It is no mean feat for a building site with multiple contractors to achieve four years of injury-free status.

This remarkable achievement has been notched up by the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone Company SOC Ltd, which has not had a single debilitating injury since 2010, when it began construction of Phase 1A.

Linda Buthelezi, Safety Health & Quality (SHQ) Manager at RBIDZ, said the company laid the groundwork over a long time and that the health and safety of everyone involved in the RBIDZ’s development and projects remained the priority of the company. 

“Safety must be managed and everyone - with no exception - must be involved in its development. We have assigned a very high priority to safety in our operations and the goal is that everyone returns home healthy after a day at work,” he said.

Hence, the “Zero Harm and Injury Free” environment is promoted within the RBIDZ and its all operations and enterprises.

“The RBIDZ works with its locators to put programmes in place related to behavior-based safety, visible felt leadership, hazard identification and risk assessments, internal audits, management reviews and third party audits. Golden rules, standard procedures and safety training are also key components of the safety drive,” said Buthelezi.

Senior employees in all IDZ enterprises are expected to ensure compliance with health and safety laws and remain responsible for taking steps considered to be practical to mitigate any potential hazards.

Benchmarking is used to measure standards against leading best practice. Relevant information and experience is shared across all locators within RBIDZ.

Buthelezi said inter-enterprises site visits were encouraged as an integral part of the shared learning process whereby management teams have the opportunity to gain first-hand information on SHQ practices and access to innovative ideas.

He attributed the four-year injury free status to stringent measures that are in force, among which are that:

·       All contractors are issued with a baseline risk assessment for all site risks and hazards for accurate planning and project execution;

·       Detailed site specific risk assessments are mandatory before commencing work on all RBIDZ sites;

·       Detailed CV’s for key personnel are required to check for competence and experience prior to commencing work on all RBIDZ sites;

·       SHQ audits are conducted monthly by the RBIDZ, Department of Labour, Department of Environmental Affairs, Project Engineers, Safety Consultants and Department of Water and Sanitation to ensure full compliance to all requirements;

·       Managers responsible for SHQ issues conduct random visits to all sites to ensure adherence;

·       Inductions for all contractors and investors are conducted to assist in raising awareness and understanding of all risks and hazards on RBIDZ sites for better project planning and execution; and

·       Any incident, no matter how minor, is reported, recorded, shared with all, investigated and all preventive and corrective actions implemented so that recurrence of similar incidents is avoided. 

Buthelezi said the concept of ensuring a safe working environment and compliance with health and safety legislation was reinforced in contracts with construction companies and heavy industry tenants. Contractors and locators in the zone were also provided with and health and safety specifications. 

Buthelezi said a good health and safety record gives assurance to RBIDZ investors that the organisation operates in a safe and conducive environment. “Placing high priority on health and safety ensures that contractors, investors and the RBIDZ have less absenteeism due to illness and accidents/incidents. An impressive record also protects the RBIDZ brand and makes sure that litigation, claims against the Company and court cases are avoided.” 

Contractors and investors with very good health and safety performance are given recognition and awards, he said, adding “a safe workforce is a productive workforce”. 

John Paine, Richards Bay manager of Lovemore Bros Machinery Logistics which is located within Phase 1A, said the company supported the stringent safety measures enforced by RBIDZ. 

“Our company places high value on workplace safety and also has stringent safety rules.    

“Any business knows that employee attrition and absenteeism can be major obstacles. When you create a healthy and safe workplace, you reduce those issues in several ways. 

“Workplace safety is about much more than legislation. It’s about creating the kind of productive, efficient, happy and inspiring workplace we all want to be part of,” he said. 

Noluthando Lamula

Consultant/ Office Manager

Meropa Communications