Shed boilovers are uncommon, but the New Zealand Wool Classers’ Association (NZWCA) wanted to front foot the issue at an industry professional development day at Lincoln University.
They invited Opsec Solutions South Island director Marcus Fowler to talk about ways to keep safe in the workplace and manage conflict.
NZWCA chairwoman Tracy Paterson said they invited Mr Fowler to address conflict resolution in the woolshed with de-escalation training.
She said he made many good points about dealing with potential tensions, including how to approach people and communicate with them during a conflict event.
"This is the first time we have had this type of speaker. He came with practical insights about how people could manage if there was any escalation of aggro in the shed and how could a classer or anyone in the shed help with that and keep it a harmonious workplace."
Mrs Paterson said a starting point was for everyone to know their responsibilities in the shed.
"He asked for real-life examples and it was really great participants in the audience actually were able to voice things that had happened and in that sense he asked how it could be dealt with better and how we could improve on that next time. There was a lot of really great take-home messages ... He was very good and a lot of people got a lot out of that."
She said conflict was seldom seen in woolsheds.
"Like every aspect of life the bad behaviour is not the norm. The wool industry is a very professional operation and unfortunately sometimes the small minority makes the headlines and you miss all the amazing things being done outside of that. We wanted the day to be a celebration of wool classing and we are super proud of all of our wool classers who do a tough job, so it’s important to recognise those high standards."
NZWCA expects to have completed a checklist document for classers covering off liabilities and defining accepted responsibilities particularly in relation to animal welfare this month.
Other speakers tackled undercover video footage released last year by animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) about the mistreatment of sheep on farms and within shearing sheds over two years.
Mrs Paterson said members were given insights into their role in animal welfare, the welfare code and handling of sheep by representatives from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
MPI was working with wool sector groups to support good animal welfare practices and improvements in the industry.
Much of the focus of the Peta footage had been on shearing activities.
Mrs Paterson said "everybody in the shed" still had to know their responsibilities.
"We talked about responsibility and how from the classing perspective we are creating a suite of documents to assist a classer when they go into a shed — whether they are dealing with a contractor or a farmer — essentially to make sure there is a document to say whose responsibilities are where. That was quite exciting and is being worked on. It’s about everything [including] quality control, obviously a huge thing for a wool classer and there is a lot of work between a farmer and a classer because obviously the farmers want to maximise their wool cheque and a classer wants to know what the farmer is looking for and what contracts they’ve got."
FLOC Wool Acoustic Interior Surfaces business development manager Tom O’Sullivan talked about taking crossbred wool to the Beehive and walls of the world.
Mrs Paterson said the ongoing conversation about more wool grading of strong wool was raised.
Many initiatives were working to raise the profile and profitability of strong wool, she said.
"We are hopeful in the future the grading side for the stronger wool will be elevated and there will be better prices."
Minister for Rural Communities Mark Patterson relayed his passion for wool and Lincoln University professor Jon Hickford told the audience of nearly 110 wool classers and industry people about genetic progress and value-add opportunities being made in the sector.
Mrs Paterson said good numbers completing the certificate in wool technology and classing course at the Southern Institute of Technology showed the wool industry was in good heart.
"That’s fabulous because it’s not just about wool classing in the shed, there are other jobs within the industry and that’s really promising."
