Chemical Technology November 2015

accommodation, quality of the drinking water, dangers from wild animals, threat of malaria and other diseases, poison- ous insects and spiders, etc. These are major concerns and need to be taken into account by putting provisions in place to either prevent incidents from happening or to be able to respond effectively if they do occur, eg, providing treated water andmaintaining the quality by testing it regularly, fenc- ing off the camp site and the project work area, providing competent medical practitioners and medication and hav- ing hospital/clinic facilities and site evacuation capabilities depending on where the project is situated. In essence, accidents are disruptive, demoralise the work force and slow down productivity, which extends the project schedule and costs money. But having an HSEManagement System in place also does not guarantee safety in the work place. It has to be implemented and HSE needs to be the top project priority; thus, extensive training during induction and retraining continuously throughout the project, are required. Workers need to be introduced to the requirements; they need to be trained in the skills of performing work safely and the need for and the use of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE). Their understanding of HSE needs to be tested and they need to be helped to see the consequences of unsafe acts. It has been found that leaving the HSE management to the contractors’ supervision, does not achieve the desired results. HSE needs to be driven by the senior personnel in Project and Construction Management to achieve success. There are many cases of contractors not caring about the effects that they have on the environment. Oil or chemical spills are not cleaned up, dangerous materials are handled recklessly and no care is taken in the suitable safe disposal of these materials. Effluents are discharged into rivers; old asbestos building materials are dumped onto waste sites, etc. potentially contaminating the environment. The plant and residential areas will thereafter be a danger to the lives of the workers, their families and the surrounding community. Security risks More and more business opportunities are opening up in Africa. There are friendly and some not so friendly countries and therefore when bidding for projects in African states, pre-bidding surveys need to be done. Countries differ from each other with respect to security but at least the following risks need to be assessed: • Assess the country’s general security climate with re- gards to: • The political situation. • Ethnic and religious tensions. • Armed conflict. • Terrorism. • Violent crime. • Other concerns such as landmines, piracy and envi- ronmental hazards. • Assess the country’s critical infrastructure and specifi- cally that of the province, district and potential project site with regards to: • Transportation systems (fuel supply, railway networks, airports, harbours, inland shipping, vehicle hire). • Financial services (banking and clearing).

eg, earthworks and civils, structural steel, mechanical and piping and electrical and instrumentation or some com- binations of these under the control of the Construction Management team. Then, get these main contractors (as part of their contracts) to award subcontracts to the smaller local contractors for work such as fencing, painting, small civil works, sheeting, etc. There are of course the special- ist design, supply and install contractors for prefabricated buildings, sewage plants, overhead power lines, etc. that also need to be directly under the control of the Construc- tion Management team. Having said this there are some local contractors who do have the capabilities and expertise to carry out quality productive work, but check them out carefully. Customs delays at border posts and sea ports are also experienced, which can have an adverse effect on the project schedule and costs. Therefore it is advisable to use experienced forwarding and clearing agents; preferably a competent company local to the country of operation. Training of the local citizens in construction activities and leaving behind a legacy also goes a long way to appeasing the government labour department when it comes to obtain- ing work permits. Training of the locals should not be looked at as a burden but as school fees for potential future work and a source of trained workers. Dealing with occupational health, safety and environmental legislation Historically most countries in Africa have an immature HSE culture. In fact, most unskilled labour in Africa cannot perceive unsafe practices or unsafe working conditions prior to training. The unsafe practices and working condi- tions tend to be accepted as the norm for doing work, so much so they don’t believe the expectation that zero harm is realistic and can be achieved through a project. Many operating plants in Africa try to implement HSE practices but have a poor understanding of what is needed to achieve world class standards. In African states there are in most cases, Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations in place, but these are not properly implemented or policed. Where there aren’t any regulations or where they are sub-standard, since they are a mixture of various regulations, it is best to implement a tried and tested project HSEManagement System incorpo- rating the client’s requirements, in addition to the existing OHSA Regulations, but to ensure that the HSE Management System used is not in conflict with it and is preferably more stringent than it. Many project clients who are investing in Africa are at any rate requiring contractors to implement an HSE Manage- ment Plan that will meet their specified requirements and goals. Apart from the project need, one of the reasons for this is to establish a high standard of Fatal Risk Protocol Guidelines and compliance, which will be imparted to the client’s operating plant personnel during the project con- struction phase and be used for future governance when the project is complete and the plant is in operation. Facilities for the workforce must be well planned at the front end of the project to protect the health of the workers in order to perform their work effectively, such as suitable

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Chemical Technology • November 2015