The unmeasured loss

Spend five minutes with Owen Bevan, and you will realise that workplace safety is his life's passion. With an exuberant nature and a moving story to tell, Owen has become the face many Queenslanders associate with safety.

Owen's dedication to workplace safety is genuine because it is based on experience. When Owen was only nine years-old, his father was involved in a serious workplace accident: he was crushed between a backhoe and a nine tonne roller. Not once, but twice.

The accident left Owen's father with a crushed pelvis, fractured lumbar vertebrae, seven broken ribs, a shattered sternum, punctured lungs, and a ruptured spleen.

You may have read Owen's article in the Autumn edition of SAFE, which discusses how the accident affected his father, his family, and his father's friends.

During Work Safe Week 2007, Owen shared this story with hundreds of workers in the hope that, when they considered risk management, they would look beyond the workplace. Workers who experienced Owen's presentations often commented how useful it would be to have this presentation on hand as an induction tool…and WHSQ has acted on this.

Owen has worked with WHSQ to create an induction film for Queensland workplaces. The emotional punch his presentation delivers makes this film, The Unmeasured Loss: The Bevan Family Story as told by Owen Bevan is a powerful addition to workplace health and safety induction sessions. The film helps employers and employees understand the value of safety in the workplace, and of coming home at the end of each work day.

To order your own copy of the film, and to find out more about how to create an engaging workplace health and safety induction, visit the Homecomings page or phone Workplace Health and Safety Infoline on 1300 369 915. We would also like to hear about how you have used the film to enhance induction sessions in your workplace so we can share this information on our website.

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