Safety, Health and Environment Management Systems (‘SHE’)

ACMP member companies have all adopted vital management systemsthat contribute substantially towards improving the lives of employees and the communities surrounding their operations.
Such has been the ACMP’s dedication towards these ends that members can boast environmental, health and safety  standards comparable to some of the best in the world.

Management systems that have been embraced include the ISO 14 001 Environmental Management System; OHSAS 18 000 Occupational Health and Safety System; ISO 9001:2000 Quality Systems; DEKRA Safety
Systems and NOSA Platinum 5 Star System.

We have been able to quantify our performance against these systems through the bi-annual certification audits by independent accredited auditors. These exhibit the continuous improvement in memberperformances as well as their legal compliance. The latter is still problematic in so far as South Africa’s legal framework remains fragmented.

Nevertheless, constant fine-tuning of these systems has ensured that ACMP members comply fully with national, provincial and local authority legal requirements.

In addition, our performance improvement has shown that we are also achieving notable results through our enhanced employee training and the upgrading and installation of new and state-of-the-art equipment. This is used in production as well as emissions control and monitoring.

Employee Safety, Health and Well Being

The South African cement industry directly employs about 5 230 people (excluding contractors).
Coupled to the dependency factor associated with this figure, (between 4 and 7 people for each employee depending on the nature of the operation) this means that an additional 18 000 to 33 000 people gain their livelihoods from the industry.
In short, ACMP member companies collectively have a significant responsibility to ensure the safety and health of all their employees and consequently, all members place a high priority on occupational health and safety. Each ACMP member company runs a number of health and safety programmes.

Actively caring for the health of our companies

Since 2004, we have implemented an HIV/AIDS programme amongst our employees. Our strategy is two-pronged; to promote safer sexual behaviour as a means of preventing new infections, whilst at the same time offering treatment and care for those of our employees that are already infected with HIV. Key interventions have included:

• Training of Peer Educators
• Anonymous HIV prevalence testing
• Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices (KAP) Survey
• Road-shows involving talks by people living with HIV and AIDS
• Information and awareness on HIV/Aids
• Voluntary Confidential Counselling and Testing (VCCT) campaign
• A comprehensive medical management programme for employees living with HIV and AIDS

Incident statistics

Despite a 7% increase in man-hours worked during the past year (2006),the number of disabling injuries has declined y 20% from the years 2004 until 2006.

Incident Statistic YTD December 2006
Consolidated Industry Statistics  

 Note: Participating Organisations are:
Afrisam Pty Ltd.
Lafarge SA Pty Ltd.
Ash Resources Pty Ltd.
NPC-Cimpor Pty Ltd.
PPC Pty Ltd.
Cemlock Pty Ltd.
IDM Cement Pty Ltd.

Safety Initiatives

In an effort to further enhance our safety standards, new safety initiatives, including Behaviour Based Safety programmes, have been launched to ensure a more focused approach to health and safety at both the plant and at home. The competency of all staff is a crucial consideration in ensuring employee safety and it is rewarding to see the number of learnerships in the industry increasing significantly. Currently, there are more than 74 learnerships amongst three of the ACMP’s cement manufacturing companies.

Staff Competence

The cement industry is grouped into the mining SETA, which is an active participant in the development of competency standards for the cement and mining processing industry. 829 unit standards have been registered with the Mining Qualifications Authority. Learning material for a range of skills has been developed, including the following:

• Rock breaking
• Explosives for mines and quarries
• Making mines safe
• Mobile mechanical equipment operations
• Mineral processing
• Crushing and screening
• Milling, and
• Supervisory and managerial functions

Input is being given into aspects of logistics, which is being dealt with by other technical reference groups within the mining sector.