Industrious effort awarded

An inner drive to make a difference in industry has led Rockingham employee Liane Unewisse to be selected as a finalist in the inaugural Women in Industry Awards.

As Westfarmers Chemicals, Engy and Fertilisers health, safety and environment general manager, Ms Unewisse was recognised for her role in achieving considerable decreases in total recordable injuries and improvements in environmental performance across the company.

Ms Unewisse is one of three national finalists in the Excellence in Manufacturing category.

Jokingly, she said she had not been up for an award since Year 9 art and was a little embarrassed to be put in the spotlight.

“I’m equal parts happy, proud, and embarrassed — just because of the attention,” she said.

“But it’s because I also know that absolutely every one of the 86 people who work in HSE, work just as hard as I do.

“The things that have been achieved, I didn’t achieve them, they have been achieved through lots of people working in an aligned way.”

Ms Unewisse said her journey in industry began in 1985, after graduating from the University of NSW with an electrical engineering degree.

Finding it difficult to secure a job, she joined the Navy and went on to be the first female weapons electrical engineer.

After an 11-year stint she moved into electrical construction for nine years until falling in love drew her to Perth, and led her to apply for a job at WesCEF.

Nine years on and Ms Unewisse said she was happy in her role because she felt she was making a difference.

“I really encourage women to live with courage, because if you make courageous choices your life just grows much faster and in unexpected and exciting ways,” she said.

“I would encourage women to choose industrial careers.” The Women in Industry Awards recognise and reward the achievements of women working within the mining, engineering, manufacturing and process control industries.