Safety Ambassadors for Safe Work Australia Week
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Michael, Richard and Hayden Sharpe have been named as Ambassadors for Safe Work Australia Week.
The 19th to the 25th of October is Safe Work Australia Week. It is time to take stock of safety issues, recognise achievements and get involved in activities around the country.
We’re proud to announce that our award-winning safety mascot, Safety Bro, is also getting into the act, with a special edition Safe Work Australia Week vest, hat and sign.
Safety Bro, our usually-green mascot, reflects the strong spirit of mateship in the company and is constantly used to reinforce safety messages. Safety Bro is everyone’s mate. Safe Work Australia Week Safety Bro will be featured on his own website at www.safetybro.com.au and will be displayed prominently around the office.
Safe Work Australia Week reminds us that we need to be constantly vigilant about workplace safety.
One of the most important reasons for being vigilant is that workplace accidents not only affect the individual involved but everyone around them. Their mother, father, friend, workmate, child: workplace safety may save the life of someone close to you.
In your workplace there are many ways to recognise Safe Work Australia Week:
- reward those people in your workplace who are doing a great job in relation to workplace safety
- have a morning tea, bbq or afternoon tea and discussing safety issues
- put up a suggestion box or safety notice board for people to have their say, or
- conduct a safety audit and discuss the findings.
Here at Sharpe Bros, we believe that recreation and rest are important components of occupational safety. We will be holding our annual Roadworkers Prize, in association with the Gosford Art Gallery, to coincide with Safe Work Australia Week. A safety themed BBQ will also be held in conjunction with the Roadworkers Prize.
The Art Prize gives the Sharpe Bros crew an opportunity to take a break from the job and take on the role of art critic in deciding the winner of the Sharpe Bros sponsored Roadworkers Prize.
We are proud to be Safe Work Australia Week Safety Ambassadors as we recognise that safe work practices are not just a concern for the construction industry but for all businesses, large and small, across all industries.
Let's work together to make safety a priority in everyone's minds.
For more information on the Federal Governments Safe Work Australia Week go to www.ascc.gov.au
Safety is everyone's business.
Gold Gold Gold for Olympic Fundraising Effort
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Michael Richard and Hayden Sharpe with Olympians Martin Kelly, John Konrads and Rocky Gattellari.
The Gala Event to raise funds for Australian Olympians was a great success. Over 30 Olympians were special guests including Gold Medalist John Konrads, Champion Boxer Rocky Gattellari and Judo star Martin Kelly who enjoyed a night of great dining and entertainment.
The Australian Olympic Team Fund Committee was made up of prominent sporting and business leaders including Chairman – Kerry Ruffles, Edgar Adams, Horst Endrulat, Peter Reynolds, Shane Alvisio, Paul Barnes, Tim Cullen, John Taylor, Simon Earthrowl and Michael Sharpe.
The Sharpe Bros team was honoured to support Australian athletes travelling to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Chairman Kerry Ruffles invited guests to “join in this historical dining event as we rally together to support our local Olympians and celebrate their passage to the world’s centre stage. Representing your country and your community remains one of the highest accolades bestowed upon an Australian.”
Legendary sporting commentator Norman May, who is considered the enthusiastic voice of the Olympics for many Australians, was a special guest speaker at the event. Mr May was the first to bring swimming into our lounge rooms and introduced us to some of Australia’s greatest swimmers – from Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose in the 1960s, to Shane Gould in Munich, Tracey Wickham in Edmonton, and latter days stars such as Susie O’Neill, Ian Thorpe and Grant Hackett. Many of his calls, such as ‘Gold Gold to Australia, Gold’ at the Moscow Olympics, have been as memorable as the performances themselves.
Sharpe Bros inducted into the Paul Harris Society
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L-R Bruce Allen – Rotary Foundation , the Sharpe Brothers and Monica Saville – District Governor
Rotary President Richard Sharpe
Sharpe Bros has been inducted into the Paul Harris Society.
Acknowledging Sharpe Bros efforts, Rotary Foundation spokesperson Terry Davies said “Your contribution to the Rotary Foundation supports our goal of advancing international understanding, goodwill and peace. Your participation in the Paul Harris Society is an especially meaningful and significant commitment”
The Paul Harris Society is named after Paul P.Harris, founder of Rotary International.
Paul Harris Society contributions to The Rotary Foundation support a wide range of humanitarian grants and educational programs that enable Rotarians to bring hope and promote international understanding throughout the world.
The Rotary Foundation is a not-for-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely by voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of the Foundation who share its vision of a better world.
The Foundation was created in 1917 by Rotary International's sixth president, Arch C. Klumph, as an endowment fund for Rotary "to do good in the world." It has grown from an initial contribution of US$26.50 only to more than US$55 million.
Sharpe Bros wins Innovation Award
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L-R Hayden Sharpe, Member for Terrigal Chris Hartcher, Michael Sharpe, Richard Sharpe.
The Member for Terrigal, Chris Hartcher MP has congratulated Sharpe Bros for the Innovation Award won for the Sidewinder technology.
Diversity and ingenuity were celebrated at the 6th annual Central Coast Manufacturers Association Innovation Awards held recently at Terrigal’s Crowne Plaza.
Sharpe Bros were recognised for the award winning Sidewinder technology which provides fast and cost effective road edge repair.
The company is a leader in the roads industry and when it comes to widening roads, Sharpe Bros has the leading edge.
Hotmix asphalt has been found to provide a strong road edge quickly and efficiently. A job which would normally take at least a week, from digging up the road to the final bitumen sealing, can be completed in a day at a much lower cost.
The Sidewinder technology can also pave road base and recycled gravels.
Wider road edges mean safer roads for motorists. The Federal Office of Road Safety has found that when traffic lanes are widened by just one metre, the rate of head-on and run-off road crashes can fall by 20 per cent.
To see the Sidewinder technology in action, visit www.sharpebros.com.au/video.
Sharpe Bros wins NSW Family Business of the Year Award
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(L-R) David Koch, Beavan Elliot - ANZ Bank, Hayden, Richard and Michael Sharpe, Terry Rowney – Family Business Australia
The company was congratulated on the important contribution it makes to the community, and the close relationships the managers have with their employees.
As an award winner, Sharpe Bros demonstrated a solid record of financial performance and stability, respect within its field, commitment to the ideas of family business and good corporate citizenship through community involvement.
Sharpe Bros wins prestigious national safety award
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L-R Hayden Sharpe, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Julia Gillard, Richard Sharpe, Member for Robertson Belinda Neal, Michael Sharpe.
Sharpe Bros has taken out the “Best Workplace Health and Safety Practices in Small Business” prize in the 2008 National Safe Work Awards.
After winning the NSW WorkCover Award for Best Practices in Workplace Health and Safety, Sharpe Bros. has gone on to win the National Award.
The Award was presented by Deputy Prime Minister, The Hon. Julia Gillard MP to brothers Michael, Richard and Hayden Sharpe at a ceremony in the Great Hall of Parliament House, Canberra, on Monday 28 April, coinciding with international activities for World Day for Safety and Health at Work.
The family owned business developed an innovative response to complacency in the workplace by creating a playful green mascot – Safety Bro - to promote occupational health and safety around their worksites.
Sharpe Bros. spokesperson, Michael Sharpe, said the original idea developed from the iconic Big Brother character from George Orwell’s novel ‘Nineteen eighty-four’ who is always watching and ever-present.
“Unlike the oppressive Big Brother, however, Safety Bro is a nice guy and soon became everybody’s best mate. Safety Bro has become an integral member of the team and has inspired renewed enthusiasm for safety issues,” Mr Sharpe said.
“Safety Bro stickers are plastered all over our worksites and machines, we send his safety messages in regular text messages and OHS announcements, and he even has his own website and MySpace page.
“Safety Bro’s encouraging messages about safe work practices such as ‘What would Safety Bro think?’ have become favourite catch-cries for our staff.”
The National Safe Work Australia Awards, organised by the Australian Safety and Compensation Council, are the premier national OHS awards in Australia. The Awards promote continuous improvement in OHS by recognising excellence at the government, organisational and individual level.
Chairman of the Australian Safety and Compensation Council, Mr Bill Scales, said Sharpe Bros had created a great concept and had shown terrific initiative resulting in an improvement in the safety culture of the business.
“Sharpe Bros successfully utilised marketing and information technology channels making a fun and easily integrated concept accessible at a range of different levels,” Mr Scales said.
The innovative and interactive Safety Bro program is now available to other companies looking to reinvigorate concern for safety in their workplaces.
Further information about Safety Bro can be found at www.safetybro.com.au.
Sustainability - Business Connect article from the NSW Business Chamber
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Why dig up the whole road, when you can repair just the damaged areas with minimum disruption to the environment, residents and motorists.
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Central Coast Geared for Growth
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Left: Mr Hugh McKay, Westpac Senior Economist. Middle: The team from Westpac Business Banking Centre. Right: Celebrating the Opening, Hayden Sharpe with Manager Brad Coxon.
November 2007
Opening a new Business Banking Centre at Erina, on the Central Coast, reflects Westpac’s confidence in the region according to local Westpac Commercial Manager, Gerard O’Hearn. The new Westpac Banking Centre was officially opened by the Sharpe Family who have been customers of Westpac for more than 40 years. The opening was also attended by Tim Harrington, Westpac’s General Manager for Commercial and Regional Banking along with Mr Hugh McKay, Westpac’s International Economist.
Thanking the Sharpe Family, Mr O’Hearn said “As a token of our appreciation for the time and effort you put in to making the opening a superb experience for our guests, Westpac has made a donation to the Salvation Army. On behalf of Westpac I would like to extend our sincere thanks to the Sharpe Group of Companies for taking the time to officially open the Erina Westpac Business Banking Centre.”
"Safety Bro" Program wins Workcover award
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L-R Anny Slater, Parliamentary Secretary for Industrial Relations, Virginia Judge MP, Michael Sharpe, WorkCover CEO, Jon Blackwell and Hayden Sharpe.
Sharpe Bros."Safety Bro" Program is the Workcover NSW State Winner for the Best Workplace Health and Safety Practices in Small Business.
The WorkCover NSW Safe Work Awards were held on the 25th October 2007 at the Homebush Convention Centre, with more than 450 guests attending the inaugural black tie gala dinner.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industrial Relations, Virginia Judge MP, presented the awards at the fourth annual Safe Work Awards at Homebush Bay.
There were a record 111 entries with 17 finalists in this year’s awards from which six recipients were announced in front of over 450 people.
The annual awards showcase innovation and excellence and recognise best practice by highlighting industry achievement in workplace safety and Ms Judge said it was encouraging to see such a high standard of entries with ingenious solutions developed by employers and workers as part of their commitment to create safer workplaces.
Award winners were chosen following a rigorous judging process, by a panel made up of WorkCover representatives, Unions, Employer Groups and Specialist OHS bodies.
Safety Bro is a champion of safety in the workplace who encourages important safety and injury prevention through a fun and effective way of saying, “Safety Bro is working with you” and “What would Safety Bro think?” A range of stickers are prominently displayed around worksites. Safety Bro also has a dedicated website and MySpace page, which are used to issue regular text messages and OHS announcements.
Judges Comments - This is a great small business application of an awareness campaign, involving their staff in the development, gaining ownership by the workers and involving their families through the web and events that encourage further safety awareness. This is an innovative response to complacency in the workplace, while maintaining genuine enthusiasm and a family business feel through integration of safety into their work.
Sidewinder TV news
The official launch of Sharpe Bros. Sidewinder technologies.
Sidewinder launch day
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L-R Michael, Hayden & Richard Sharpe
Michael Daley with Member for Gosford Marie Andrews
NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Roads Michael Daley MP
Federal Roads Minister Jim Lloyd inspecting Sidewinder
The New South Wales Parliamentary Secretary for Roads, Michael Daley MP, officially launched the latest Sidewinder technologies from Sharpe Bros in Gosford on Friday 20th July 2007.
Guests included Member for Gosford, Marie Andrews MP, Member for Terrigal, Chris Hartcher MP, Kevin Redmond from the NRMA and the Federal Roads Minister, Jim Lloyd MP.
Decaying road edges that result in narrowed pavements and hazardous edge drop-offs have for a long time posed a danger to motorists. According to the Federal Office of Road Safety, when traffic lanes are widened by just one metre, the rate of head on and run-off-road crashes can fall by 20%.
The Sharpe Bros. Patented and Patent pending Sidewinder technologies provide unique processes which extend the life of the pavement without the need to dig up large sections of road or cause major disruptions to traffic.
The Sidewinder process involves using a profiler machine which cuts a neat one metre wide trench at 100mm depth along the road edge without the need to dig up a wider section of road. This is followed by the purpose built machinery for pouring hotmix asphalt into the excavated trench. The hot-mix asphalt has been found to provide a strong road edge quickly and efficiently. Jobs which would normally take at least a week, from digging up the road, to the final bitumen sealing, can be completed in a day at a much lower cost.
When greater depth is required, the profiler can excavate to 300mm and the road edge can be rebuilt using gravel, road base, or even recycled materials to make the base at the road edge stronger.
Road works to support art works with $25,000 donation
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The Sharpe Brothers with L-R Member for Wyong - David Harris MP, Member for Gosford - Marie Andrews MP & Kevin Faulks - Wyong Chamber of Commerce
Artists on the Central Coast will receive a significant boost through a major donation made by a local company.Famous for their green colour, Gosford civil contracting and road maintenance company, Sharpe Bros announced on 11th May 2007 that they would continue their proud association with the Gosford Regional Gallery, pledging $25,000 over five years to support Australian artists.
Speaking at a Gala event held at the Gallery, Joint Managing Director of the company, Michael Sharpe, said the funding would secure sponsorship of the Sharpe Bros Art Prize, the Sharpe Bros Roadworkers Prize and the Sharpe Bros Emerging Young Artist Prize until 2012.
“Road works and art works might seem like an odd pair, but our guys find it very rewarding to be able to support the Gosford Gallery, which is such an important cultural and educational resource for the Central Coast and the greater Australian art community,” Mr Sharpe said.
Gosford Regional Gallery Curator, Tim Braham, said the Friends of the Gallery and local artists were very grateful for the Sharpe Bros support.
“This funding will support the Gallery in showcasing the talents of emerging and established artists from across Australia, giving them a chance to gain public exposure and providing encouragement to pursue their passion,” Mr Braham said.
L-R Richard Sharpe, "Emerging" Winner Rosita Holmes, Michael Sharpe, Hon. Jim Lloyd MP Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Hayden Sharpe
The family run Sharpe Bros company has a long history of community involvement through donations, partnerships, volunteering and sponsorships throughout the Central Coast area and has been making a positive and meaningful contribution to the community for more than 50 years.
Federal Member for Robertson and Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads, Jim Lloyd, said it was encouraging to see a local company with such a sense of community spirit.
“I’ve seen the company’s equipment helping out in times of need such as during floods and bushfires. They’re there to lend a hand during the good times too, taking part in street parades and community clean up days,” Mr Lloyd said.
Mr Sharpe said he considered Sharpe Bros staff members were creative artists in their own right having used their natural talents to develop a unique set of award winning equipment to quickly and cost-effectively widen and repair road edges.
“We looked at the traditional methods of road repair, which were time consuming and costly, and thought there must be a better way. So, we went back to a blank canvas and came up with an innovative design and process that is now being used on roads across NSW," Mr Sharpe said.
Roadworkers Prize
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A team of 10 roadworkers have dusted off their work boots to select the winner of the 2007 Sharpe Bros Roadworkers Prize.
The winner of this year’s Roadworkers Prize is Huang He for his oil-on-canvas work, ‘Silent City’. Mr He is an internationally renowned artist, and is currently in China where he has been invited to work on public sculpture.
Roadworker Jason Hodge said he and his colleagues selected the artwork from the hundreds of entries because of the quality of the painting and because the image itself appealed to them.
“The streetscape depicts a six-lane highway during an unusually quiet moment. We’re always out fixing roads that are busy with traffic and noisy with machinery. It’s good to reflect on the stillness and peacefulness of the road in the painting,” Mr Hodge said.
Australian honours
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L-R Michael and Richard Sharpe, The Governor: Professor Marie Bashir AC, Ron Sharpe OAM, Hayden Sharpe
L-R Hayden Sharpe, Superintendent Bruce Lyons, Michael & Richard Sharpe, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione
Richard, Hayden and Michael Sharpe were pleased to be with their father when he was appointed to the NSW State Committee of The Order of Australia Association. Ron Sharpe was awarded the Order of Australia Medal at Government House by the Governor, Professor Marie Bashir AC.