Aurora Dairies honoured at 2021 WorkSafe Awards

26 April 2022

Aurora Dairies was recognised at the 2021 WorkSafe Awards in Melbourne on Thursday 21st April, taking out the ‘Commitment to Workplace Health & Safety on a Farm‘ category.

Aurora Dairies was honoured for using low-cost technology, including geo-fencing and GPS tracking, to improve safety for quadbike operators on its farms across Victoria.

“Back in 2018 we had two quad bike incidents and one side-by-side incident. Not serious injuries, but injuries that did require surgery and so we went through a review of vehicles on farm.“ said Ben James, CEO Aurora Dairies. As a result of the review and in consulting with farm managers and farm teams it was clear the main concerns were in the use of quad bikes.

Since introducing the utilisation of GPS devices on quad bikes and side by sides, Aurora has seen a significant reduction in quad bike speeds and access to steep and potentially dangerous terrain. The devices enable the operator (and manager) to be alerted if speed limits are exceeded or a geofenced “no-go” zone has been entered and has supported driving behavioural change.

“It’s pretty clear speed and terrain are the leading cause of incidents, so this technology was able to reduce those risks” said Ben James.

WorkSafe Executive Director of Health and Safety Narelle Beer said the new Commitment to Workplace Health and Safety on a Farm award acknowledged those who have made tangible improvements on their farms. “Whether it’s everyday achievements, creative thinking or innovative practices, this award recognises farmers who’ve made a significant contribution to the health and safety of their workplace.”

“This was a pretty big project and the way in which all of the people that were involved worked together, collaborated and took responsibility for driving the outcome, means I am incredibly proud of what has been achieved.” said Ben James.

Aurora Dairies owns and operates more than 16,000 hectares across 33 pasture based dairy farms across the southwest, northern and Gippsland regions of Victoria and southeast South Australia, with a forecast annualised milk production of over 185 million litres.

For more information and current career opportunities, visit https://auroradairies.com.au/

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