- Home
- Promoting health and safety
- Creating mentally healthy workplaces
- Why is work health important?
- Healthy worker
- Working together: Promoting mental health and wellbeing at work
- Mental Health and Wellbeing - Participating and thriving in our workplaces
- Supporting ability at work
- Supporting health, performance and productivity
- Flexible work
- Building a resilient workforce
- Health Benefits of Work
- Roles and responsibilities
- Duty Holders
- Comcare research and innovation approach
- Health and safety representatives
- Investing in Experience: Age diversity in the workplace
- Education & training
- Work health and safety profiles
- Creating mentally healthy workplaces
- Preventing harm
- Early intervention
- Recovery and return to work
- Recovery and rehabilitation
- Roles and responsibilities - rehabilitation
- Workplace Rehabilitation Framework
- Rehabilitation guidelines
- Barriers to Return to Work
- Working with Workplace Rehabilitation Providers
- Rehabilitation assessment
- Medical certificate of capacity
- Capability Products
- National Return to Work Survey
- Workplace rehabilitation provider fee guidance
- Returning to work
- Returning to independence
- Recovery and rehabilitation
- Claims and benefits
- Forms & publications
- Engage
- The scheme
- The SRC Act
- Legislative Instruments and Gazettal Notices under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988
- Information on 2011 SRC Act amendments
- Information on 2009 SRC Act amendments
- Information on the 2007 SRCOLA Amendments
- Rehabilitation
- SRC Regulations Amendments 1988 to 1999
- SRC Regulations Amendments 2000 to 2009
- SRC Regulations Amendments from 2010
- Overview of the Comcare scheme
- The Parliamentary Injury Compensation Scheme
- The WHS Act
- The ARC Act
- Authorities we work with
- Premium paying employers
- Licensees
- Our compliance and enforcement activities
- Guidance on applying the SRC Act
- Regulatory guides
- Regulator Performance Framework
- Cost recovery
- Comparative claims
- Fraud
- Delegated claims management arrangements
- Feedback
- The SRC Act
- About us
- News & media
- Training
- Events
- Careers
Individual Contribution Award: Petty Officer Cameron Symons
Petty Officer Cameron Symons was the winner of the 2018 Comcare Work Health and Safety Individual Contribution Award.
About Petty Officer Cameron Symons
Petty Officer (PO) Cameron Symons joined the School of Survivability and Ship Safety (RANSSSS) as the principle Fire Fighting instructor. As a sailor, he has demonstrated a strong regard for health and safety matters and explicitly understands the requirement to eliminate or effectively manage the unique heat stresses within the fire ground.
The problem and/or challenge
Over time, PO Symons observed a pattern of deterioration in the physical and mental condition of his students and staff upon leaving their units at the end of a training session. He became concerned for their health and wellbeing. PO Symons began researching information and data on existing methodologies for the safe conduct of training activities in high temperature environments. PO Symons collaborated with training counterparts in Fire and Rescue New South Wales (FRNSW) and subject matter experts at the University of Wollongong. It was soon determined that whilst effects on the body were understood, there was no applied methodology for effective heat management in the workplace.
The approach and outcome
PO Symons, with a small team of seven, set up a range of controls to support data collection and trials. He was interested in measuring core, tympanic, oral and skin temperature, hydration, and the differences between two key zones (i.e., the fire zone and adjacent compartment). PO Symons amalgamated the testing and data collection with regular training processes that the students were undertaking. The data was collated and analysed and a heat management tool was developed to control exposure durations with adjusted recovery times and techniques to reduce the risk of heat related injuries. The sustained effort and outstanding commitment of PO Symons provided the organisation with a heat stress management protocol, designed and fit for purpose. Data gained from the trial has been used to inform the current procedure which has given instructional staff confidence that their health and safety is being effectively managed.
Key achievements
- The development and implementation of heat stress protocols to prevent heat related injuries in relation to the use of the firefighting practical simulators.
- Mandated use of the heat stress protocols across all RANSSSS facilities.
- Updated standard operating procedures to reflect the implementation of heat stress protocols.
- Increase in wellbeing and recovery time of staff involved in firefighting activities and a cultural change across the training school.
- PO Symons has been contacted by other areas of Defence to roll out the training and procedures more broadly.