In commending this year?s finalists, Hoy acknowledged their outstanding contributions to improving work health and safety.
?The 29 finalists across five categories have demonstrated what can be achieved through dedication and taking an innovative approach to work health and safety,? Hoy said.
?The high calibre of this year?s entrants shows the level of commitment there is in our nation to keeping workers free from death, injury and illness.?
All finalists were category winners in their respective 2012 state, territory or Commonwealth work health and safety awards.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony in Canberra on Monday, 29 April.
Finalists included a number of companies and individuals in the quarrying, resources and construction industries. In Category 2 ? Best solution to a workplace health and safety issue, both Agi-Kleen (NSW) and pitty&sherry/Grange Resources are amongst the contenders.
Agi-Kleen has already won numerous awards for its development of a robotic cleaning system for concrete agitators that eliminates the need for manual cleaning, including best overall health and safety innovation at last year?s CCAA Queensland EHS Awards.
Tasmanian iron ore miner Grange Resources and engineering consultant pitt&sherry have already shared the honours for a remote explosive loading unit which received an award for the best solution to an identified workplace health and safety issue at the 2012 WorkSafe Tasmania Awards.
In Category 4 – Best individual contribution to workplace health and safety, an award recognising individuals who have made an exceptional difference to health and Safety, there were two representatives from the construction industry.
Ben Woodbridge of the Daracon Group Pty Ltd (NSW) was nominated in the category of employee and in the category of a Work Health & Safety manager Tim Cotton, McMahon Services Australia (SA) was announced.
Hoy said that in 2010-11, 220 workers in Australia had died from work-related traumatic injuries and over 170 000 workers were injured badly enough to miss five or more days of work. ?This is more than the population of a city each year being seriously injured at work,? he asserted. ?It demonstrates why we need to keep work health and safety at the top of our minds each and every day.
?As this year?s finalists demonstrate it is possible to make a difference and reduce work-related death, injury and illness in organisations of all sizes.?
A full list of the finalists is available at the Safe Work Australia website.
Source: Safe Work Australia