Construction stakeholders to launch safety initiative - 2012-01-18

To improve the overall health, safety and welfare within the local construction industry, a group of constructionrelated companies will launch a nonprofit organisation called BuildSafe South Africa (BSA), later this week.

The organisation’s founding members Sasol Technology, Aveng Grinaker-LTA, Murray & Roberts, Fluor and Foster Wheeler said in a statement that BSA, which would be launched on January 19 at Emperor’s Palace, in Gauteng, would advocate the free exchange and sharing of information between organisations working in the South African construction industry.

BSA would represent construction-related stakeholder organisations that would publicly express their commitment and dedication to help improve the health, safety and welfare conditions of all workers, the statement read.

Further, information-sharing sessions would be held to ensure better awareness on all personnel levels to achieve an ‘incident and injury-free work place’.

The founders also stated that the initiative was successfully implemented in the United Arab Emirates and that leading representatives envisaged that South Africa could follow suit in its desired outcomes and key objectives.

Fluor health, safety, and environmental director Shane van der Nest said the BSA initiative was “aimed at influencing the construction industry’s attitude and disposition towards health, safety and welfare for workers through improving overall awareness and understanding”.

Sasol Technology executive manager people management Dawid Heymans said that the construction industry is lagging behind the mining sector in its overall health and safety performance and that the initiative would seek to close that gap.

Murray & Roberts MD Nigel Harvey added that the industry had to adopt an attitude of being open in recording incidents faced. “In managing construction projects going forward, this will create awareness and ensure that accidents are prevented and minimised.”

“It is in the industry’s interest to ensure that we continue to invest in the safety, health and environment on our construction sites,” commented Aveng Grinaker-LTA MD Grahame McCaig.

David Bass, who was appointed as BSA administrator, urged companies with a vested interest to “actively participate” in this initiative, designed to get information to the majority of the 55 000 construction contractors and associated stakeholders.