Meet Ben Mascarina - Engineering Cadet
Published 16 December 2020
Hear from one of our Auckland cadets Ben, giving us insight into his journey so far to completing his New Zealand Diploma in Engineering.
My placements at Northpower have been very meaningful in developing my knowledge and character. My most recent placement took place in the Auckland Health and Safety (H&S) department.
With the guidance of my mentors Carl, Dave, Kevin, Lynette and Paul, I have learnt the correct way of conducting audits and writing audit reports. My experience with the H&S team has opened my eyes to procedures, regulations, and Northpower’s current standings with regards to safety. I am so grateful with all the help and expert advice the team has given me about H&S.
One of my biggest learning experiences during this placement was to never compromise safety. As much as anyone in this industry can be working for many years and be very skilled, it is still possible to slip up, make mistakes and overlook small details. When I started my cadetship, I had the impression that only a small amount of incidents occurs in the field. However, my perception was proven wrong when I became more aware about H&S.
Recently, staff from Northpower attended the critical risk controls event. It was sad to hear about the incidents that have taken place and the near misses that could have potentially injured, or taken someone’s life. Just like what one of the victims said in the video, “It all happened in a flash.” Even when procedures are followed, anything can go wrong which is why we should never take safety for granted. We must wear personal protective equipment (PPE), and wear it properly. I am reminded of what Carl always told me that “PPE is the last line of defense when everything else goes wrong”. We must safely follow standards, procedures and processes, and never take any shortcut to complete a task. Something will always go wrong when we skip the necessary steps. Each individual not only needs to ensure their own safety, but also all the other people they work with. We need to ensure safety is paramount.
During my time in H&S, not only was I focused about H&S, but the team taught me something that is also important…growth. I had the time to reflect what I can change about myself and what I can do better. This attitude will benefit the way I work with H&S. Having the right attitude and a positive mindset can also be very useful throughout the way we handle situations and even throughout our career.
There are three things that I would like for each of us to reflect on:
- First is respect. Treating every person with respect is a must. If any person thinks something is unsafe and chooses to speak up or push back, we must learn respect their decision in doing so. Their decision may have not only saved their life, but also their work colleagues. For any new or inexperienced person, do not hesitate to ask questions or speak up.
- Second is about learning to deal with change. Things change. The environment changes. For some people, change is a difficult situation, especially if they have been in the industry for a long period of time. We must be willing to change as the industry strives for continuous improvement in ways to be more efficient, effective and economical, whilst maintaining the highest safety standards. Rules and regulations, policies and procedures, and standards change…but they change for the better. So we too must change so we can keep everyone even more safer at work, and at home.
- Lastly, we need to accept mistakes and be responsible for them. Reporting such things make people become more aware about H&S and we can then plan and find ways to mitigate such risks and events in the future. We must also be open to improvement and advice. This becomes an advantage helping us achieve our highest capabilities and go beyond our expectations on a personal level and more so, for the benefit of our industry.
