Southern electricity distribution management company PowerNet is this year’s Workplace Injury Prevention Award winner, announced at the event’s Gala Dinner on Friday (17 November 2023).
PowerNet is an Invercargill-based joint venture network management company owned by Electricity Invercargill Ltd and The Power Company Ltd. It operates and manages over $1 billion of assets and investments in the Southern region.
PowerNet Chief Executive Jason Franklin says, “The award was for Workplace Injury Prevention with our entry of our innovative Critical Control Framework (CCF) digital tool. It is not only improving the management of critical risks, meaning more people are likely to go home unharmed, but it is also leading how we bring safety, consistency, and clarity to managing and making all decisions relating to everyday critical safety points in all our on-the-job operational work. This is crucial to our business success.”
The CCF was developed in partnership between PowerNet and Australian-based technology company Risk Mentor. The CCF is a powerful digital tool that connects people directly with operational processes using a mobile phone or tablet. The tool is a significant step forward in achieving consistency in critical safety practices by replacing three separate paper-based tools. Risk Mentor digital tool is now available in New Zealand, and details can be found on www.rmde.co.nz.
Before starting a job, field teams use the CCF to ensure the right controls are in place to manage critical safety risks. The impressive list of features provided by the CCF includes links to field safety actions with legislative obligations and the EEA industry safety rules, an onsite audit trail for ‘as found and as left’ (beneficial when working with Councils); information detailing where project managers and leaders need to improve work-pack information relating to critical controls; verification of critical controls; improved reporting; and the ability to increase workers’ understanding and knowledge of effectively managing risks.
Digital technology is transforming every aspect of our lives, providing endless opportunities for improvement, including in the health and safety of employees and others working around electricity.
“We are committed to providing a modern, more practical, and efficient way of ensuring the health and safety of our employees. As a result of our focus on critical risk controls and other safety initiatives, our incident rate has dropped dramatically,” says Mr Franklin.

L/R: The Grand Business South Awards category sponsors Josh Keogh, Pro Civil Construction, PowerNet team members Hamish Prentice, Warren Dobson, Kewal Bagal, Brad Rogers, Rangi Solomon and Dean Carey, Pro Civil Construction.