Presented by Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, YMCA Victoria were one of six individuals and organisations recognised in the National Aquatic Industry Safety Awards for their significant contribution to aquatic safety within their community.
YMCA Victoria were awarded Excellence in Incident Management for the development of their centralised Incident Management Procedure.
In 2016 YMCA Victoria identified that a formal organisational approach was required to be adopted in the management of incidents.
Following extensive consultation with all areas of the organisation in December 2016, YMCA Victoria introduced its new Incident Management Procedure to effectively streamline incident response and management across all facilities, programs and sectors across the state. The goal of the procedure was to minimise the risk of incidents by identifying and remedying root causes.
Nathan Simandl, Senior Health, Safety and Environment Advisor, YMCA Victoria said the team have worked really hard to creative safer places for their diverse community.
“Getting this right took two years, consulting with senior managers and on the ground staff to ensure our Incident Management Procedure wasn’t just words on a page, but something tangible and practical.”
The awards are an initiative of the National Aquatic Industry Safety Committee to acknowledge the achievements of aquatic facilities and individuals towards improving health and safety outcomes.
Nathan said winning Excellence in Incident Management reassures their efforts.
“We are absolutely thrilled to win this award, and thank the National Aquatic Industry Safety Committee for recognising the hard work of our people who commit to the health and safety of everyone who comes into our facilities,” said Nathan Simandl, Health Safety and Environment Manager, YMCA Victoria.
Between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2015, there were 293 drowning incidents in public and commercial pools across Australia. Thirty-six of these were fatal (12%).[1]
Craig Roberts, National Manager Operations, Royal Life Saving Society – Australia said, “Drowning deaths and incidents at aquatic facilities are lower than other popular aquatic locations, however, we are continually working to reduce this to 0.”
“There are some great initiatives which are creating safer aquatic environments for children and adults across the country. The awards were established to recognise these efforts and inspire others to review and further develop their own health and safety policies and procedures.”
Highlight videos have been produced of each winner which were released on the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia Facebook page as part of the online media launch. The overall winners will be announced from the 27th August.
[1] Mahony, A, Peden, AE, Roberts, C, Barnsley, P (2018) A 10 year analysis of drowning in Aquatic Facilities: Exploring risk at Communal, Public and Commercial swimming pools, Royal Life Saving Society - Australia
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