The Elastomers Australia Health and Safety Team – Senior OHS Advisor Jason Andrews-Reid and OHS Solutions Advisor Lewis Weston reveal the roads that took them to be living and breathing safety in the mining industry.

Being caught up in an unfortunate situation was the catalyst for Jason Andrews-Reid to pursue a career in health and safety.

As an innocent bystander of somebody else making a poor decision, Jason suffered burns to 32 per cent of his body.

It gave him a whole new perspective on the notion of “going home the same way you came to work”.

With this at the forefront of how he operated, Jason went on to work in a range of roles across various emergency organisations where responses were frequently reactive, and decisions needed to be made quickly.

Climbing the ranks within an emergency organisation presented Jason with the opportunity and authority to embed policies and to proactively shift people’s thought processes to ensure they are better equipped to avoid making error likely decisions.

Jason says he was attracted to the culture and focus on people that Elastomers Australia offered, knowing that when everyone is working as one team, results are readily achievable.

For Lewis Weston, the path into health and safety was a little different.

Shifting from the hospitality industry where he was a chef, Lewis moved into the construction industry.

Lewis says his move into health and safety was what seemed to be a natural path for him in the construction industry.

With the assistance of experienced mentors in the OHS field, Lewis soon developed the necessary qualifications and skills to perform his role in OHS Advisory. After time in the construction industry, Lewis diversified into the mining construction and maintenance sector and after duration transitioned to Elastomers Australia.

The duo are now partners in safety at Elastomers Australia, responsible for OHS compliance and ensuring the company is meeting legal requirements and obligations among all stakeholders. With ongoing development to health and safety laws around the country, they must stay abreast of both state and national requirements.

Jason and Lewis both say their first and foremost priority is to make sure the right policies are in place and understood so that everyone goes home in the same state that they were in when they came to work.