan survey and those that have given their comments through the direct connections made by our engaged consultant The Stakeholder Agency. You will hear more about the outcomes of this work at our AGM Conference in Queenstown and also we will get the results out to our members through our communications channels early November.

Yes, the Safetree Conference is still happening followed by our FICA AGM - Conference. To those that have booked, you will be hearing from us soon around management of the events given the protocols at Level 2 but we believe it is doable and well due for everyone to take time out to network after what seems another challenging year.

Kia tūpato - Take care

Prue & FICA Board
 
Prue Younger

CEO, FICA 

Tena koutou
 
As you are aware a FISC Technical Action Group (TAG) was established earlier this year to progress the review of Safetree Certification.
The attached document outlines the work that has been done in the seven workstreams identified by the TAG.
A business case detailing the TAG recommendations has been presented to the FISC Council and work is progressing on the implementation phase.
 
Key points to note:

  • The operating model that has been agreed and approved means Certification will be directly managed by FISC, who own and operate the Safetree brand.
  • A Certification Manager will be recruited to manage Certification and the auditor resources
  • The supporting software platform will transition from BraveGen to ecoPortal
  • A three-tier maturity model has been agreed for Contractor Certification
  • It has been recognised that Certification requires broad industry support and an industry safety charter is to be further developed to assist with gaining this commitment
  • The pilot of Forest Management Company certification is ongoing
  • Worker Certification will be incorporated into ecoPortal as a phase 2 development
 
Important information for the transition phase:
 
  • Re-Certification field audits and new registrations are to be paused to allow for the transition from BraveGen to ecoPortal
  • There will be no new registrations or audit bookings from 1st October 2021
  • Audits that have already been booked will go ahead using the existing BraveGen system
  • Re-certification dates will be extended for those impacted by this transition pause
  • Auditor training and User Acceptance Testing will begin in December 2021
  • Auditing in the new system will commence in January 2022
Thanks Action Forest Management & BayPine Forestry Limited - great press for our profile in the fabulous international magazine - cheers Robin and crew!
Check out pages 17-30 by clicking the cover shot.
Recently the establishment of the Forestry RoVE Advisory Group (FRAG) will enable our sector to provide input to the various Reform of Vocational Education (RoVE) workstreams and take into consideration the Forestry & Wood Processing Workforce Action Plan. FRAG is seen as a pragmatic and inclusive mechanism to contribute to the reforms with a strong forest industry voice and the group reflects a good cross section of stakeholders in forest industry education and training with representatives from forest owners, contractors, trainer & assessors, and our future foresters.
 
Participants will represent and communicate with their stakeholder groups while collaborating as an active working group in the best interests of the forest industry. FRAG may establish working groups and bring in subject matter experts to be co-opted to participate in meetings / discussions to support the workplan.
 
We see FRAG being responsible for:
  • Co-designing as the industry lead, an operating model, including policies, rules, procedures, and guiding principles, which align the forest industry vision for vocational training with the service provision offered by the RoVE
  • Interacting with the Primary Workforce Development Council (WDC) – Muka Tangata, Te Pukenga, COVE, other Tertiary providers, Government agencies, Transitional ITOs (Competenz Forestry) and industry stakeholders
 
FRAG plays both a strategic role and an advisory role. The vision is to develop a skilled, qualified safe and effective workforce achieving recognised qualifications which are current and fit for purpose.
Understanding the difference between Hazards and Risks

Hazards are things or conditions that can cause an injury or illness. For example, a leaning tree or a slippery walkway. Risk is the probability of a hazard causing the injury or illness. For example, if the leaning tree is nowhere near workers or equipment, we could say the risk is low because it wouldn’t cause a problem if it fell.

An assessment is often done to determine risk levels for each hazard. This is done by identifying each hazard and then asking: - What’s the probability of this hazard causing an incident? - If an incident occurs, how severe is it going to be? By answering these questions, you’ll be able to focus on the high-risk hazards – the ones most likely to cause the biggest problems.

Hazard and Risk Considerations:
• Hazard ID – Sometimes hazards hide in plain sight – we have become used to them and take the hazard for granted (e.g. wood dust buildup); or conversely maybe it is something that is difficult to see (e.g. carbon monoxide).
• New Hazards and Risks – Look at the worksite with fresh eyes to identify hazards not previously there – new equipment, workers, or process can all result in new risks. Be a student of safety – learn about hazards and risks in other industries and situations. Do they apply where you work?
• Communication – Knowing about hazards will keep you safe but sharing the information can keep a whole company or site safe. It’s likely there will be a new worker or a contractor on site who will not know about all the hazards.
• Controlling Hazards – Controls are the steps taken to make hazards safe, in essence “reduce the risk”. The diagram below illustrates that eliminating hazards is the most effective. PPE is the least effective and shouldn’t be the ONLY control in place.
Don’t Be Complacent – Having a vigilant attitude and actively identifying new hazards everyday will help you and your co-workers stay safe.
• Location, location, location – Every work location and job task will have different hazards. For example, manufacturing or office sites will have different hazards from field-based worksites. Specific hazard and risk training is needed for these different environments. See below for links to new online blasting training.

SAFETREE & FICA CONFERENCE
PROMOTION

 
The conference for Safetree and FICA are still happening, albeit in this new environment of COVID Level 2. We will bring you more on the management of the events next week. Lets all get away south to beautiful Queenstown! Guest speakers include Nigel Latta, the TV celebrity and Lance Burdett & his team from WARN International and opening speaker Callum McKirdy 
                       Registrations on enquiry at admin@fica.org.nz
 
BOOKING ACCOMMODATION AVAILABLE
AT MILLENNIUM AND COPTHORNE - Queenstown

Accommodation booking Code for your conference, it is FICA21
FICA National Recruitment Campaign with NZME as partners. Covering all the industry sectors, we will through 12 months with new and stimulating artwork and information to support a career in FORESTRY! Check out the national careers site forestrycareers.nz
Digital statistics are showing us each month that we are exceeding all expectations!

Thank you to our Partners for their support and sponsorship

Our mailing address is:
P O Box 12017, Ahuriri, Napier 4144

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