In the stope
Charles Mbekeni, head of health at Anglo Platinum.
Cas Badenhorst, lead: occupational health and hygiene
at Anglo American.
signs. In line with the company’s
operating model, safe work has to be
planned, appropriately resourced, and
properly executed. The health function
has a critical role to play in the drive to
zero health and safety incidents.
Working with government
departments and social partners,
the company continues to focus
on community-based initiatives
— ranging from infrastructure
development, capacity building, and
programme support. The company’s
recently published sustainability
strategy looks through the prism of the
sustainable development goals (SDGs)
and seeks to improve the planning and
coordination of these initiatives at a
regional level. example basic medical surveillance (to
ensure workers are fit and that they
maintain their health) and the physical
and rehabilitation units to ensure that
workers are physically capable of doing
the job they are assigned to do. In
certain areas, we also have secondary
health services like dentistry. There
are emergency services, which cover
emergency situations at the mine
and in the surrounding communities.
Within that arrangement of services,
our employees also have access to
employer-independent employee
assistance programmes, to provide
support for psychological and social
issues. There is a range of services
available for the workers on site, should
something go wrong.
Are all Anglo American’s
health functions performed
in-house or does the company
outsource its health and safety
responsibilities, and are there
facilities at each mine? How important is the health of
its workers, both mental and
physical, for Anglo American as a
company?
CB: Our health functions are performed
in-house. Anglo American has extended
health facilities at most operations. These
facilities cover a range of services, for
CB: People’s health and well-being
are at the heart of our business. At
Anglo American, we do not regard the
concept of zero harm as only applicable
to fatalities. For us, zero harm includes
health as well, whether mental or
physical. We have realised over the years
that there are many non-occupational
health issues that influence occupational
health. We are moving to a proactive,
integrated, and sustainable health
promotion and management policy. We
are unconditional about health.
Personal habits like smoking,
for example, makes workers more
susceptible to exposures in the
workplace, so we have to take general
wellness into account. The issue
of weight, for example, is another
lifestyle factor that we focus on. Both
underweight and overweight workers
can be compromised, and it can affect
their ability to perform optimally.
Do you have programmes in
place to educate employees
about lifestyle choices?
CB: Yes, we do. Most of our
programmes are risk based. We will
determine the risk at each specific
operation because exposures and health
issues differ at each mining operation
and within its associated community.
South Africa has a different community
health risk profile compared to sites
in a first-world country like Australia.
AUGUST 2018 MINING MIRROR
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