Safety, every day: Inside Lowe Living’s approach to safety on site

For Lowe Living, safety on site isn’t something that happens once a month, once a week or when an audit is scheduled. It’s part of every work day.

As Project Manager across Elanora Place in Parkdale and Marella in Hampton, Lachlan Caldwell sees first-hand how a strong safety culture is built into the rhythm of a project, from toolbox meetings to site walks and independent audits.

“It’s about making safety part of how we operate, rather than something we just tick a box on,” Lachlan says.

It’s an approach Lowe Living has been developing over the past four to five years, with a focus on creating consistent processes across its construction sites while giving project teams the tools and support to identify risks early and learn from one another.

Ths Worksafe Health and Safety month, we’re proud to reflect on some of the activities we implement every day to ensure our construction sites and team are safe.

Independent review through Pursuit of Zero

Lowe Living works with Pursuit of Zero who conduct random site audits once or twice a month. The independent audits offer another perspective on how each project is tracking, helping the team identify opportunities to improve and ensure safety practices remain consistent as construction progresses.

For Lowe Living, having an external perspective is an important part of the process as it gives us another set of eyes on the site.

Director of Pursuit of Zero Brad Mitchell says: “Lowe Living’s commitment to continuous improvement in workplace safety is second to none. They understand that improving workplace safety is a journey and not a switch you can flick and everything is suddenly perfect. They embrace the challenge of a moving industry and embracing their contractor ecosystem into their safety journey to not only improve the Lowe Living environment but to improve the industry. The consistent habits that the business has stuck to to push safety performance and culture in the right direction has been pleasing to be a part of and we are so excited to continue supporting Lowe Living’s growth”

Weekly site safety walks

Construction sites are constantly changing. As a project moves from excavation and structure through to services, finishes and handover, the risks change with it which means safety needs to be an active conversation.

Site Managers conduct safety walks every week as an absolute minimum, with additional walks introduced during higher-risk stages of construction. These provide an opportunity to look closely at how the site is operating, identify anything that needs attention and make sure the team is prepared for what’s ahead.

Sharing what we learn

Safety doesn’t stop at the individual project. Across Lowe Living’s construction team, wider toolbox meetings provide an opportunity to share learnings from high-risk activities, discuss what’s working and recognise positive safety outcomes.

It means a lesson learned on one site can be carried across to another, creating a more consistent approach across the wider construction portfolio.

The team also makes a point of acknowledging good safety outcomes, reinforcing that safety isn’t simply about identifying what needs to be improved, but recognising the behaviours and decisions that are already contributing to safer sites.

For Lowe Living, the goal is straightforward – to create an environment where people feel informed, supported and confident to speak up.

Ultimately, everyone should be going home safely at the end of the day which comes down to the culture you create on site.

At Lowe Living, that culture is built through everyday conversations, site walks, shared learnings, independent checks and a team that understands safety is everyone’s responsibility.

Because on a construction site, safety isn’t a box to tick. It’s something that needs to be front of mind, every day.