Zenergy Insight Series – Adrian Ussia, Western Sydney Airport

Interview with Adrian Ussia, Western Sydney Airport

Introduction

Adrian is an experienced WHS professional with experience in the building, power, gas and water sectors. Adrian’s focusses are on realistic risk-based frameworks, backed by bespoke efficiency focussed platforms. Adrian has a strong reputation with relation to assurance and detailed critical thinking that has served him well in senior roles in Zinfra/Jemena and as the WHS Manager for Strategy and Assurance at the Western Sydney Airport Corporation.

WSA – Your Role

Adrian, great to sit down today, we appreciate you taking the time out to share your views with our readers. Congratulations on your recent appointment to WSA through Zenergy, you are the WHS Strategy & Assurance Manager, what does your role involve?

Thank you very much, this role works in tandem with the WHS Manager for Systems and Reporting and is particularly focussed on continuing WSA’s focus during the safe construction of the Western Sydney Airport whilst also preparing the business for operational readiness safety requirements. This includes the safe management of assets on hand and as they are handed over progressively throughout the lifecycle of the project.

A central part of this role includes the development and implementation of a project-wide, risk-based safety assurance program, along with the conception and delivery of various safety initiatives to support operational readiness.

The role finally works closely with our Delivery Partner (Bechtel) and their WHS team to positively influence the appointed Principal Contactors.

The WSA Project and Aerotropolis

Can you describe to readers what Western Sydney Airport is and the planned aerotropolis?

Drawing on Australia’s natural beauty, the region’s rich Aboriginal heritage and strong sustainability principles, the final design of Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport brings together world’s best practice to create a terminal that will offer passengers and airlines an experience unrivalled among Australian airports.

Consultation with Aboriginal communities throughout the design process will deliver a connection to Country. This will be reflected across both the departures and arrivals, ensuring the terminal has an authentic sense of place in Dharug country.

Western Sydney International is being built to accommodate 10 million passengers per year from day one. As demand grows, we’re ready to expand to meet the needs of travellers and airlines.

We’ll service domestic, international and freight flights 24 hours a day with airport facilities designed for both low cost and full-service carriers. Western Sydney International is on track to begin international and domestic passenger services and air cargo flights in late 2026.

Industry Collaboration

In your role, would it be fair to say that it is very important that you collaborate with a variety for stakeholders and to some extent, the wider H&S industry?

Most definitely. It is abundantly apparent that collaboration with all invested parties is extremely important in achieving safe outcomes on our journey to operational readiness. An example of this would be in driving a safety culture program, one which would be disjointed and as such outputs of lesser value without the collaboration between WSA, our delivery partner Bechtel and Principal Contractors.

With relation to the wider industry, this also sings true. We often find ourselves collaborating with other related industry professionals to understand best practice WHS system design or thinktank management strategies associated to the current pandemic landscape.

Your Approach

What is your approach to building new relationships in the workplace, especially considering you have recently started at WSA?

Workplace conversations have naturally become much more transactional when considering the current stay at home orders. This does make building relationships somewhat more difficult, however I have found that not being afraid to speak up in group discussions or initiating phone calls and focusing on informal conversation to identify common ground, goes a long way in building a presence when you are new in a business.

Fundamentally speaking though, I have built relationships throughout my career by simply being helpful. Where capacity exists, this would mean supporting teams or individuals beyond their expectations. This has bode well for me throughout my career and has been the foundation of my reputation in the past.

What do you like to do during downtime?

What do you like to do to switch off?

In a pre/post lock down environment I am very much an outdoorsman. I absolutely love getting away from it all, plonking myself onto an isolated farm without cell phone reception and spending time with my close family and friends. If it does not involve heading to the farm, it would involve getting out to dip a line in the water and chase some kingfish or otherwise jumping on the motorbikes with some friends and heading to a lookout.

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