Health, Safety and Environment

At SAGE Automation, we integrate all of our systems and processes across health, safety, environment and quality with an Integrated Management System (IMS). This helps us to work as a single unit, with unified objectives and a strong, aligned culture. 

The IMS documentation covers all the elements for the 3 standards AS/NZS 4801, ISO 14001 and ISO 9001 as well as legislative requirements for both Workplace Health & Safety and Environment.

SAGE’s HSEQ vision is set out in the following Policy:

• SAGE HSEQ Policy

SAGE Group Response to Coronavirus COVID-19 

 

Current as of 10 August 2020 

At SAGE Group, the wellbeing of our people, clients and partners is important to us. We are continuing to monitor and manage the COVID-19 situation, placing appropriate preventative measures across our regions so that all stakeholders including our employees, subcontractors, clients and the communities in which we work are kept safe and well. Our staff repatriation plan is in motion with each state's repatriation plan based on their relevant state government requirements.

 

Our People

We have enacted all measures as recommended by the Australian Government in response to the COVID-2019 coronavirus outbreak, including travel restrictions and self-isolation periods for our people. Containment measures include:

• To view our SAGE COVID-19 Infection Control Flow Chart - click here.
• No international business travel
• Business-critical and essential domestic travel only, requires COO and/or CEO approval.
• Employees or workers visiting or transiting through any country outside of Australia for personal travel, are encouraged to rethink or reschedule their plans. It has also been recommended that all non-essential domestic travel should be cancelled in our effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. 
• Any employees who are required to self isolate, must adhere to self-isolation requirements aligned to Australian Government requirements as per the links below:
  • https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov
  • https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/news-and-updates/coronavirus-covid-19
• If an employee is being tested for COVID-19, they must adhere to Department of Health requirements and must not attend work and must remain in self-isolation in their place of residence until they receive a negative test, or for 14 days from date of last exposure with a confirmed case of COVID-19 (whichever is longer).
• Any employee whose spouse/partner, or a person they co-habit with, has returned from International or domestic travel  must self-isolate for 14 days.
• Self-isolation for any employee who has flu-like symptoms or has been in contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19
• Signage articulating health containment measures
• Employees in States & Territories were restrictions have been eased have returned to work following a 3 stage repatriation process and continue to practice personal hygiene social distancing ( of 1.5 metre) rules.
• Employees in Victoria continue to work from home due to stage 4 restrictions in Melbourne and stage 3 restrictions in regional Victoria. For further details please see SAGE Group response to COVID-19 in Victoria here.  
• Employees that are on site are encouraged to eat lunch outside. Those that use the kitchen on premises are encouraged to keep 1.5 metre distance and to not enter unless there are 5 people or less in the kitchen. All kitchen surfaces, utensils and equipments are to be cleaned after use.
• No international visitors.
• All visitors to abide with strict health containment measures.
• Staff events are planned and organised based on State and Territory updates around public gathering except for in Victoria where all events have been deferred until further notice.
• Employees diagnosed with COVID-19 after seeking medical attention, you will be subject to the Department of Health’s isolation procedures. Any colleagues or co-workers that have had close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, or have shared work surfaces with them, must also self-isolate for 14 days and work from home if they can.
• Employees are expected to remain vigilant, adopt good personal hygiene practices and be aware of infection control. Employees are encourage to conduct individual risk assessments at home and at work regarding their personal circumstances and what they need to do to mitigate the impact of being exposed to the COVID19. Any individual who is feeling unwell, for any reason, should stay at home and seek medical attention. 
• To maintain wellbeing and for extra support, employees are encouraged to use our Employee Assistance Program support service.
• Regular communications are provided to all internal stakeholders relating to how the SAGE Group will respond to the evolving COVID-19 situation. This is in line with advice presented by the following :
  • Australian Government Department of Health,
  • SafeWork Australia,
  • State Health Departments, and
  • Other government agencies

These communications include sharing our plan with team members regarding COVID-19 symptoms and hygiene practices through our Intranet site incorporating updates relating to COVID-19, leveraging a company-wide SMS facility for important safety related updates, establishing clear guidelines for employees to report their status and seek how they can seek further information if required.

Our Clients

Given the importance of working together with our clients and partners to effectively implement these measures we ask that you share your company requirements with your local SAGE contact.  Please also advise us immediately should you become aware of circumstances where your people may have been at risk of contracting COVID-19 that collaborate with our team members.

Advice from clients and partners regarding their site requirements and how they are responding to COVID-19 is shared with our team.

• Use video call technology for client collaboration in place of face-to-face meetings where possible
• Share and adhere to client site requirements and remain vigilant with personal hygiene

Our Partners and supply chain

It is important for us in providing ongoing support for our clients that we also carefully manage our supply chain.

• Use video technology for supplier collaboration in place of face-to-face meetings where possible
• Stores receiving goods delivery access limited, social distancing and hand sanitation measures in place

We will continue to monitor the Australian Department of Health website for any guideline updates for employers and continue to follow the latest advice. We are planning for repatriation of our workforce in alignment with state government policy.

Thank you for assisting us to ensure adequate controls are in place for the mutual protection of our people and the wider community.

 

Kind Regards, 

Workplace Health and Safety

 

SAGE Automation works to a zero-harm-to-people objective, and to support this, we are certified to AS/NZS 4801:2001 Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems by DQS Certification. 

Leadership has implemented a proactive, preventative approach to workplace health and safety, where safety is a shared responsibility. 

Here are some of the ways we ensure safety for our teams: 

• Staff fully understand safety requirements and the HSEQ Policy through comprehensive corporate and site-specific inductions.
• Contractors are pre-qualified and sign in on arrival.
• Prior to the start of any job, a Job Safety and Environmental Analysis (JSEA) is completed.

We educate all employees and contractors on the Hazard Reporting System, which is recorded on the Workplace Hazard Register. In addition, we report lessons learned from incidents and hazards through email safety alerts, noticeboards and tool-box meetings. 

Safety consultation and communication happens during scheduled meetings. 

• Tool-box meetings are held regularly and deal with HSEQ matters at an operational level on a day to day basis.
• IMS Committee meetings are for dealing with HSEQ matters at a system level.

Importantly, at SAGE we ensure our employees are suitably trained and supervised to ensure the delivery of high-quality work is undertaken safely.

Environmental and Sustainability Management

SAGE is certified to ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management Systems by DQS Certification and has been since August 2010. SAGE is committed to operating an environmentally sustainable business and we meet our clients’ needs while minimising any adverse environmental impacts.

At SAGE, we actively monitors our carbon emissions. All resource usage is measured, monitored and displayed for all to see using this system.

The primary aim of this data collection is to understand, then reduce resource usage as well as improve the efficiency,  thereby minimising our impact on the environment.  SAGE leads by example and we share learnings with our clients.

For further information, see: Zero Waste Resource Efficiency Assistance Program (REAP) Snapshot

SAGE has achieved Zero Waste to landfill at its SA operations by sending all mixed waste to an alternate fuel facility. Improvements can still be made by ensuring our overall waste is minimised and that all waste that is generated is separated into streams that can be reused or recycled. This ensures that SAGE has the minimum possible environmental impact from its operations.

Quality Management

SAGE is certified to ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems by DQS Certification. SAGE has been certified to ISO 9001 since 1997.

Our vision is to be a world leader in industrial control, automation systems, specialist training and consulting services for a diverse range of industries. As a result, we relentlessly pursue innovation, improvement, and excellence in delivery. 

SAGE is also a certified member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA) in Australia. CSIA’s Best Practice and Benchmark certification covers all automation business processes including finance, sales, marketing, project execution, technical execution and quality assurance. 

All our internal business delivery systems are designed to meet benchmarks representing the best practices of international control system integrators.

SAGE has additionally achieved supplier certification, meeting rigorous pre-qualification audits, with these leading supplier management organisations: Achilles, ISNetworld, CM3.

Certifications & Accreditations

• Achilles
• CM3
• ISN
• Control System Integration Assocation
• DQS Management System ISO 9001, ISO 14001, AS/NZS 4801