Modern Quarrying Q3 2021

A controlled blast using BME’s AXXIS initiation system.

SAFETY

OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE AND SAFETY ARE TWO SIDES OF SAME COIN

T l his is according to Ramesh Dhoorgapersadh, GM for Safety, Health, Environment, Risk and Quality (SHERQ) at blasting and explosives leader BME, a member of the JSE-listed Omnia Group. He highlights BME’s Safety for Life brand, which focuses on the triple bottom line: safety for people, the environment and the commercial sustainability of the business. The key objective is for all employees and contractors to go home in the same condition that they arrived at work, having delivered quality service and products to the customer with no harm to the environment. “The success of implementing Safety for Life is reflected in our recordable case rate (RCR) dropping steadily in recent years to just 0,11 as at the end of 2020,” says Dhoorgapersadh. “Our RCR is a good reflection of the safety culture within a business, as the downward trend over the past three years demonstrates.” BME was recognised for responsible care at the Chemical and Allied Industries Association (CAIA) Awards last year, based on its year-on-year SHE performance improvement. Several safety interventions contributed to this progress, he says, including Visual Felt Leadership, Process Safety, near miss reporting, driver awareness programmes and fatigue management to name just a few. These aligned with the Omnia Vision of zero harm and positive impact through responsible business practices. Never-ending process “The drive for safety is a never-ending process of analysing even minor inci- dents and generating fresh ideas to reinforce our Safety for Life interventions,” he says. “It is also vital to report and understand ‘near misses’, which are valuable indicators of where we can prevent incidents before they occur.” As a leading producer of emulsion explosives, BME imbeds a range of The key to an improved health and safety record in the mining workplace lies with integrating safety firmly as part of operational excellence.

process safety elements into its manufacturing operations, in line with global best practice for chemical industries. This focuses on asset management in ways that protect employees, the environment and the broader community. “Moving ammonium nitrate through our value chain, for instance, demands that we constantly learn from international experience – and this helps drive our safety culture,” he says. He notes that BME also identifies the United Nations’ Sustainable Developmental Goals as relevant to its safety efforts – particularly those linked to industry, innovation and infrastructure; decent work and economic growth; responsible consumption and production; and partnerships for the SDG goals. app earlier this year as part of our continuous innovation – leveraging digital technology to allow users to rapidly calculate and check blast designs,” he says. “As an example, we launched our new Blasting Guide mobile

Enhanced safety Indeed, enhanced safety has been

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MODERN QUARRYING QUARTER 3 - 2021