Safety first for woman at TGL
May 2010
News
Mining and construction are both worlds that are traditionally male-dominated, yet a female SHEQ officer at Thuthuka Group Limited (TGL) is overseeing one of the most important jobs on site at one of South Africa’s leading platinum mines.
TGL’s Olivia de Klerk is the SHEQ (safety, health, environmental and quality) officer at Boynton Platinum’s Pilanesberg mine, near Rustenburg. Before joining TGL, De Klerk gained extensive experience with several SHEQ consulting firms and also worked as the safety officer on two mines, so she is well qualified to ensure that the projects at Boynton are fully compliant with the strict safety legislation pertaining to mines.
Olivia de Klerk
TGL has been appointed to carry out three major projects for the mine since 2008: the construction of a 30 km steel water pipeline; construction of a 35 megalitre domed reservoir and construction of a 10 MVA power plant. TGL was additionally awarded the safety appointment on all three of these projects, which saved the mine from having to find a third party SHEQ provider.
De Klerk explains: “We start with the initial risk assessments, we train our sub-contractors’ employees and oversee management of the safety system. We have a safety representative on site at all times and I visit the site weekly to meet with the mine’s safety officer and TGL’s safety representative. I also carry out my own inspections to make sure that everything is compliant with safety legislation.”
One of the biggest challenges at this particular site, according to De Klerk, is having to incorporate the safety systems for construction into the much more stringent safety procedures laid down for mines, as TGL is basically operating three construction sites within the mine. The mine’s safety record is affected by that of its sub-contractors – such as TGL – and the mine’s incident-free man hours rating can be affected if sub-contractors do not adhere to strict safety procedures.
Boynton is in the process of implementing ISO standards, which means that future sub-contractors on site will have to be similarly certified. “TGL already has ISO 9001 certification in place so is well placed to carry out current and future contracts for the mine,” concludes De Klerk.
For more information contact Tom Marsden, Thuthuka Group, 0861 848 848, www.thuthukagroup.com
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