It was critical to the team at Winstone Wallboards that no one would be injured on site during construction or in operations, a goal that shaped the overall design strategy. Machine safety and risk management company TEG Risk and Sustainability Services was brought onboard from the get-go to lead the Safety in Design process, applying their specialist knowledge to identify risks and embed safety into the project.

Winstone Wallboards worked with TEG and overseas vendors for nearly two years before construction even began. This included weekly calls conduct risk assessments, HAZOPs, and design reviews. A significant time investment to ensure safety would be considered throughout all stages. “If you start with safety, everything else follows,” says Shaun Sanders, Winstone Wallboards Tauranga Engineering Manager, a driving force behind the design and installation of the plant.

For TEG Risk Director and founder Hamish Baker, the Tauranga Facility has been a dream project. Baker was engaged in the project from end-to-end, and even developed an app to make risk assessment and safety information accessible to Winstone Wallboards operators on mobile devices. Baker believes that Safety in Design is not something that New Zealand does particularly well, and that Australia is ahead, making this project a significant step in the right direction.

One of the stand-out features of the facility is a groundbreaking remote isolation system that enables large sections of the plant to be quickly and safely isolated.

Says Sanders, “Isolation is often a complex and overlooked part of industrial safety and in many cases it’s misused to gain time advantages in manufacturing. I led the initial design and sent it out for peer review among industry experts to ensure we were meeting the highest standards. We received a number of recommendations and made the decision to implement every single one — not just the required ones — because we believed that every step toward protecting our people was worth it. I believe this is a groundbreaking development in Safety in Design for New Zealand and I’d encourage other companies to look at what we’ve done and consider adopting similar measures.”

Plant layout was uniquely designed to minimise the overlap of zones in hazardous areas (resulting in reduced compliance requirements, fewer ignition sources and enhanced safety), and alternative solutions were found to address Fletcher Building’s non-negotiable safety rules (such as working under suspended loads).

These are just a few of the ways the team has reduced risk, but it was development of ‘Appendix A’ — a contractual document outlining the key safety features and standards the plant had to meet — that was the real game-changer.

Baker says, “Winstone Wallboards got very detailed in their contract specifications, so that nothing was left open to interpretation. By setting expectations early, they avoided time-consuming discussions around what did or didn’t need to be done. That meant there were no distractions to take away from the core objective — to build the safest plant possible and get it up and running.”

Not only that, but by building robust safety processes into the contract, the supplier couldn’t just build the plant – they had to have their risk assessment reviewed and signed off before they did so. made ‘Appendix A’ the first dependency in every contract. It was the first document anyone saw, and it clearly demonstrated our commitment to safety.

Winstone Wallboards’ Tauranga Facility is a shining example of how Safety in Design can be embedded from the very outset of a project and deliver an outstanding result. And that’s a lesson Sanders believes could be applied right across the sector.

“When people understand what they’re trying to achieve and why it matters, it creates alignment and momentum. We developed a strong foundational framework that guided our decisions throughout. So when questions came up about specific machines or processes, we could refer back to our original documents — and that clarity often resolved issues before they escalated.”
That’s not to say it didn’t also dish up a few challenges.

“Those high expectations created some very complex engineering challenges, which we spent years working through collaboratively — both here in New Zealand and with our international partners. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it to ensure we achieved the level of safety we set out to deliver.”

Winstone Wallboards hasn’t just built a new plasterboard manufacturing facility — they’ve embedded safety into its DNA, from concept to completion. Designed to ensure continuity of supply across New Zealand, this new plant will meet growing demand in the construction sector for many decades to come. But was it worth the considerable investment?

“Absolutely,” says Sanders.

“I don’t see it as a financial burden at all — I see it as a cost-saving measure. Done well, it delivers value throughout the design phase, into manufacturing and long into operations. Even if it were purely a financial investment, the moment someone gets hurt, the cost to the business becomes irrelevant. The personal cost to that individual — and their family — is something you can’t put a price on. That’s why we do it.”

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