Safety

The safety of our people is non-negotiable and we have  implemented a range of systems and standards to drive progress in this central aspect of our business.

A fatal accident or severe injury in the workplace is a  source of considerable distress, not only to employees and their families, but to Sentula as a responsible employer. Apart from the human considerations, an unacceptable history of safety-related incidents brings 
with it a destruction of confidence held by clients and regulatory authorities in a contract mining company’s ability to conduct its operations in a safe and professional manner. Safety is quite literally our licence to operate. Over the past year, an enormous amount of effort has 
been invested in a drive to develop our own safety standards and to address the historical reliance on those set by corporate clients. By doing so, we are developing our own set of best practices which not only include input from our clients but draw heavily on our own operational  experience. These practices can only be developed and supported through the maintenance of a strict reporting discipline that records all incidents and near misses and communicates these in a way that involves all levels of the Company. Through a process of dissemination and discussion, not just on the incident itself but on how to eliminate the causes and implement the appropriate strategies, we have gained valuable learnings, which are shared to prevent repeats.

Safety improvement initiatives

We firmly believe that our drive towards safety and ultimately zero harm is a realistic and achievable goal that cannot unfortunately be accomplished in a single giant leap, but rather a succession of small steps, each one taking us closer to our objective. 

Many of these steps take the form of safety initiatives our individual companies stage which, in many instances, relate directly to their own sphere of operations. Not only are they effective in encouraging and improving safe working practices within their own organisations, but the cross-pollinisation gained from their learnings is added to the collective safety wisdom of our Group.

Many of these initiatives involve training, particularly increasing the capacity of supervisors to manage safety through the use of risk assessments and standard operating procedures. A great deal of attention is given to increasing occupational skills that will have a direct 
benefit on safety outcomes. These include courses on collision avoidance, working with hazardous substances, working at heights and building knowledge on mine standards and procedures.Our research has shown that the majority of injuries occur in lifting and materials handling activities, especially when specifications are not adhered to. 

The safety of our people remains fundamental to our business, and we will continue to strive for improvements and achieve our safety goals through collective responsibility, commitment and ongoing focus.