We are committed to honouring our safety values and sustaining an environment that promotes the safety of our employees and contractors.
Zero harm to our employees and contractors is the core value of our business and we are committed to the wellbeing of our employees and contractors, and maintaining a culture of safe behaviour. Fatalities and serious injuries at our operations resulting from fall of ground, use of track bound mobile equipment and slip and fall are our key safety risks.
Our approach
Our CEO is ultimately accountable for the safety of our employees and contractors on site. The Safety Departments provide the minimum safety standards and training material as well as audit the implementation of these requirements. Line management remains accountable for ensuring effective implementation of these requirements through supporting systems and procedures. We are members of the South African Chamber of Mine Committees as well as a member of the ICMM working groups.
Our Safety and Sustainable Development Policy, Safety and Sustainable Development Management Standards and Fatal Risk Control Protocols provide a risk based management framework for company-wide safety management, continual improvement and alignment with international best practice. In 2009, we have made progress with regards to the development and implementation of the environmental, health and safety SAP database to support the implementation of our management systems. We remain committed to achieving OHSAS 18001 certification for all our operations by 2011.
Visible leadership is crucial to our success in safety and is a powerful aid in creating an interdependent safety culture. To this end, we practice safe behaviour observations as a lead indicator to our safety performance and conduct continuous risk assessments to minimise unsafe behaviour or situations. Training and awareness campaigns form an important component of our safety management systems. In 2009, we continued the implementation of the “Laduma Score a Goal for Safety Campaign”, a soccer match learning map that seeks to reinforce safe behaviours and adherence to safety procedures to achieve serious injury free workplace by 2010. This campaign has proven to be both popular, in the light of the imminent 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
We continue to rigorously investigate incidents and near-miss incidents through the Incident Cause Analysis Method. Findings from these incidents are critical to our efforts in eliminating fatalities and are communicated across our operations. We report our safety incidents to the Department of Mineral Resources as required by the Mine Health and Safety Act 29 of 1996, which is aligned with the International Labour Organisation’s Code of Practice on Recording and Notification of Occupational Accidents and Diseases.
We have highly trained surface and underground rescue teams, fire fighters and emergency medical services available on a 24 hour basis to support our operations, while our exploration activities are assisted by international emergency service providers. We regularly review our emergency and disaster management plans and conduct training drills to optimise our responses to emergency situations.
Our safety campaigns and emergency response extends beyond the boundaries of our operations including extensive regional road safety initiatives, the impact of life style on the working environment and community assistance.
Our safety campaigns and emergency response extends beyond the boundaries of our operations including extensive regional road safety initiatives, the impact of life style on the working environment and community assistance.