After a brief hiatus, your favorite podcast 'Health and Safety Unplugged' is back on the airwaves! We've used our break to take the podcast to new heights, and we are thrilled to share what we've been working on.
We've had the pleasure of engaging in enlightening discussions with experts across various fields, from health and safety law to mental health, wellbeing, business marketing, information security, and executive leadership all geared toward excelling your professional journey.
Sponsorship and guest speaker opportunities remain available. Reach out direct: info@advancedsafety.co.nz
How to Report Critical Risk to a Board Without Drowning Them in Data
Most safety board reports get skimmed. Matthew Bray asked his board a simple question first: what do you actually want to know? The answer killed a 50-page report with 200 graphs and 47 KPIs and replaced it with a single page. Now every manager sends one page, the board reads all of them, and the feedback comes back.Matthew is Health and Safety Manager at Blackhead Quarries and a member of the NZHSP Safety Connect community. He moved from healthcare into quarrying five months ago and spent the first two months doing nothing but listening. In this episode he unpacks what changed as a result.What we cover:- Why he unlearned nothing moving industries, and learned everything instead- The line that won a room of 30 quarrymen in one sentence- Working with WorkSafe as a guide rather than a threat- Reclassifying incident severity so the board only sees what matters- Rebuilding pre-start checks site by site, live, with the manager's iPad in hand- Making a photo mandatory so a tick box becomes real evidence- QR codes on assets to cut 40 items of scrolling down to one scan- Inspections lifting from 200 to 250 to 318 a month- A tyre bulge spotted, reported and fixed inside 24 hours, and why the machine stayed on the road- Buying TVs for the staff rooms so safety alerts stop getting buried under someone's lunchbox- The standard you leave at the end of the day is the standard the next shift starts fromMatthew's closing thought: health and safety is not about controlling people. Understand the work properly and you design systems that make it easier, not harder. Then people stop complaining about safety and start believing in it.Health & Safety Unplugged is hosted by Matt Jones, founder of Advanced Safety and the New Zealand Health and Safety Professionals network.Join NZHSP Safety Connect: https://safety-connect.circle.so/join?invitation_token=128727fdd51ef687ad0b0a602e5419c35caab02d-9b2559d9-e0e0-4750-aa6b-c852a54852d7Safety Summit 2026, Christchurch, 15 October: https://www.safetysummit.co.nzAdvanced Safety: https://www.advancedsafety.co.nzSeries 5, Episode 6.#HealthAndSafety #SafetyLeadership #QuarrySafety #NZHSP #BoardReporting #CriticalRisk #SafetyCulture #WorkSafeNZ #HealthAndSafetyUnplugged
8 May 2026
Your Exec Team Isn't Ready. Simulations Don't Lie. | Dave Greenberg | Health & Safety Unplugged
Your exec team isn't ready. And the simulations prove it.Dave Greenberg spent 25 years on the Westpac rescue helicopter in Wellington — 4,000 missions. Now he runs executive crisis simulations across New Zealand and he has never once walked into a boardroom where the CEO doubted their team.The simulations tell a very different story.In this episode we cover:→ Why executives slide from governance into operations when crisis hits→ The gap between assumed readiness and observed behaviour→ What strong executive crisis performance actually looks like (and how rare it is)→ The perishable skill problem — and why your 2022 simulation won't save you→ How small businesses can build genuine resilience without a big budget→ The Santa Claus story every safety leader needs to hearDave Greenberg | Emergency Preparedness ServicesLinkedIn: Dave Greenberg (the only one in NZ)Website: thedavegreenberg.comJoin NZHSP ConnectIf you want deeper conversations, resources and community learning, join NZHSP Connect, our new free professional platform on Circle:https://www.advancedsafety.co.nz/nzhsp-connect-free-community/NZHSP Safety Summit Early Bird Tickets are now available - less than 100 left, sale ends 29 May 2026: https://www.safetysummit.co.nz
16 Feb 2026
You Can’t Break a Business in the Name of Safety | The Real Role of H&S
In Season 5, Episode 4 of Health and Safety Unplugged, Matt Jones speaks with experienced health and safety leader Sarah Thomas about the real role of the modern health and safety professional.
This episode goes beyond compliance and dives into:
Why health & safety professionals fall into the “rescuer” trap
Why you can’t break a business in the name of safety
How to influence boards, executives and frontline teams differently
Speaking in the right “gear” to match your audience
Aligning safety strategy with operational reality
Boundaries, burnout and professional maturity in H&S
If you're a health and safety professional, PCBU, director, operations manager or business leader navigating HSWA responsibilities in New Zealand, this conversation is essential listening.
This is real-world safety leadership - not theory.
Season 5 continues to challenge what it means to lead health and safety well in complex operational environments across construction, manufacturing and high-risk industries.
Join NZHSP Connect
If you want deeper conversations, resources and community learning, join NZHSP Connect, our new free professional platform on Circle:https://safety-connect.circle.so/c/start-here (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbXlJQ0h2bGFiM0IzOUdfX1BiNE9rLUhBNnQzUXxBQ3Jtc0tta2FraXY4RXRKWGdNN1lvcHB1QkpodXVOZEViOTNLUmdEZjV4Tm1qSjNIaGt0c0JKdnRlekhVUkxzZnA5MWRrRTVzdFAxeHY1WWNTblE3LTBITUxsbHJqdkNfdW9EZzN3UGtKYjVzVndpcENUbVBTdw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fsafety-connect.circle.so%2Fjoin%3Finvitation_token%3D128727fdd51ef687ad0b0a602e5419c35caab02d-9b2559d9-e0e0-4750-aa6b-c852a54852d7&v=5pUREp3-bxU)
Join the waitlist for the NZHSP Safety Summit 2026
https://www.safetysummit.co.nz (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkFFUkJVOVAxNVluSFFEOHc1U1RaT2w5eWx6d3xBQ3Jtc0ttczZIT3FNcnBJVFFjNXQxMmxYcXllQ2Vma0tBWS1KRTlqcGFEVGRwd1ItN3JVelpKbWV3YnVXa1VoVm9RTzNaT29tSVRLeG5iMEltZ3dxMVZMeEYwY3l2Smd2cm9QYkpadHFJdnZtSkZyOFFKbU5UQQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.safetysummit.co.nz%2F&v=5pUREp3-bxU)
About the Host – Matt JonesMatt Jones, a HASANZ-registered health and safety professional and founder of Advanced Safety.Matt advises New Zealand business leaders on practical health and safety system design, HSWA compliance and risk management, with a focus on construction, manufacturing, and complex operational environments.
He is also the host of the Health and Safety Unplugged podcast, where he speaks with industry leaders about real-world safety challenges and emerging practice.
Advanced Safety is a New Zealand-based workplace health and safety consultancy providing compliance audits, ISO 45001-aligned systems, risk assessments, and ongoing safety management support for construction, manufacturing and commercial businesses.
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