Richglen wins Safety Foremost Award
Richglen team members celebrate the Safety Foremost Award win.
Safety is more than a priority at Richglen. It’s the way we work.
On Friday night, we were proud to be named the winner of the Safety Foremost Award at the 2026 Resource Industry Network Awards in Mackay.
The Resource Industry Network, known as RIN, is a not-for-profit industry association representing the region’s resources sector and allied industries. RIN connects, develops, promotes and advocates for its members and the broader industry.
This is the second consecutive year Richglen has been recognised at the RIN Awards, following our win in the Champion Culture Award category in 2025. For us, the two awards are closely connected.
A strong safety culture starts with people who feel valued, supported and confident to speak up. It’s built through genuine care, shared responsibility and a commitment to looking out for one another.
Richglen Managing Director and Founder Matt Borg said the Safety Foremost Award belonged to the team members who bring our safety culture to life every day.
“This award belongs to our people,” Matt said.
“It reflects the care they show for one another and the decisions they make every day to keep themselves and their teammates safe.
“To be recognised for our culture last year and safety this year means a lot because, for us, the two go hand in hand. When people feel supported and genuinely care about one another, safer outcomes follow.”
300,000 hours and thousands of safe decisions
In 2026, we achieved more than 300,000 Recordable Injury Free Hours across our operations.
View Richglen’s finalist video package for the 2026 RIN Awards.
It’s a milestone our whole team should be proud of and strong evidence of the culture recognised through the Safety Foremost Award at the 2026 RIN Awards.
Behind every hour is a person making a decision with someone’s wellbeing in mind.
Someone taking the time to review a plan. Someone identifying a hazard or verifying that a critical control is in place. Someone asking a question, starting a direct conversation or speaking up when something doesn’t feel right. And someone looking out for the person working beside them.
“Achieving 300,000 Recordable Injury Free Hours is something our whole team should be proud of,” Matt said.
“A milestone like this doesn’t come down to one person or one initiative. It comes from our people taking responsibility, having direct conversations and genuinely looking out for one another.
“Every hour represents decisions made with people’s wellbeing at the centre.”
Our teams have also achieved more than 900 consecutive Lost Time Injury Free days. These outcomes extend into the complex work we deliver for our clients.
Across two overlapping major dragline shutdowns at Callide and Rolleston, our teams completed a combined 66,700 Recordable Injury Free work hours over 60 days.
This included more than 33,700 injury-free work hours at Callide and 33,000 injury-free work hours during the 28-day Rolleston shutdown.
Both projects involved complex mechanical, structural and electrical scopes. Detailed planning, early risk reviews, effective supervision and strong collaboration across our teams supported their safe delivery.
These results matter. They show what’s possible when safety is considered at every stage of the work and people have the planning, support and confidence they need to make safe decisions.
Safety through accountability
Our winning submission, Safety Through Accountability: A Culture of Learning and Leadership, demonstrated how accountability, psychological safety, strong leadership and continuous learning shape the way we work.
At Richglen, accountability isn’t about blame. It’s about being honest when something goes wrong, understanding what we can learn and making practical changes that better protect our people.
One example was our response to a serious vehicle incident involving one of our team members. Rather than keeping the experience within our business, we openly shared what happened, the contributing factors and what we had learned with our team members, clients and the wider community. The campaign reached more than 73,000 people and encouraged important conversations about road safety, personal responsibility and the decisions we make every time we get behind the wheel.
As Matt said at the time:
“If sharing our experience prevents just one more incident, then it’s a conversation worth having.”
That message continues to guide our approach. Every incident, hazard, observation and review presents an opportunity to learn. Sharing those lessons and turning them into practical improvements can help prevent someone else from being hurt.
Creating a workplace where people feel safe to speak up
Our commitment to safety extends beyond physical risks.
We want every Richglen team member to feel respected, supported and confident to ask for help. We also want our people to know they can raise a concern, challenge an unsafe behaviour or stop a task and know they will be heard.
This commitment is supported through:
Accredited Mental Health First Aiders across our business
Confidential counselling and wellbeing services through our Employee Assistance Program
Peer support and wellbeing check-ins
Early intervention
Leadership engagement
Open conversations about mental health and wellbeing
These formal programs are important. Psychological safety is also created through everyday behaviour.
It’s built when someone feels heard. It grows when a leader takes the time to listen. It becomes part of our culture when people know their wellbeing will always come first.
We believe psychological safety supports physical safety. When people feel safe to speak up, safer workplaces follow.
Turning lessons into action
Continuous improvement only matters when learning changes the way we work.
Our approach includes:
Bowtie Risk Assessments
Critical Control Verification Activities
JSA Quality Reviews
Supervisor development and JSA training
Practical toolbox talks and safety resources
Structured reviews following Priority Learning Events
Sharing lessons across our operations
Together, these initiatives help our teams identify risks earlier, strengthen work planning and verify that the controls designed to protect people are effective.
Following a Priority Learning Event involving a foreign body eye injury, for example, we reviewed how personal protective equipment was removed after exposure to swarf and airborne debris. Our teams introduced magnetic wands, vacuum systems and a structured PPE removal process to remove particles from helmets, hoods and clothing before PPE was taken off. We then embedded these improvements into our procedures and work practices to reduce the risk of a similar injury occurring again.
That is what continuous improvement means to us.
Learn from the event.
Listen to our people.
Make the change.
Share the lesson.
Proud of the recognition. Focused on what comes next.
Winning the Safety Foremost Award at the 2026 RIN Awards gives us an opportunity to recognise the people who made it possible.
To every Richglen team member who takes the time to plan properly, asks a question, shares a lesson, challenges an unsafe practice or checks on a teammate, this award belongs to you. We also thank our clients and contracting partners for supporting our commitment to safe work across every project and operation. Thank you to the Resource Industry Network and everyone involved in bringing the 2026 RIN Awards together.
We’re proud to have been recognised for our culture in 2025.
We’re proud to be recognised for safety in 2026.
And we’re proud to have achieved more than 300,000 Recordable Injury Free Hours in 2026.
These achievements show how far we’ve come. Our focus remains on what matters most: taking care of our people and ensuring everyone returns home safely.
Think Safe, Work Safe, Home Safe
Driven by Progress. Powered by Our People
