Modern Quarrying Q2 2019

TURNING THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CORNER

I remember having a conversation with Afrimat CEO Andries van Heerden back in 2016 on matters relating to health and safety in the quarrying industry. He narrated a rather funny story that reflected how the local quarrying fraternity had turned the corner in terms of health and safety at operations. He recalled how he had joined a “rough industry” some 20 years back, and at the time one of the quarries used small 5-tonne trucks to haul run of mine material from the pit to the processing plants! Interestingly, he also told me how they would park these trucks on an incline for hill starting purposes. Big rocks would be placed in front of the wheels because these trucks didn’t even have parking brakes. The driver would jump in while the assistant would pull away the rocks to let the truck roll before it started. Today, story like this sounds unbelievable – that’s because the

that Aspasa’s ISHE Audits have ushered in new health and safety standards at member operations. Nico Pienaar has also shown his passion for an industry that many still don’t really appreciate for its value to society. Together with his team at Aspasa, they have put in the hard yards to make this industry what it is today. Kudos to quarry operators as well for the high safety standards we see at operations today. Many have well understood that attention to health and safety is not just about being socially responsible. It also makes good business sense and should be regarded as important as the achievement of any other key business objectives. Of course, working out what modern health and safety law means for your business can be quite a headache. But that shouldn’t put you off. Yes, on the face of it there do seem to be a lot of regulations, but the underlying principles are really quite straightforward. Addressing health and safety should not be viewed as a regulatory burden. Benefits of a well-defined health and safety structure are wide ranging, and can include, among others, reduced costs; reduced risks; lower employee absence and turnover rates; fewer accidents; lower threat of legal action; improved standing among suppliers and partners; better reputation for corporate responsibility among investors, customers and communities; as well as increased productivity, because employees are healthier, happier and better motivated.

industry has reformed to world-class standards. Obviously the regulator has played some part in tightening the screws, but much of the credit should go to the industry itself for its commitment to a new health and safety era. As you will see in the Safety Feature of this edition of Modern Quarrying , at a time when the South African mining sector is battling high numbers of fatalities at operations, members of surface mining industry association, Aspasa, have reported no fatalities across their operations for the third year running. Central to this feat is the adoption of an advanced health and safety regime that has ensured that member operations are at the forefront of the industry’s journey towards Zero Harm by 2020. When talking about these achievements, it would be fair to shine the spotlight on industry association, Aspasa. Many will agree

COMMENT

Munesu Shoko – Editor quarrying@crown.co.za

@MunesuShoko

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MODERN QUARRYING QUARTER 2 - 2019