A 50 tonne mining truck has been transformed into a symbol for mental health awareness at New Hope Group’s Jeebropilly Mine near Rosewood, Ipswich.
The mine service truck is the coal mine’s most visible piece of machinery and now features two giant RUOK? stickers from the RUOK? Day Organisation. Machinery Operator Jason Linke said the idea to re-vamp the service truck was developed by the mine’s employee-led Health and Safety Committee.
“RUOK? Day has done a great job of raising awareness about mental health and encouraging people to check in with their mates,” Jason said. “Our health and safety committee has been working really hard to make mental wellness a
priority and we were keen to find a way to keep it front of mind during our work shifts.”
“By putting the RUOK? message on our most visible piece of machinery, it’s effectively ‘up in lights’ and serves as a reminder to check in on your mates whenever it delivers fuel, services a vehicle, or passes you on the road.”
“So far it’s been a great conversation starter and is really encouraging people to stop and catch up with their mates to talk about things that really matter,” Jason said.
Health Safety and Training Coordinator Brendan Ryan said the RUOK? service truck is the most recent initiative in a wider push for increased awareness about mental health and men’s health onsite.
“Apart from our new addition to the service truck, over the last couple of years we’ve set up a number of events around mental wellness like M8 Day and Movember and established a peerto-peer mentoring program,” Brendan said.
“Fostering a positive mental wellness culture on site has been particularly important for us as mining operations begins to wind down after almost three and a half decades.” “The concept behind our new RUOK? service truck is to bring mental wellness to the forefront and make every day an RUOK? Day.”
“It’s really important to us as a business that our employees and their families are supported as they transition into new jobs or into retirement.”
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