Introduction | Fines and legal action | Safety and occupational health | Enviroment | Communities and CSR |
Stakeholder engagement | Economic contribution/value add
The Group’s various operations manage their health and safety to ensure the wellness of their employees and the sustainability of their operations. The control and eventual reduction of all hazards in the workplace requires a team effort involving the active participation of all stakeholders. This includes management, unions, suppliers and regulators, as well as workers and their families. The Metorex occupational health and safety policy requires the provision of appropriate resources for training and ongoing actions to ensure continual improvement in occupational health and safety performance. Our employees and contractors take ownership of these programmes by complying with standards and procedures and by exercising their duty to withdraw from an unhealthy or dangerous situation (for the full policy text see www.metorexgroup.com).
Safety
Once again we are gratified that our continued investment in safety training and capacity has led to another fatality-free period for the Group. Ruashi has seen in excess of over two million fatality-free shifts worked since the inception of the project in 2004, which includes the construction work that has taken place over this period. Equally gratifying, the past three years have seen a steady decline in lost-time injuries (“LTIs”) both in absolute terms and in frequency rates across all operations. We believe that this is driven primarily by our continued investment in safety training, the implementation of the Safe Production Rules, the confidence employees have in refusing to work in unsafe conditions, and the focused identification and reduction of operational hazards in the workplace by all employee. A detailed case study of our investment in safety training at Chibuluma, which leads the Group in this area, is included in this report.
Performance statistics for the Group
| |
Six months to
December 2010 |
12 months to
June 2010 |
12 months to
June 2009 |
Non lost-time injury frequency rate
per million man-hours worked |
|
|
|
| Ruashi |
44.3 |
56.8 |
6.9 |
| Chibuluma |
6.6 |
13.2 |
21.3 |
| Sable Zinc |
4.4 |
14.4 |
108.0 |
| Kinsenda |
1.5 |
2.3 |
1.5 |
| Group |
24.5 |
25.3 |
11.5 |
Lost-time injury frequency rate
per million man-hours worked |
|
|
|
| Ruashi |
0.0 |
1.9 |
0.5 |
| Chibuluma |
3.8 |
2.8 |
4.0 |
| Sable Zinc |
0.0 |
2.1 |
22.0 |
| Kinsenda |
0.0 |
2.3 |
5.4 |
| Group |
1.0 |
1.5 |
2.1 |
Serious injury frequency rate
per million man-hours worked |
|
|
|
| Ruashi |
0.5 |
0.6 |
0.5 |
| Chibuluma |
0.9 |
0.9 |
0.9 |
| Sable Zinc |
0.0 |
0.0 |
15.0 |
| Kinsenda |
0.0 |
1.5 |
0.8 |
| Group |
0.5 |
0.8 |
0.3 |
| Lost day severity rate
days per lti |
|
|
|
| Ruashi |
0.0 |
11.1 |
9.5 |
| Chibuluma |
8.5 |
6.8 |
18.7 |
| Sable Zinc |
0.0 |
2.0 |
4.3 |
| Kinsenda |
0.0 |
15.7 |
4.9 |
| Group |
8.5 |
9.9 |
5.8 |
Greater awareness has been created through the introduction of the electronic SHEC management system. This has played a significant role in increasing the number of hazards being identified, reported on, and acted upon across the operations. In addition, hazard reporting by employees is encouraged as part of regular safety talks as well as through follow-up training. The electronic SHEC management system is being rolled out on an incremental basis. Employees have access to the system via an internet interface. It has become standard practice to conduct HAZOP studies on all new installations and projects.
Metorex conducted external fire safety reviews on operations where solvent extraction processes are utilised for copper recovery. The recommendations of the reviews were adopted by management and implemented. Emergency preparedness on all sites is reviewed quarterly and this has resulted in the upgrading of emergency equipment and improved procedures and conducting regular emergency evacuation drills. The Safe Production Rules have been printed in pocket-size booklets which are issued to employees during training sessions and it is mandatory that all employees have their booklets on their person at all times.
While there has been an improvement in safety trends and practices throughout the Group, the challenge of achieving zero lost-time injuries remains. A total of 15 lost-time injuries have occurred over the last 12 months and these were preventable. Of the 15 lost-time injuries, three were due to minor rock falls as a result of inadequate barring, four were injuries resulting from the manhandling of equipment, and three were due to a sudden release of stored energy. To prevent a recurrence of these lost-time injuries, the following initiatives are in place:
- Increased senior management presence at the workplace to coach, build trust, and encourage commitment and participation from all team members.
- Operating standards are being reviewed and revised where necessary.
- Employees are briefed after all accidents and learning points are shared.
- A Code of Practice relating to falls of ground at Chibuluma has been completely rewritten.
- Training on the Safe Production Rules has been increased and the process governing the implementation of these rules is audited with recommendations being implemented.
- Appropriate discipline is applied where the safety measures were in place but were disregarded by the affected persons.
- An increased emphasis on planned task observations for high-risk tasks.
- More focus on task risk assessments.
We are pleased to report that all underground personnel at Chibuluma now have access to fully functional refuge chambers and are issued with self-contained self-rescuers whenever they go underground. In addition, all underground mobile equipment at Chibuluma has been equipped with collision-avoidance detection devices which warns drivers of nearby personnel and other mobile equipment. An ongoing programme is in place to prevent employees from reporting for work under the influence of alcohol and to prevent the abuse of alcohol. We are proud of the Chibuluma Mine rescue team which demonstrated their competence by winning one of the quarterly Zambian mine rescue team competitions.
The training of employees at Ruashi Mine remains a high priority with a significant emphasis being placed on recruiting and appointing skilled training staff. The mine has trained and appointed 12 technical training officers who are tasked with training employees within their assigned areas of influence. Their responsibilities include the writing of procedures, the training of employees in those procedures and planned task observations.
Sable Zinc has appointed a dedicated safety officer and commissioned an on-mine first-aid station. This, together with regular first-aid training, ensures that employees have rapid access to first-line care should an injury occur at the workplace.
Kinsenda continues to focus on the training of employees to improve hazard identification and risk assessment as well as to improve the implementation of the Metorex Safe Production Rules.
Case study
Investing in training for a safer workplace at Chibuluma
Chibuluma strives to continuously improve its safety and occupational health performance by seeking to prevent all incidents and accidents and minimising hazards inherent in the working environment. Safety trends for the period 2005 to 2010 show an overall downward trend in the annual reportable injury rate from 2,55 to 0,94, although the rate spiked in 2006 at 5,3. The Company is committed to moving beyond simple legal compliance to ensuring that appropriate resources for training and personal protection equipment are provided and that as part of their training all employees and contractors understand that it is their right and duty to withdraw from an unhealthy or dangerous situation.
Workplace safety is recognised as a continuous challenge which requires constant effort to prevent complacency. Chibuluma management has therefore invested heavily in safety training with two focus areas: an extensive induction process to ensure workplace competency and high levels of safety awareness, and regular refresher training for all employees and contractors to constantly ensure competency levels. The foundation of their safety training is the extensive induction process each employee and contractor is required to undergo prior to being allowed into the working environment. At a minimum formal induction lasts a week.
The induction training not only communicates the Company’s safety rules and procedures but seeks to create and educate the trainee on how the mine, plants and support services of Chibuluma fit together and operate. By working through the Company’s Safe Production Rules booklet and using a variety of training media, the inductee is given a detailed understanding of the generic safety challenges and the risk minimisation procedures on the mine.
Understanding of the induction content is tested at every level and minimum scores are required before the inductee can proceed to the next stage. From there the inductee moves onto his/her job-specific induction and training. A particular focus area of this is the training of employees with equipment and machinery which they are likely to use and come into contact with. This is to ensure that employees have the technical ability to operate the machinery efficiently and safely, while also being aware of the inherent risks associated with operating their equipment. Training is carried out using original equipment and in most cases making use of trainers from the equipment suppliers themselves. A number of assessments are completed during the training before the new employee can proceed to the workplace. An example of this has been the extensive training of underground employees on the self-rescue packs which are mandatory for everybody operating underground. Chibuluma is only the second Zambian mine to introduce these and therefore had to invest considerably into ensuring that all employees are familiar and comfortable with this safety device.
Following the completion of induction, the employees spends a week in their new position. At the end of the first week there is an assessment of their safety behaviour conducted by immediate colleagues and a supervisor. The purposes is to ensure that all employees work as a team and look out for each other in respect of safe behaviour. If an employee’s workplace awareness and safety behaviour are deemed inadequate, they are required to undergo additional training. Once an employee has completed this process they are phased into the job with the help of their team members before being left entirely on their own. Only at this stage is the employee deemed to have reached the required competency.
The safety message in induction is reinforced on a regular basis through refresher courses and specific safety campaigns. The Chibuluma workforce, especially the employees working underground and in the plant, operates on a team or buddy system where peer pressure reinforces safe behaviour. Unique in the Zambian mining sector, Chibuluma operates a safety bonus system whereby 40% of the bonus is linked to safety performance. Mine management is required to lead by example through visibly felt leadership. In order for employees, including managers, to qualify for the safety bonus, the mine must be fatality and incident free for the relevant period. To ensure that this does not lead to the covering up of safety incidents, Chibuluma management is very explicit in its employee communications regarding the right of every employee to refuse work in an area they deem unsafe or for which they feel insufficiently competent. There are no penalties for refusing to work in an unsafe area and whistle-blowing on unsafe behaviour is explicitly encouraged. Awards for the best information on accident prevention through proactive behaviour are handed out at safety meetings.
Despite this, it is still an unfortunate reality that accidents happen and over the past six years the mine has recorded two fatalities. It is critical that lessons are learnt from these incidents to prevent their recurrence. In both instances people were struck by loaders underground. Investigations revealed that the root cause lay in the restricted field of vision of the loader drivers with respect to people and objects closer than six metres. In response, anti-collision warning devices have been installed in all cap-lamps and vehicles to provide a warning to vehicle operators and personnel of vehicles and people in close proximity. These devices provide the drivers of underground vehicles with visual and acoustic signals of people and vehicles in their immediate proximity. In addition, reflectors on the personal protective equipment (“PPE”) of underground workers have been increased.
Beyond this Chibuluma’s safety team constantly reviews the weekly and monthly incident reports which include near misses. Based upon this information, risks are identified and initiatives launched to mitigate the hazard in the workplace and to include these risks in induction programmes. For an employee to constantly work safely and in an effective manner, it is necessary to ensure that they take their leave and get rest. Every employee is therefore required to take their annual leave at some stage during the year and upon return from leave that exceeded 14 days, undergo a one-week refresher induction in which particular attention is devoted to any new safety initiatives or changes in operating procedures. Through this constant investment in the training of employees, Chibuluma can realistically work towards eventually eliminating serious workplace incidents.
Occupational health
Metorex is committed to providing a healthy workplace for its employees by progressively identifying, mitigating and, where possible, eliminating occupational health exposures. Wherever such exposures cannot be eliminated, the use of personal protective equipment is strictly enforced. In addition, regular scheduled medical examinations are conducted on each employee and long-term contractors at appropriately equipped occupational health centres. This surveillance programme forms the mainstay of the Metorex operations occupational health efforts by ensuring regular screening, appropriate work placement, early detection and the prompt referral of occupational diseases. Malaria remains the major cause of sick leave.
Metorex is one of the few companies in the DRC and Zambia to have implemented audiometric testing on all employees as part of a comprehensive occupational health programme.
The Chibuluma Mine operates a hospital in Kalulushi which, although primarily a mine hospital, also provides a valuable service to the community with modern equipment supplied by Chibuluma Mine. The mine is very proud of the new digital x-ray machine which has been commissioned. One wing of the hospital has been refurbished and Chibuluma, together with the Zambian National Aids Network (“ZNAN”), has established an HIV/Aids clinic which provides informed voluntary counselling and testing (“IVCT”) for HIV/Aids as well as provides antiretroviral medicine to the community. Chibuluma facilitates an incentive system to encourage the community to attend VCT sessions.
The Ruashi medical station is also well equipped with modern audiometric measuring booths and a new x-ray facility. Full audiometric and lung function testing is performed on site. The facilities have been expanded to include testing for malaria.
Medical examinations F2010
| |
Number of
examinations |
| Chibuluma |
2 406 |
| Sable |
172 |
| MMK |
3 786 |
| Ruashi |
3 785 |
Malaria remains one of the principal health issues for the Central African operations and Metorex continues to work with a range of partners to contain the risk of the disease to its workforce and community. At Chibuluma this is done by meeting a substantial portion of the annual budget for the malaria control programme known as Indoor Residual Spraying (“IRS”) for both the Kalulushi and Lufwanyama District Health Boards. The objective of this programme, run in partnership with the Zambian Ministry of Health, is the spraying of mainly residential structures where the malaria-carrying mosquito can shelter from the more conventional blanket spraying programmes. Together with the district health boards, and representatives from the Ministry of Health the number and location of structures targeted and sprayed is determined on an annual basis.
Although the Zambian Government withdrew funding for the programme, Chibuluma still participated in the spraying of the targeted 17 440 structures, of which 11 440 are in the Kalulushi area, with the remainder in nearby Chambishi. Also included in this spraying campaign were 15 health facilities and their surrounding areas in Lufwanyama district.
While Ruashi, MMK and Sable do not spray for malaria, the companies support ongoing programmes of clearing drainage ditches, trenches as well as other bodies of stagnant water within the community to reduce breeding opportunities for the mosquito.
The Group also recognises that HIV/Aids represents a healthcare challenge for the areas in which it operates and the Group seeks to work with partners to promote behavioural changes among the workforce and their families that reduce the risk of contracting this disease. In addition, the Group facilitates the HIV/Aids voluntary counselling and testing as well as the distribution of ARVs at all its medical facilities. These activities take place against a background of strict non-discrimination against those infected with HIV/Aids among its workforce.
|
