WHY SAFETY MATTERSCONTACT

[ ACHIEVEMENTS ]

THIRTY YEARS
UNDERGROUND.
ONE MISSION.

Dallas Adams has spent his career in and around high-risk infrastructure. The shifts, the losses, and the work that came after are documented below.

10K+

Safer workers reached through keynotes, workshops, and on-site sessions

100+

Presentations delivered across Australia and internationally

20YRS

Underground experience as a tunneller before founding Why Safety Matters

2K+

Followers tuning in to Digging Deeper conversations

[ WHERE WE'VE BEEN ]

A selection of operators, projects, and industry bodies the team has worked with.

  • METRO TUNNEL
  • LENDLEASE
  • ALSTOM
  • JOHN HOLLAND
  • ACCIONA
  • NEWMONT
  • CPB CONTRACTORS
  • UGL
  • BHP
  • MCCONNELL DOWELL
  • GEORGIOU GROUP
  • EVOLUTION MINING

[ TIMELINE ]

MILESTONES.

  1. 1994

    Started underground at 18

    Joined Telfer, the Western Australian underground goldmine. Coming from school straight into an authoritarian system, the early lessons shaped how Dallas now thinks about culture and speaking up.

  2. 2004

    Brother James killed at Dartbrook

    Older brother James died in an underground coal-mining rock fall at the Dartbrook Coal Mine in the Hunter Valley. The first of two losses that would reshape Dallas's career.

  3. 2017

    Father Jimmy fatally injured at NorthConnex

    Father Jimmy was struck by components of a pressurised piping system on the Sydney NorthConnex tunnelling project, and later died in hospital. The incident was deemed preventable; two companies were fined.

  4. 2017

    Founded DC Adams Group, Why Safety Matters

    Started sharing real-world lessons about the human impact of safety failures with workforces across construction, infrastructure, and mining.

  5. 2018

    Joined XRJV-Training as a consultant

    With wife Jess Lelievre, co-developed a VR program designed to engage blue-collar workers more effectively than traditional training. Sessions designed for 15 to 20 minute interactive runs.

  6. 2022

    Featured: 'The Ultimate Sacrifice'

    Long-form profile published, telling the story of James and Jimmy and the case for changing how safety is taught underground.

  7. 2024

    Why Safety Matters at Ernest Henry

    Delivered a moving session for the Evolution Mining team at Ernest Henry. The site followed up by reinvigorating a family-drawing initiative now displayed across site.

  8. 2025

    TAC 2025 Workshop, Vancouver

    Presenting at the Tunnelling Association of Canada's Health & Safety Underground workshop, 16 to 18 November 2025 at JW Marriott Parq Vancouver.

[ MEDIA & APPEARANCES ]

IN PRINT.
ON STAGE.

[ NEXT BOOKING ]

WHO'S NEXT.

Hosting Dallas at a forum, toolbox, off-site, or onboarding cohort? The team will lock in dates and tailor the session.

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