For Sekisui House, a focus on workplace safety is the foundation for its high-quality results across the business.

Japan-based developer Sekisui House has formally secured AS/NZS 4801 safety management certification across its Australian business operations. The accomplishment comes 10 years after Sekisui House began operations in Australia and represents a company-wide commitment to workplace health and safety.

One of the world’s largest residential development companies, Sekisui House is best known in Australia for its work with Frasers Property Australia on Central Park Sydney – an innovative green development that uses vertical gardens, water management and an onsite tri-generation plant to maintain sterling green credentials. Exactly the same responsible corporate attitudes drive its approach to safety.

“We would not be able to achieve the superior quality of development without an unflagging commitment to health and safety across the business,” says Darren Butt, Sekisui House Australia’s WHS Manager for NSW and Qld. “We’re building homes people want to live in − and for that, we need to provide workplaces that people want to work in, where they feel safe and confident that their colleagues share their desire to return home safely at the end of each day.”

The certification covers all operations, including masterplan projects and the SHAWOOD Quality Control and Manufacturing Centre, where the laminated post and beam structural units and proprietary metal joints that form the basis of the company’s sustainable structural framing are fabricated. The certification is also applied to Sekisui House’s Australian contractor workforce and suppliers.

“At the heart of any process like this is the commitment to safety in the workplace,” says Butt. “Every single person in our business, including our contractors and suppliers, has had to go through the process with us to understand their own personal responsibilities when it comes to the ongoing improvement of safety performance.

“It’s that learning process that is the true value of any professional certification. I’m confident that as a result of taking the thousands of people who work for and with us on the journey, our manufacturing production line, logistics, development and construction sites are safer, more efficient places to work.”

For more, visit www.sekisuihouse.com.au or visit www.standards.org.au to learn about the certification.