Let's hear another story from the frontline of BAI Communications.
Meet Greg, BT4 Technical Specialist, based in Brisbane.
Greg works across southeast Queensland and Northern New South Wales. He’s spent time working as a Team Leader with a team of ten people. They are responsible for 173 sites in their area, which extends west to Toowoomba and Glen Innes, and south to Ballina.
Late Summer.
A low pressure system slowly moving south.
A landslide cuts access to Mount Nardi
With the New South Wales Northern Rivers region experiencing severe flooding, maintaining services was no easy task. A severe landslide cut off the only access track to Mount Nardi, which connects the peak to the township of Nimbin.
As the peak remained isolated, it soon became essential to supply the site with fuel, enough to power the generator and keep services to air. Greg’s challenge was to ensure a six-wheel army truck, carrying 1000L of fuel, could reach the site.
Gathering information in preparation
Greg’s role was to coordinate efforts, acting as an interface between people on the mountain, local authorities and emergency services
Knowledge of the area and local conditions was critical. High on the mountain, local residents were able to describe the landslide’s location to Greg.
The local council cleared an access through the landslide, but sending the large army vehicle up alone was risky.
Instead, Greg coordinated a reconnaissance using a smaller four-wheel-drive vehicle. The driver identified tight bends and challenges — critical information to allow the army vehicle to pass through safely. With that guidance, the fuel was safely delivered.
Friday afternoon gets rough
After successfully making it to Mount Nardi, the six-wheeler had just the return trip to go. But that’s when things became more difficult. Let’s hear Greg explain.
After the truck came to a stop, the driver emerged safe. However, the truck was blocking the track and perched on the edge of a very wet slope.
The driver makes a good call
The driver realised that getting the truck off the side of the mountain was beyond his capabilities and gave Greg a call.
A few conversations later and Greg knew that the local council had an excavator finishing up work for the day at the foot of the mountain. Listen as Greg explains what happened.
Greg had a solution, but there was work to be done still. The council needed confirmation from BAI that risk was being managed, and systems were in place for both organisations to protect people and assets.
Greg quickly had the right people involved to give the rescue the green light.
With the excavator in front for extra traction and stability, the six-wheeler slowly descended the mountain.
When an extreme weather event happens, always make a good call.
Get a copy of the guidance notes
Your quick summary of the critical controls we use at BAI to control our critical risks.
Thank you for taking the time to learn how we stay safe at BAI Communications during and after an extreme weather event.
Being someone you can rely on is all about making two good calls. Getting them right could make all the difference.
- Check in — every time, no exceptions.
- Stop, assess the risk, then act.
If you need more support to control critical risks in your work, talk to your team leader. You can also contact the Health & Safety team for any additional help managing safety risks.
