Reverse FIFO Surat to Brisbane

Over the last few years, BHP has been evolving the way we work through flexible work practices, and our people are empowered to find their own way of working to best support their needs.

Take Greg Honor's 'reverse FIFO' arrangement that sees him fly into Brisbane from his farm, located ~60km from Surat in Queensland, or as Greg puts it, 'the middle of nowhere'.

When Greg's working from home, a typical day isn't that typical at all - he's usually up at five o'clock to put in a few hours working on the farm, before logging on around seven o'clock to start his day in the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) Asset Integration team.

Although, on a frosty winter morning, Greg's not opposed to switching up his routine by swapping out an early start for evening farm duties.

'The biggest positive outcome is in having the flexibility to balance family and work life.

'We have three kids and they always want to come and say hello and play in the afternoons when they first get home from school/kindy… it's nice to have the option to block out 30 minutes and make it up later in the evening, but being flexible is always a two way street,' Greg said.

Work-life balance doesn't only mean spending more time with the kids, or pursuing hobbies. In Greg's case, it's sometimes about balancing the unexpected, as things don't always go to plan.

'Having a farm means things don't always go to plan and life can throw some real issues at you when you least expect it, like a faulty water bore or a leaking trough that needs attention straight away!' Greg said.

Arrangements like Greg's are only possible because of Flexible Work practices, a culture of care, and wide adoption of digital tools like Webex Teams to stay connected.

'I've been doing this for a while now, but before COVID it was more of a cultural element where some people still thought you had to be in person to be effective,' Greg said.

'The last 12 months really forced everyone to become proficient in the use of our digital tools and become familiar with presenting virtually, which was an unintended benefit.

'I've also learnt that I don't need to print documents to review them!'

At BHP, we're focused on offering ways of working that reflect the preferences of our workforce - and we will continue to work with leaders to support our people work when and where they get great outcomes.

Photo credit: Sally Gall, Queensland Country Life