When good intentions aren't enough: digital solutions for safety leadership

If you’re a manager with workers in the field, why wouldn’t their safety matter to you? And why wouldn't you be as proactive as possible to make sure everyone on your team can go home safely?

In August 2020, Pala'amo Kalati, a young father and stevedore at Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL), tragically lost his life in a workplace accident when a container fell from a crane. This devastating event led to POAL pleading guilty to charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act (2015), receiving fines of $561,000, and most recently, the landmark prosecution of former POAL Chief Executive Tony Gibson — the first case of its kind against a CEO under New Zealand's strengthened health and safety laws. These laws, implemented following the 2010 Pike River mine disaster, were specifically designed to ensure senior leaders could be held accountable when workers were exposed to serious risk of injury or death. 

The court's decision in this case has profound implications for how organisational leaders must approach their safety responsibilities, moving beyond good intentions to verifiable, proactive oversight.

Safety in real time: helping leaders meet their responsibilities

The court made it clear that bosses can't just assume safety procedures are being followed—they need to actively ensure they are. This is where real-time safety monitoring solutions like GetHomeSafe come in. They're not meant to replace leadership or human judgment, but to give leaders the real-time information they need to make better safety decisions.

In their summary of the case, law firm Simpson Grierson described safety management as a "dynamic and circular" process, requiring constant oversight. What the Gibson case teaches us is that leaders need systems that show them what's really happening in their workplaces, allowing them to take the proactive approach that's now legally required.

How GetHomeSafe helps leaders stay on top of safety in real time

Safety apps support and enhance human judgment by:

1. Giving leaders real-time visibility into what's actually happening

Even well-intentioned leaders can miss important safety issues when they don't have real-time insights into work practices. GetHomeSafe helps bridge this gap, connecting leadership decisions with frontline reality, live and detailed: whether it’s good, bad, or otherwise.

As the court pointed out, managers need ways to check that safety measures are working as intended. Modern safety apps create a vital connection between what management might think is happening and what's actually happening.

2. Supporting the ongoing safety cycle that the law requires

Today's workplace safety laws expect leaders to stay engaged in an ongoing cycle of safety management:

• Staying in the loop: GetHomeSafe provides real-time updates on safety performance
• Spotting hazards: The app helps identify patterns and emerging risks
• Making sure resources are available: Leaders can check that safety measures are properly implemented
• Keeping processes consistent: The app helps maintain consistent safety procedures
• Ensuring rules are followed: Leaders can monitor whether safety protocols are being adhered to
• Double-checking: Most importantly, GetHomeSafe lets leaders verify that safety systems are working as intended.

3. Turning safety intentions into workplace reality

One of the key findings in the Gibson case was the gap between the safety “work as designed" and safety “work as done." 

Real-time safety monitoring solutions like GetHomeSafe don't take over the human side of safety leadership — they strengthen it by helping leaders turn their safety vision into actions that can be measured. They can provide evidence that safety measures are actually working, create accountability throughout an organisation, and help leaders direct resources where they're most needed.

The buck stops here

While it’s true that good managers can delegate tasks, they can't just hand off their safety responsibilities — and apps like GetHomeSafe provide a crucial link between delegation and verification, allowing leaders to:

1. Trust their teams while still checking outcomes
2. Show they're actively engaged with safety management
3. Find gaps between safety policy and practice before incidents happen
4. Provide the kind of oversight that NZ’s law now clearly requires

Making human judgment better, not replacing it

The tragic death of Pala'amo Kalati and the Gibson prosecution marks an important moment for workplace safety in New Zealand. It shows that executive leaders need more than good intentions — they need systems that help them make informed judgments and demonstrate they're taking safety seriously.

Real-time safety monitoring solutions like GetHomeSafe are valuable precisely because they enhance rather than replace human leadership. They provide the connection between safety plans and daily practice that was missing in the POAL case, helping leaders fulfill their safety responsibilities in a practical, proactive way.

By using this kind of technology, organisations don't just reduce their legal risks — they help their leaders make better safety decisions based on what's actually happening in the workplace, ultimately helping ensure everyone on the team gets home safely at the end of the day.