Sasol today announced that it has embarked on a comprehensive change management programme to further improve safety at its South
African operations. Sasol's Safety Improvement Plan (SIP) has a number of key elements covering safe behaviour, contractor safety
and process safety.
The plan addresses the main issues and key findings highlighted by DuPont Safety Resources, as well as concerns communicated internally
and by other stakeholders, including the major unions.
Sasol appointed DuPont Safety Resources, an internationally reputable safety consultancy, in November 2004 to undertake a comparative
review of its selected South African operations against international best practices in the areas of leadership, organisation, and
operational and process safety. The review process included interviews with management, employees and unions, site visits and document
reviews.
The intention of appointing DuPont was to help Sasol build a stronger safety culture throughout its South African businesses, following
a spate of accidents at some of its plants last year. However, DuPont was not mandated to investigate the accidents as formal investigations
by the Department of Labour were already underway. In terms of its brief, DuPont has provided Sasol with an independent review of areas it
identified for improvement.
On presenting its findings at Sasol's head office in Rosebank, Johannesburg, DuPont commented that "there are many world-class safety best-practices
within Sasol." It recommended that these be extended and communicated throughout the Sasol group.
"In the interests of transparency, we have placed a copy of DuPont's
findings and recommendations on the Sasol internet site for all stakeholders
to see, says Sasol chief executive. "We are fully committed to eliminating
injuries and fatalities at our worldwide operations. Obviously, those
findings that have warranted urgent attention have already been attended
to. Improvement of contractor safety is also well underway."
The Sasol chief executive says these initiatives endorse Sasol's key values of customer focus, winning with people, excellence in all we do, safety,
continuous improvement and integrity throughout its businesses.
The DuPont report, titled "Key Findings & Recommendations from External Process Safety Management & Occupational Safety Management
Review of Sasol Operations (South Africa)" is available at the Sasol internet site: www.sasol.com
Sasol's Safety Improvement Plan takes into account the recommendations made by DuPont, as well as the outcomes from a recent group-wide Safety
Health & Environment conference, meetings held with the major trade unions and subsequent forum meetings.
The plan has a number of key elements, namely:
- Programmes aimed at improving the safe behaviour of everyone working at Sasol facilities. These programmes include initiatives to coach and empower managers, supervisors and safety representatives in identifying and assessing unsafe behaviours and safety hazards. They will also support, review and, where required, clarify roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of management and employees throughout the organisation.
- Review of group-wide standards for the selection, training, performance and management of contractors.
- Improving process safety management across the whole organisation, focusing on the technical safety aspects of chemical processes and facilities.
- Leveraging the sharing and implementation of best practices company wide.
"The above initiatives are aimed at embedding a culture in Sasol where
safety is the first priority in every action we undertake. I would like
to reiterate that at Sasol we have zero tolerance for unsafe conditions
and behaviours, and we look forward to continually improving operations
and achieving a world-class recordable case rate target of 0,5 by the
end of this year. DuPont is recognised as a world leader in safety and
we have learned much from being assessed against their world best practices.
Implementing their recommendations is our highest priority," says the
Sasol chief executive. "We want to ensure that every one of our employees,
and others who work on our sites, returns home safely from work each day."
The Sasol chief executive adds that Sasol and the trade unions representing
its employees - the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied
Workers' Union (CEPPWAWU), Solidarity, and the SA Chemical Workers Union
(SACWU) - have further embarked on discussions to develop a partnership
approach to improving safety throughout the company.
Sasol today officially handed over the key findings of the DuPont safety report to the Department of Labour and labour union
representatives.
last updated: 26 May 2005. |
