ANDY LEWIS
HSEQ, Risk, ESG, Governance & Operational Performance Executive
| Doctoral Researcher | Executive Leader |
Turning risk, governance and workforce capability into safer operations, stronger organisations and measurable business performance.
For more than twenty years I have led health, safety, environment, quality and operational risk functions across some of Australia's most complex infrastructure, construction, aviation, rail and maritime programs. My work sits where the boardroom meets the frontline: translating governance, assurance and regulatory obligation into systems that people on the ground will actually use - and that leaders can defend under scrutiny.
Today I combine executive practice with doctoral research, examining why the role of the OSH practitioner has never been defined and what competencies, skills, attributes and behaviours senior executives (CEO's, COO's and CFO's) look for. This is then to map this across what industry and OSH membership organisations, believe OSH practitioners should hold. This research also touches on why OSH has not progressed to being a formal profession and what is needed to happen if OSH practitioners want to be seen as professionals.
This site brings together my portfolio, my research and my thinking on where the occupation and industry goes next.
Executive leadership across safety, risk and governance.
Three connected disciplines, one outcome: organisations that perform safely, prove their compliance, and keep operating when things go wrong.
HSEQ Leadership & Assurance
Building and leading HSEQ functions across multi-site, multi-contractor operations - from management systems and audit programs through to frontline capability and culture.
Operational & Enterprise Risk
Risk frameworks that executives trust and operators understand: critical risk identification, control verification, business continuity and crisis management.
Governance, Compliance & Certification
Integrated management systems certified to ISO 45001, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, with the governance and reporting structures that satisfy regulators, clients and boards.
Because safety performance is a leadership outcome, not a paperwork exercise.
My portfolio spans National Infrastructure Delivery, Construction, Protective Services, Oil & Gas, Renewables (Wind & Hydro), Aviation, Rail, Telecommunications, Broadcast Infrastructure, Logistics and Facilities Management.
In each, the brief has been consistent: take a fragmented, reactive compliance function and rebuild it as a credible, evidence-led capability that supports the business rather than obstructing it.
Led HSEQ and operational risk across large-scale national programs, including a [523-site, $590M] Broadcast Infrastructure (DTV rollout) and a nationwide aircraft warning light maintenance program.
Built and led multidisciplinary teams of HSEQ advisors, auditors and trainers across geographically dispersed operations throughout Europe, Middle East and APAC.
Overseen major construction projects from a Risk & HSEQ perspective including:
Data Centre Construction,
Aviation BHS Construction,
3PL & 4PL Intralogistics Construction
Broadcast Infrastructure Construction
Directed major incident investigations using ICAM, converting root-cause findings into preventive controls that hold.
Designed and deployed digital risk training and e-learning platforms lifting capability from the boardroom to the frontline.
Owned integrated management systems and their ISO certifications, including [OFSC / Federal Safety Commissioner] accreditation.
Two decades of safety, risk and assurance leadership at scale
20+
Years leading HSEQ, operational risk and governance functions across high-hazard industries
$590m
Value of national infrastructure programs delivered under HSEQ leadership across 523 sites.
12
Sectors led including: construction, aviation, oil & gas, telecommunications and facilities management.
Defining the role of the modern Occupational Safety and Health practitioner.A doctorate examining how leadership behaviour shapes safety outcomes.
My doctoral research in Risk at Middlesex University, UK examines a deceptively simple question: what is the role of the modern Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) practitioner?
The OSH role has evolved significantly over recent decades. Today, practitioners may be expected to operate across safety, health, wellbeing, risk, governance, sustainability, leadership, assurance and organisational performance. Yet despite this expanding remit, there remains no universally accepted definition of the role, its boundaries, or the level of competence and qualification organisations should reasonably expect.
My research examines the relationship between OSH Membership bodies competency frameworks, employer expectations and contemporary practice to identify where these perspectives align and where important gaps remain. Drawing on international job advertisements, global OSH competency frameworks and interviews with senior organisational leaders, the research seeks to develop a clearer, evidence-based understanding of the modern OSH practitioner.
The objective is both academic and practical: to contribute to the continuing development of OSH as a discipline while helping employers, professional bodies, educators and practitioners better understand what competent modern OSH practice should look like.
Defining the contemporary role and boundaries of the OSH practitioner.
Examining competence, qualifications and professional expectations.
Comparing global competency frameworks with real-world employer demand.
Exploring what senior organisational leaders expect from OSH practitioners.
Identifying gaps between OSH membership frameworks and contemporary practice.
Thought Leadership: Challenging how we think about safety, risk and practice
I have published more than 50 LinkedIn articles exploring Occupational Safety and Health, HSEQ, operational risk, ESG, sustainability, leadership and the changing expectations placed on modern organisations and their people.
My writing draws heavily on more than two decades of operational and executive experience, increasingly complemented by my doctoral research.
I am particularly interested in subjects where established practice deserves to be questioned: what defines an OSH practitioner, what competence really means, whether traditional safety approaches continue to serve organisations effectively, and how risk, governance and leadership need to evolve.
My articles have explored topics including:
The future, identity and competence of the modern OSH practitioner.
Challenging Zero Harm and traditional approaches to safety performance.
Psychosocial risk, ISO 45003 and workplace mental health.
ESG, sustainability, CSR and responsible organisational governance.
ISO 45001, ISO 31000 and risk-based management systems.
Artificial intelligence, technology and the future of risk management.
Leadership, professional development and transferable capability
No blogs found
© 2026 Andy Lewis. All rights reserved.
Andy Lewis — HSEQ, Risk, Governance and Leadership Helping organisations build safer, stronger and smarter businesses.
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