Murray & Roberts’ STOP.THINK.ACT.24/7 safety initiative has been rolled out to all operating companies and project sites within Murray & Roberts Ltd as part of the group’s safety strategy. “All executives and managers at Murray & Roberts Cementation are committed to this initiative, which is intended to further enhance the understanding of safety best practice and make it part of our daily lives,” Dr Koos Oosthuizen, Risk Executive at Murray & Roberts Cementation, says.
“’STOP.THINK.ACT’ emphasises the importance of taking immediate action to correct unsafe conditions and behaviour, while recognising positive behaviour. ‘24/7’ highlights the need to be safety-aware at all times, both at work and after hours, during everyday activities.
“’STOP.THINK.ACT’ has been a longstanding safety philosophy for us, but the addition of the ‘24/7’ rider has activated a full revival of the existing safety strategy, refocusing the efforts of personnel at all levels on safety and risk by re-emphasising elements such as Visible Felt Leadership (VFL), Fatal Risk Protocols, Cardinal Rules and our group Safety Improvement Plan.
“VFL is immensely important, involving frequent interactions between management and staff, as well as the living out of safe behaviours in a visible manner by company leaders. Training in VFL methodology has already been completed by 740 operational leaders and we’re currently involved in VFL training of people at supervisory level.
“This training empowers personnel not only to take care of their own safety, but also to look out for their fellow workers. After all, safety is not a ‘bolt-on’ – it’s an integral, vital part of the entire business management process and the personal responsibility of each individual. Safety is embedded in every aspect of our organisation and has become a natural part of production. It’s implicit in our entire business management system and infuses every activity from procurement to rock face and final production.”
Oosthuizen defines safety culture as “the shared individual and group characteristics of beliefs developed from a response to the work environment, behaviour and personal perceptions”.
These elements in combination form a health and safety attitude that is brought into the workplace and the home.
“We believe that the active participation of management and our labour force in the Stop.Think.Act.24/7 safety initiative, coupled with the active implementation of Murray & Roberts Cementation’s Cardinal Rules, will continue to assist in achieving our ultimate goal of achieving Zero Harm across all our operating entities,” he adds. “We’re determined to create a mindset and an environment in which people believe it is possible to work injury free, regardless of where they are in the world, what role they undertake, or at which operation they are deployed.”
To this end, Murray & Roberts launched a “Zero Harm through effective leadership” initiative in 2012 to implement key recommendations arising from a health and safety assessment conducted by DuPont in 2010.
