After $300 million and three years of work, BHP has completed a massive safety and security update across its Pilbara worker villages.

Over 10,000 rooms were upgraded across 13 Western Australia Iron Ore villages, with more than 10,000 new doors, 8000 lights, 1500 CCTV cameras and 4.75m of fencing installed.

“The work was delivered using 100 per cent Australian manufacturers and local contractors, including many Traditional Owner businesses,” WA Iron Ore NPI (non-process infrastructure) general manager Kate Holling said.

“Safety continues to be our number one priority and I’m happy to see this work complete to make our villages feel safer and more accessible for everyone who visits them.”

Southern Cross Electrical Engineering (SCEE) Group was among those chosen by BHP as a construction contractor for the security project. As part of stage one of the project, SCEE received $15 million for upgrades to access, lighting and monitoring systems across the major miner’s accommodation villages.

In August 2021, BHP’s response to the inquiry into sexual harassment against women in the fly-in, fly-out mining industry, outlined its strong stance for stamping out sexual harassment in its workplaces.

The company’s outlined approach to achieve this end includes several pillars, one of which was ‘village security’. It was not made clear by SCEE if the security enhancements related to the inquiry.

“We have taken a range of steps to work towards eradicating sexual harassment from our workplaces,” BHP stated.

“Progress has been made, but there is still more work to be done on a number of fronts.

“We are committed to a process of continual improvement. As part of that, we monitor, assess, and refine the approach we are taking.”

It is hoped that the work will improve both safety and accessibility for residents and guests at the Pilbara villages.