Health & Well Being

Dobbie is committed to improving the Health & Well Being of our workforce. We do this by actively engaging in practices that protect and promote worker safety as well as allowing for positive choices for our staff. These include subsidising staff participation in Quit smoking programs, encouraging regular exercise and providing healthier food options, etc.

    Healthier Workplace WA was established in 2012 under the Healthy Workers Initiative, a joint Australian, State and Territory Government

    initiative under the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health. Healthier Workplace WA offers services to workplaces

    across Western Australia to help them implement a successful workplace health program that assists their workers to make positive

    lifestyle changes that benefit everyone.

   The Recognised Healthy Workplace program was developed in partnership with Unions WA and Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA.

   The Program aims to recognise workplaces in WA that are demonstrating leadership in the area of workplace health and wellbeing by providing:   

    ⸰Supportive health and wellbeing policies and procedures (which are in addition to standard Occupational Health and Safety

     guidelines);

                                                 ⸰Facilities and infrastructure that encourage healthy behaviours; and

                                                 ⸰Education and awareness raising sessions, and activities that aim to improve the health and wellbeing of staff.

Dobbie is proud to have achieved Gold recognition by Healthier Workplace W.A.

   Gold Recognition

   For organisations that have a growing commitment to workplace health and wellbeing.

   For more information on our achievement, see the link below.

                                                      https://healthierworkplacewa.com.au/get-recognised/whos-recognised/dobbie/

Environmental Conscience

Environmental responsibility is key to maintaining ongoing business sustainability.

We engage in the adoption of environmentally sound technologies.

We have a strong environmental conscience.

  At Dobbie we are proud of our environmental achievements and believe that we are leading by example by demonstrating that our industry can

  not only be environmentally sustainable but remain commercially viable whilst still positively contributing to the planet. We proactively generate

  our own solar energy, utilise recycled inputs, repurpose waste and manufacture 100% recyclable products. We have undertaken several programs

  aimed at increasing our environmental responsibility whilst decreasing our carbon footprint. These programs are often not cheap

  (e.g. Solar, Sand reclamation, & LED Conversions) but nevertheless there are solid business cases for these investments. Beyond the bottom line

  though, we seek to act as a responsible corporate citizen and reflect the attitudes and actions that our community expects of us.

Energy

Dobbie’s commitment to sustainable energy production is clearly evident from the significant investment it has made in the installation of an extensive solar power generation system. This two staged project, saw the installation of over 400 PV panels, with which we are able to generate 200kV. This significantly contributes to our daily power requirements and has led to substantial reductions on our reliance on grid sourced power whilsty significantly reducing our energy inputs costs. Our solar plant is now among the largest privately owned industrial arrays within Western Australia.

We are pleased to have partnered with both Infinite Energy and Origin Energy on these projects.  

Manufacturing

Part of Dobbie’s environmental commitment is demonstrated through its responsible manufacturing processes. As a foundry we operate with an EPA licence (No. L8396/2009/3) which monitors any emissions from our facility. The stringent conditions attached to this licence ensures that we have controls in place to confine any emissions so that there is no pollution to the air around us nor to the water table below us. 

The basic input of any ferrous foundry such as ours is metal. We choose scrap metal sourced responsibly from various suppliers over purpose created ingots as it has a positive impact on reducing our carbon footprint. Not only do we largely use recycled inputs but our end product, being manufactured mainly out iron, in its various forms, is itself nearly 100% recyclable. This make us a very ‘green’ industry indeed!

In addition to the regulatory requirements of operating a foundry/engineering facility, Dobbie have been proactive in analysing areas where sustainable practices can be implemented. We have installed a sand reclamation unit which enables us to recycle up top 50% our moulding sand.

This has the double effect of:

1. Reduced purchase of virgin moulding sand
2. Reduced wastage

In addition, our used unreclaimable sand is no longer carted off to landfill but is instead repurposed into road base and then utilised in infrastructure projects through Perth.

Water

We all know that water is a precious resource and it is vital to minimise its wastage and as manufacturer of quality water carriage valves we are aware of this more than most. At Dobbie we have two dedicated recycling water systems.

The first is at our large dynamic flow test rig which uses a closed cyclic water system to test and evaluate water control valves such as Gate and Check (Non-Return) valves. The second is in our valve assembly section where will fill valves to test for, among other things, static pressure retention. This is as required under various PCP licences for which Dobbie has Standards’ accreditation. Water in this section is captured after use, filtered, stored, chlorinated and sanitised then delivered ready for re-use as required. This water storage facility is additionally topped up by rain water harvesting from the roof of our engineering facility.

Administration/Office

Dobbie has an active policy to reduce paper wastage within our office environment. We recycle used paper wherever possible with dedicated bins to actively encourage staff engagement. Sensitive documents are shredded and repurposed for soft packaging.

Side by side with Dobbie’s practice of paper reduction we only use paper that is fully sustainable, sourced from plantations that are in full compliance with all fundamental ILO Conventions in forest management and  the requirements of Chain of Custody certification.

  The Program for Endorsement of Forestry Schemes (PEFC) is the world's largest forest certification system.  Its credible standards seek to transform the way

  forests are managed globally and locally to ensure that all of us can enjoy the environmental, social and economic benefits that forests offer.

  Australian Forestry Standards (now known as ‘Responsible Wood’) are committed to protecting and promoting Australia’s unique environments with Standards

  that ensure a forest industry that is environmentally, socially, culturally and commercially sustainable.

   The National Carbon Offset Standard is a Standard to manage greenhouse gas emissions and to achieve carbon neutrality.

Dobbie also has an active power management policy which assists in power consumption through out the facility. The policy encourages practices such as:

1. i.                  Turning off computers overnight
2. ii.                 Monitoring and regulating air conditioner usage
3. iii.                Turning off machinery/equipment when not operating
4. iv.                Turning off AV equipment once in ‘Stand-by’ mode

Lighting

Additionally, Dobbie has converted old, power hungry halogen light fixtures into efficient, enviro friendly LED fixtures.

This includes external security flood lights around the premises and high bay lights throughout internal working areas.