From Safety Compliance to Citizenship
How Sentis Supported DBI's Journey to Safety Citizenship
- Industry: Ports & Infrastructure
- Region: Queensland, Australia
- Workforce: 50 employees plus significant contractor network
Client Snapshot
Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (DBI) oversees the long-term lease and operation of Dalrymple Bay Terminal (DBT), a critical export gateway supporting Queensland’s resources industry. With a Brisbane-based corporate team, site-based project delivery team and a significant contractor network, DBI aims to provide safe and efficient terminal infrastructure and services for producers and consumers of high quality Australian coal exports.
Objective
DBI’s safety culture was significantly altered in short succession following the fatality of a worker in May 2008, which had a profound impact on the team. A personal, caring approach to safety was the underlying sentiment that was embedded in the team from that point onwards. In 2019, DBI sought a structured, evidence-based way to understand their safety culture and focus improvement efforts. With the business evolving and workloads shifting, they recognised the need to provide clarity of the safety message, align leadership expectations, and measure what matters. Over the next six years, DBI progressed through a program of diagnostics, strategy alignment and leadership engagement.
Solution
Diagnostics & Insight
Multi-year Onsite Safety Evaluations (2019 & 2025) provided data-driven visibility of safety culture, strengths and opportunities.
Strategic Alignment
Collaborative workshops helped DBI interpret insights, align on key priorities, and simplify safety messaging.
Leadership & Values
Partnering with DBI’s leaders to define their safety vision and bring ‘safety as a shared value’ to life in day-to-day work.
Delivery
Combination of onsite and hybrid engagements with close collaboration between Sentis and DBI teams.
Reaching Safety Citizenship
Since partnering with Sentis, Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure (DBI) has achieved a citizenship-level safety culture, the highest stage on the Sentis Safety Culture Maturity Model. Today, safety at DBI is a living value, woven into every conversation, decision, and action across the organisation.
How is safety citizenship defined?
Physical and psychosocial safety are a core part of everyone’s job and viewed as a shared responsibility within the organisation. Employees strive to improve themselves and learn from their collective mistakes.
A culture of genuine care
Safety has become a consistent and authentic part of how people at DBI think and operate. Across both corporate and site-connected roles, teams now speak openly about risks, fatigue, workload, and mental health. Safety is relevant to everyone, everywhere.
Leaders driving the message
Leaders have become the visible champions of DBI’s safety vision, setting expectations through their behaviour and daily decisions. They’ve created a culture of trust and psychological safety, where open conversation is encouraged and collaboration thrives.
From compliance to citizenship
DBI has shifted from traditional safety metrics to meaningful leading indicators that reflect the true drivers of safety performance including behaviours, communication and recognition. The organisation’s focus on learning and continuous improvement has cemented safety as a shared value across all teams.
"People are celebrated for raising something. Could be a minor thing like a hot water tap in the kitchen, but you get a pat on the back. It’s up to us, [we] all feel empowered to take control of our wellbeing."
DBI’s Onsite Safety Evaulation results reflect measurable improvement across 17 dimensions of safety culture between 2019 and 2025. Highlighting stronger leadership alignment, communication, and ownership of safety outcomes.
We are incredibly proud looking back at the results we have achieved as a team, which came about through a deliberate and practical focus on improving our safety culture. Our commitment to safety does not stop here and we are continuing to look for opportunities to work more effectively with our team members and all other stakeholders at DBI.
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