This achievement does not only confirm a safe working environment to employees, but also to customers – safely guiding their vessels in the port, despite adverse weather conditions often experienced in the windy city. “We are proud to have clinched an award at the National TNPA Safety Competition recently for achieving a Disabling Injury Frequency Rate (DIFR) of zero for one year. Under the banner of our ‘Zero Harm’ safety campaign, we are on a serious quest to eliminate safety incidents and maintain safety as our highest operational priority,” said Mpatisi Pantsi, SHE Manager for the port. He attributes the port’s success to, among others, effective communication and robust safety awareness among staff. “We ensure that risk assessments are conducted for each work area and that risks are communicated to all employees. Our work instructions are in place and our workforce is competent and medically fit. We have entrenched a safety culture with daily safety talks every morning, weekly safety symposiums and incident recalls – learning from incidents that have occurred in other ports,” Pantsi said. TNPA employees are exposed to a number of risks in their daily tasks. A disabling injury is an injury that results in permanent disability or temporary disability after the day of injury, impairing a person’s ability to perform the tasks he or she had been doing prior to the injury. To ensure that safety remains a priority in future, the port plans to be ISO 45001 accredited soon and focus relentlessly on all aspects of safety, including stakeholder engagement, safety awareness and visibility of management in the workplace.
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
