We all want our community to go home healthy after a day at work, and imperative to Essendon Fields, is to make that happen. With 100 hectares of developable land, and mission to repurpose and restore our heritage buildings, construction is a regular occurrence in the Fields, with safety at the top of the agenda.

Nobody knows that agenda better than Maben Group who specialise in providing Construction Management. A key partner at Essendon Fields, they have undertaken eight projects within the precinct over the past few years, including the delivery of new training centres for Porsche, Volkswagen and Kia, and major refurbishment of Essendon Fields Central.

Whilst managing safety in construction projects is always a key priority, working in an airport environment brings its own unique set of considerations, including the coordination of cranes so as not to impact aircraft operations, and working closely with Air Services, the Airport Building Controller and the Airport planning and operations team.

As part of Essendon Fields Health and Safety month, we spoke to the Maben team to learn more about their approach and experience managing safety on construction projects.

Leading occupational health and safety (OH&S) standards on Maben’s construction sites is dedicated manager, Bonny Pignatelli. Mr Pignatelli holds extensive knowledge of the commercial construction industry, with an auditing certificate and a Diploma of Work Health and Safety. He works closely with on-site teams to implement and manage a fully integrated management system that incorporates safety, quality, and environment.

“Maben Group’s objective is to safely execute high risk construction works to the highest standards across all projects, while maintaining consistent safety management systems between project teams,’’ said Mr Pignatelli.

“Driven by the concerted effort of the company directors, Maben has maintained an excellent safety culture since its inception. The company continually promotes its safety ethos and facilitates regular training programs with all Maben personnel through our OH&S Management team and external safety consultants to further strengthen our approach to performance and commitment to safety.’’

At its Essendon Fields projects, Maben always have a dedicated team of two workers on site full time, with a further crew of four employees working remotely behind the scenes assisting in roles ranging from safety to project delivery roles. Maintaining the highest levels of OH&S standards also means being adaptable to changing circumstances and reacting quickly within their team.

The company recalls working on a site at Essendon Fields during the early stages of COVID-19 when a worker tested positive.

“This was during a period in the pandemic that contact tracing and reporting was crucial in controlling the spread of the disease. The team was quick to close the site down, extract worker movement data and work in conjunction with WorkSafe to ensure no workers, visitors or members of public were affected. It was because of Maben’s COVID-19 safety controls and High Risk Management plan that nobody was affected, and work was able to continue soon after,” said Mr Pignatelli.

“This was definitely a moment in time where the stringent safety protocols and diligent processes proved to be of a very high standard. Both WorkSafe and the Victorian Department of Health commended us on our efforts.”

Essendon Fields Health and Safety Month | October 2022

We’re promoting all things health, safety, and wellness this October at Essendon Fields. From personal wellbeing, to safety at work and across our airport operations, we welcome our community to learn, engage and get involved. Visit more via www.ef.com.au/healthandsafety.