News & Media
February 2009
CONCOR WINS BOMBELA FLOATING TROPHY SAFETY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SAFETY ACHIEVEMENT
Concor Roads & Earthworks will be presented with the Bombela Floating Trophy Safety Award for passing the 1 million man hours worked without any lost time due to injuries on the Gautrain Project. This brings the project’s Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) well below the Concor Group’s benchmark figure of 1.0.
“At the end of September 2008, we had worked 1 290 000 man hours without any lost time injury being recorded,” Jaco van der Bijl, contracts director at Concor Roads & Earthworks, says.
Van der Bijl attributes this exceptional achievement to the establishment of a dedicated on-site safety department. “By having our safety experts on site they are able to educate the site personnel on an ongoing basis as well as identify and resolve any safety related issues proactively. This obviously drastically reduces and even eliminates any potentially unsafe practices on site.”
Van der Bijl adds that the safety initiative has complete buy-in from management. “The level of confidence in the process means that this enthusiasm and knowledge filters down to the people at the workface, creating a company wide culture of safety-first in all the staff.”
Concor Roads & Earthworks reinforces weekly on-site safety management meetings with weekly toolbox talks on safety related issues with the on-site labour force. “By keeping updates current, we are able to address any potentially problematic issues and find ways of working not only smarter but, more importantly, safer,” van der Bijl says.
Van der Bijl says that Concor has been proactive in its approach towards safety for some time now. “A couple of years ago we became more active in the mining sector, which has extremely stringent safety regulations because of the nature of the work involved. We consequently adjusted our approach to on-site safety and this has meant that we are probably ahead of the game because of our exposure to such a safety-conscious industry.”
Concor Roads & Earthworks has as its mission to provide the highest standard of service to its customers, and to create real sustainable value for shareholders and stakeholders. Its successes are further underpinned by a BBBEE vision fuelled by a large nucleus of young black engineers, carefully selected to contribute to the success of the company.
The company has undertaken many successful projects such as National and Provincial Roads, Gautrain, the Transnet Ore Line, the LUSIP Dam Project, Sishen Expansion Project and Assmang’s Khumani Project.
“The safety of both staff and the public is paramount, and each member of the team is aggressively committed to the Concor Group safety policy,” van der Bijl concludes.
From left to right – Jan Viljoen, safety manager; Nomakhaya Ntshalsha, safety officer; Jaco van der Bijl, contracts director and Jacque Germishuys, foreman, all from Concor Roads & Earthworks.