Caring for our people drives us to develop health and safety systems that work. We care about empowering our people to take ownership of health and safety solutions and delivering outcomes that exceed expectations.
Next-practice health and safety systems
Our people are our priority
Our safety-first culture is about designing systems that help our people see hazards – most importantly STCKY (S*** That Could Kill You) situations – and put effective controls in place to prevent harm. Our systems are focused on plain language that lands where it needs to land with our people. At the benchmarking end, we are ISO 45001 accredited.
Our HSE goals
- Skilled hazard identification – seeing situations that could seriously hurt or kill (see our energy wheel tool, right).
- Skilled hazard control – developed knowledge for the types of controls that prevent serious injury.
- Outstanding wraparound support, both externally and internally, for mental health and wellbeing.
- A focus on how we design out STCKY situations.
- Always willing to learn.
- Caring for and being responsible stewards for the environments we work in.
A focus on STCKY situations
In 2023, our Health, Safety and Environment team began focusing on groundbreaking new research into Serious Injury Fatality (SIF) prevention being conducted by the Construction Safety Research Alliance at the University of Colorado Boulder in the USA. We liked this evidence-based approach to controlling high-energy situations and events, so we began creating our own programme, tailored for Cassidy Construction crews working in a New Zealand context.
We focused on supporting our people to see situations that had potential to seriously hurt or kill, and to implement safeguards that prevent contact or absorb energy away from a person.
This new Energy-Based Safety regime has been supported from the boardroom to the front line, and has been integrated into our daily practice. It was nominated as one of four Safety-II finalists in the 2025 New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards, which draws entries from some of the country’s biggest companies and public sector employers.
Read more about our industry-leading health and safety programmes in our blog.
Q&A
Q: Why is health and safety so pivotal in the construction industry?
A: Many construction tasks are inherently risky, every day. Add to that the wide diversity of skills and experience in the construction workplace – it’s a common entry point for migrant workers, and a place where people often start a new career. Then again, some of our people have been in construction a long time, since well before the introduction of the Health and Safety at Work Act. Many tasks require technical expertise as well as developed operational systems, and often a routine task becomes novel because of a different environment. For these reasons, I think adaptable systems are important, and people in HSE can positively and effectively influence perceptions, support skill development and break down barriers.
Q: How is Cassidy Construction’s approach to health and safety unique?
A: In my experience, what’s special is Cassidy’s approach to caring for our people and providing them with opportunities and development programmes. There’s a generosity of spirit underlying everything, but especially when it comes to resourcing and looking after our people.
Q: What led you to your current role?
A: Some twists in the road, but mostly an appreciation for matter-of-fact, hardworking and often very funny, smart people. I value people and team relationships, advocacy and adaptable systems, which is what led me here.
