Comment: Top of the South Forestry Awards

By: Emma Godwin, sector administration manager, Photography by: Supplied

Date: 16.09.2022

Steve Borlase (right) receives his award at the TOTS Awards held recently

Steve Borlase

Steve Borlase (right) receives his award at the TOTS Awards held recently

Steve Borlase

Steve Borlase was awarded the winner of the Outstanding Health and Safety Management Trophy

At the recent Top of the South Forestry Awards, Steve Borlase was awarded the winner of the Outstanding Health and Safety Management Trophy, an award sponsored by DC Equipment.

Steve has taken up a role in health and safety at Borlase Transport, expanded it and implemented improvements all round. He has innovated with leadership evident with health and safety practices and a focus on a positive culture.

This also has been a priority across his other management roles. Experienced in the field, Steve has high expectations of others, but he can walk the talk—excelling in training and involved in the investigation when required, he provides a transparent and relatable approach.

Pivotal to Steve’s success in health and safety is his approach to business and his own personal development. Joining the national LTSC group last year, Steve is keen to continue to upskill and provide back to the industry.

Steve has been the health and safety manager for Borlase Transport for the last seven years. Prior to that, he worked in various roles driving trucks for the company before transitioning into this management role.

He’s also a member of the Log Transport Safety Council’s executive committee. With his experience driving trucks (which he still does occasionally), Steve has a unique insight into some of the challenges the drivers face, as well as the mechanics behind the operations.

Steve is approachable and fair as a manager, he’s good at building rapport with people and has a good insight into how to best manage his team on an individual level. He believes when it comes to safety, he needs to lead from the top.

This means he walks the talk. If there’s an incident, he doesn’t blame the individual; rather he takes joint responsibility. He looks to find solutions together, recognising drivers often have the best insight into solutions.

Listening well is another skill that Steve values highly. As a manager, it’s critical to listen and understand the needs and wants of the team, as they are the ones on the ground driving the daily operation.

He recognises that when people have concerns, it’s not always about the immediate issue in front of you, but potentially what’s going on behind the scenes, and Steve works to better understand the wider picture and get additional support for himself and his team where needed.

For Steve, this could be leaning on his own support networks, such as his managers and mentors; for the drivers, this might be offering them counselling services or additional training and upskilling.

Listening well also means following up and prioritising getting back to team members to give feedback. Steve also leads the safety procedures and when there are incidences or issues; he considers how he may have failed the team. He believes he should be leading them to always use the safest procedures.

Steve is not what he calls a micro-manager. He builds trust and confidence with his workers and brings them along in the safety journey. An example of this is when the company installed the Guardian (Seeing Eye technology) where drivers are monitored for fatigue and distraction.

There was a risk that drivers could have seen this new technology negatively, (e.g. ‘Big Brother’ watching), but with Steve’s leadership, he ensured he consulted with the team early on and listened to feedback so that when it was implemented, they felt part of the bigger picture and everyone could see the benefits.

Steve didn’t see this award nomination as solely his own achievement; it’s a collaborative achievement by the Borlase team as a group, and together, they are always striving for continuous improvement and safer practices.

In essence, this is Steve developing a culture in the business where there’s no blame or judgement; it’s a culture of learning from mistakes. This creates an environment for staff where they feel safe to have open discussions. As a family business, Steve has created a close team, where they prioritise family needs, and health, safety, wellbeing, and family are the priority.    

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