
1-2 March 2017
Rotorua, NEW ZEALAND
7-8 March 2017
Melbourne, AUSTRALIA
The Forest Industry Safety & Technology conference showcases new practices, systems and tools for improving forest safety – focused on local and practical outcomes.
2017 Event Summary
The event saw a wide range of new safety technologies showcased. The speed of adoption by practical forestry people was extremely encouraging. Many innovators provided a detailed overview of the safety outcomes and resuits for their teams and clients.
For the first time, FIEA has teamed up with the Forest Industry Safety Council (FISC) to organise a workshop as part of the Safety Summit. A series of workshops and panel sessions enabled a lot of interaction – from the forest floor to the CEOs.
Two key technology speakers where:
- Richard Lawler, Director of Engineering, Forestry for John Deere Forestry from USA. Richard has worked closely with developments in steep slope harvesting in both North America and New Zealand.
- Jim French is an industry solutions specialist across Australasia for Teletrac Navman. For over 20 years he has shared his passion for GPS asset tracking with practical contractors to satisfy their needs.
Nathan Trushell, Acting CEO VicForests, said that the summit is a great way to remind industry of the importance of keeping their employees safe at work. “Safety is the most important part of our jobs within the forestry industry,” Mr Trushell said. “I can’t stress enough the responsibility we all hold to ensure each and every one of our workers can come to a safe work environment every day and make it home to their family each night”.
“It is our overarching goal to achieve zero harm in everything we do. We made great strides towards this goal last year by reaching a period of 12 consecutive months without any staff lost time injuries as well as a 50 percent reduction in contractor lost time injuries”.
“However, forestry is a dangerous job and our operations and activities must always be carried out with safety in mind. Safety needs to be at the core of everything we do to minimise the risk and ensure we have a safe workforce”.
The Forest Safety Summit was all about creating a culture of safety. A major take-away from the event was how a positive safety culture moves beyond training. Companies need to regularly review practices and consider new and improved ways to go about doing our jobs. Most importantly, it is the role of all of us to show leadership within our organisations to ensure we drive a culture of safety for the sake of our staff, our families and our businesses.
Updates

Contact
FIEA
Since 1998 the Forest Industry Engineering Association (FIEA), a division of Innovatek Ltd, has run an extensive series of technology related events for Australasian forest products companies. Over 200 conferences, trade shows and exhibitions have been run for local companies.
FIEA’s objective is to improve the performance and productive capability of forestry and wood products companies in the region. It is now recognized as one of the most effective information providers for the Australasian forestry & wood products industries.
FIEA Contact Details
(+64) 7 921 1382
1800 126 398 (from Australia)
- Rotorua Office
Forest Industry Engineering Association
Building X91, Sala Street,
Rotorua 3010, New ZealandPO Box 1230,
Rotorua 3040, New ZealandPh (+64) 7 921 1382
- Dunedin Office
Forest Industry Engineering Association
c/o Distinction Dunedin Hotel,
6 Liverpool Street,
Dunedin 9016, New ZealandPO Box 904,
Dunedin 9054, New ZealandPh (+64) 3 470 1902
Forest Industry Engineering Association: A division of Innovatek Ltd