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Case Studies
Are you trying Safety II ?
Compliance is only half of the journey...
Compliance is only half of the journey...
Discover how we support companies make advancements to Safety II and implement learning teams.
Compliance is only half of the journey...
Compliance is only half of the journey...
Compliance is only half of the journey...
Is your WHSMS working in practice? We developed a practical WHSMS framework and maturity assessment tool designed to move safety systems beyond compliance.
Do you have complex systems?
Do you have complex systems?
Do you have complex systems?
In this case study we share how genuine collaboration can lead to improvements in change management and workplace engagement.
Out here it's different..
Do you have complex systems?
Do you have complex systems?
How well does your sex and gender-based harassment risk assessment reflect real working conditions? Learn about our FREE resource focused on remote oil & gas locations.
Moving WHS Assurance Beyond Compliance
Developing a WHSMS Framework & Performance Assessment Tool
Project overview
Bespoke Safety Group was engaged to support the development of a contemporary Work Health and Safety Management System framework and performance assessment tool for a Commonwealth Government department operating across a diverse national portfolio. The project required a practical WHS management system framework that could support legal compliance, consistent implementation and executive-level oversight.
A key objective was to move beyond a compliance-only view of the WHSMS and create a framework that helped leaders and WHS teams understand both system design and system effectiveness.
WHSMS Framework
As is often the case, the framework was clearly mapped to ISO 45001 and key WHS legal obligations. Interestingly, it was also mapped to AS/NZS 4801, even though that standard has been superseded by ISO 45001. For this project, it remained relevant because the Comcare National Audit Tool is still aligned to this standard. This allowed the department to maintain audit readiness while also taking a more contemporary view of WHSMS design and performance.
Performance Assessment Tool
Rather than developing a simple compliance checklist, Bespoke Safety Group developed an assessment tool structured against the department’s WHSMS framework. The tool assessed the maturity of each WHSMS requirement across three levels:
Designed: Established, documented and clearly defined.
Integrated: Embedded into business processes and used consistently.
Enhancing: Process outcomes used to identify trends, strengthen controls and support continual improvement.
What was Different?
WHS system assessment should not feel like a regulator’s checklist.
The Performance Assessment Tool was developed to provide a more practical and meaningful way to assess WHSMS performance.
Unlike a traditional compliance checklist, the tool does not simply ask whether a requirement exists. It assesses whether each WHSMS requirement has been properly designed, whether it is integrated into the way work is managed, and whether it is being used to improve WHS outcomes.
The built-in dashboard enables WHS leaders and business areas to identify gaps, measure maturity across different areas of the Department and prioritise improvement actions.
Understanding Harassment Risk in Remote Work Environments
Being curious and learning without judgment.
In 2025, updates to the Work Health and Safety Act introduced a proactive duty in Australia for organisations to identify and manage the risk of sex and gender-based harassment. Recognising that many companies are unsure of how to practically approach this requirement; particularly in relation to women working in remote oil & gas operational environments; Bespoke Safety Group and QWOW partnered to explore how sex and gender-based harassment risk can realistically emerge in the day-to-day conditions of the oil and gas industry.
We facilitated a series of structured workshops designed to create a deliberately safe and confidential environment where participants could speak openly and honestly. Women currently working across trade, field and site-office roles shared their lived experiences of the situations and conditions that can affect their personal safety and lead to uncomfortable or unsafe situations.
Instead of relying on assumptions formed far from the realities of site life, these discussions uncovered a deeper understanding of how accommodation, travel, supervision structures, communication access, and isolation can create conditions where sex and gender-based harassment risk emerges.
The insights and control ideas are recorded in a BowTie diagram and provided in a printable booklet. This free resource is aimed at helping oil and gas companies critically assess their existing internal risk assessments and controls.
How does this help industry?
The BowTie case study does not replace existing company risk assessments, policies or procedures. Instead, it provides an informed, risk-based lens that organisations can use to:
- Identify scenarios that may not be captured in traditional harassment risk assessments
- Explore prevention opportunities that go beyond the standard company activities
- Support more informed conversations about sex and gender-based harassment
Most importantly, it shifts the conversation from reacting to incidents to understanding and managing the conditions that can allow harassment risk to emerge.
Management of Change
Removing complexity
Bespoke Safety Group were engaged to assist Senex Energy with their Management of Change (MoC) process. At the outset it was quickly established that the current MOC process was complex, no longer aligned with the company structure and personnel found it hard to implement consistently.
Understanding why people found the existing MoC system hard to implement was crucial. At Bespoke Safety we ensure our solutions are tailored to the culture and we listen to those doing work to ensure challenges are understood and solutions are tested before final deployment. In this project, running carefully crafted workshops with key stakeholders created a psychologically safe space for people to share their experiences.
Going digital was seen as the obvious next step, however, there was apprehension about getting an off-the-shelf solution, these are traditionally very complex and only focus on technical and engineering change. This would not gel well with the agile, fast-paced culture of the Company. Bespoke Safety Group worked with a software provider to develop a tailor-made software solution that supports integration with the incident and action management process. Sarah applied her collaboration skills and acted as the link between understanding the company's needs and translating that into a software solution that was intuitive and maintained its core purpose. Bespoke Safety Group developed training that aligned with how each team interfaces with MoC and the various ways people feel comfortable learning.
The new view
The MoC system is now a risk-focused tool, giving total transparency in one easy-to-access location. It contributes to improved safety outcomes:
- People outside of Engineering are engaged in the MoC system, this has increased the level of understanding regarding company risks
- There has been a 600% uplift in engagement with the system in just 12 months
- MoC approval is directly linked to risk and it is hard-wired into the digital platform
- The live MOC Dashboard enables governance
- Those making decisions can more easily access information that impacts safety, efficiency and productivity.
Moving Towards Safety Differently
Embedding learning teams
Embedding a new approach does not happen over night, and it is often reliant on a passionate individual. At the 2024 Global Safety Innovation Summit held in Australia, Bespoke Safety Group heard many organisations share that when a 'Safety II' change champion left the team or company, the old safety view returns. The Safety I approach is deeply embedded following decades of practice so sustained change is not going to be achieved over night. Bespoke Safety Groups view is that by integrating the new view into our system and supporting leaders transition to a new set of skills we reduce the gap between the ‘blue line’ and ‘black line’ of our safety work.
Bespoke Safety Group has supported several organisation with learning teams which cover a variety of topics including vehicle incidents, market trading events and landholder complaints. Recently, Bespoke Safety Group worked alongside a large Qld based Power Station Operator to support their HSE team and site leaders find ways to integrate the new view in a systematic way. Sarah provided team coaching which included time for debate to explore the contemporary safety concepts and challenge current thinking. Sarah also co-facilitated learning teams with internal resources to build confidence in the application of a learning team and help develop sustainable change.
Bespoke Safety Group also assess the safety management system to identify opportunities to integrate the new approach, such as softening system language that decouples traditional links to a ‘Safety I’ approach, these included updating Investigation Report Templates, removing reliance on Safety I language and developing tools that easily and consistently capture the outcome of learning teams. These may seem like small steps, but they aim to overcome the reliance on key individuals driving and owning the change.
What has changed?
We have relied on the concepts of Swiss Cheese, Systems Thinking, and Human Error Mechanisms since the 1990's. Over the years there have been small developments in these approaches and we have tweaked how we practice safety along the way.
In the last 10 years the 'Safety II' concept was introduced by Eric Hollengal, it has continued to develop and new terms like 'Safety Differently' by Sidney Dekker are becoming more common.
These theories are developing a ground breaking shift in global approaches to safety that Bespoke Safety has not seen in over 25 years. Key to these concepts is that 'workers are not the problem - they are in fact problem solvers'. This is where the concept of learning teams aligns with Safety II/Safety Differently. A learning team approach empowers the frontline to share how work is really done and develop solutions.
