With health and safety at the heart of all BCI Minerals’ activities, team members like Scott Sanders are invaluable in ensuring our team, contractors and visitors return home safely every day.
Scott began his journey with BCI Minerals as a consultant and has since transitioned to a full-time role as Manager Health and Safety.
Having started his career at the Perth Glory while finishing a degree in sports science, Scott decided to delve into the health and safety world by completing a master’s in the field and navigating diverse roles within the corporate and mining industry.
Over the years, Scott has consistently pushed outside of his comfort zone, achieving impressive goals along the way, including a world record!
Q: Can you describe your role at BCI Minerals?
A: My role is Manager of Health and Safety, which involves setting the business's vision and strategy and providing leadership and guidance to our teams to manage health and safety risks.
I started providing consultancy services to BCI Minerals in March 2024, conducting safety culture audits with key contractors at the Mardie Project and working on process improvements. I commenced in the Manager Health and Safety role in July and have enjoyed the journey so far.
The variety within the role keeps me on my toes and engaged, with plenty of challenges to work through each day. Thankfully, there is a great team both in the West Perth office and on-site at Mardie, who demonstrate our values every day and are happy to help find a way.
Q: What was your career journey to get here?
A: I originally completed a sports science degree and was working with the Perth Glory before I took a chance on a role in the mining industry as a Health and Lifestyle Coordinator. That was at a construction camp, working six weeks on, two weeks off, so it was a big change!
Since then, I have worked in a variety of FIFO and corporate locations in technical and leadership roles within Health and Safety, Risk, Systems, and Contractor Management.
My professional highlight was stepping out of my comfort zone to try consultancy, something I had not previously done, so it was great to have that experience and flexibility in my career.
Q: What does a typical weekend look like in your life?
A: I am a bit of a gamer in my spare time and enjoy online racing sims. I also like to keep active by playing tennis and kicking a soccer ball around with my children. When possible, we enjoy getting outdoors and going away for family holidays to try new adventures.
My personal highlights continue to be watching my two children (13 and 11) grow and become responsible, caring humans. Helping coach them to navigate the challenges they face and seeing them make good choices is very rewarding.
My partner will tell you I am naturally talented and lucky when it comes to sports. I got a hole-in-one when first playing golf as a 20+ handicap golfer, I achieved a Guinness world record for participating in the longest continual game of 5-a-side soccer, and I scored a full-court buzzer beater in a basketball finals game.
Q: Achieving a World Record is impressive; how long did the soccer game go for?
A: The game lasted 24 hours. It was a 5 vs. 5 match and teams rotated on and off every hour. I was working for Perth Glory at the time, so our ‘team’ played for an hour.
It was a memorable experience to be playing in Forrest Chase with people watching post-game when we received the certificate acknowledging we had achieved the record. It was a proud moment to think I had played a small part in the overall achievement.
Q: It’s clear you are passionate about sports, what is your favourite sport now?
A: Picking a favourite sport is like choosing a favourite child. I have played many sports, but currently, I just play tennis. I enjoy this as it gives me a mix of competing against myself and an opponent whilst also being part of a team for doubles.
I don’t actively follow many sports anymore, but I have been a fan of Arsenal Football Club in the English Premier League since I was 10 years old, so I like to keep track of how they are performing each year.
Q: Do you apply some of your sporting mentality to your role?
A: Sport teaches you to work as a team to achieve a common goal. I feel that this mentality is well suited to the workplace where it is about leveraging each other’s strengths and working together to ensure the whole team succeeds.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who is looking to make a career change like you did?
A: The biggest lesson I have learnt throughout my career is that others will see you are ready for a challenge before you see it in yourself. Part of the challenge is taking on the unknown and being comfortable with not having the answer to everything. My advice to people looking to make a change is to seek out leaders and mentors you can go to for guidance. Instead of looking at the reasons why you can’t make the change, look for the transferable skills and experience you have that would support you in the new role and go for it.
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“Salt of the Earth” is a series where we get to know our dedicated team members.
To see the current opportunities at BCI Minerals, please visit our careers page: https://www.bciminerals.com.au/careers.html