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In professions like sawmilling, where heavy machinery and equipment are engaged for day-to-day operations, workplace safety
must be maintained.
Safety at the cutting edge
In the sawmilling sector, where heavy machinery and equipment
are engaged for day-to-day operations, workplace safety must be
maintained in the face of high-risk environments with potential
hazards at every turn.
By Jennifer Rees | Photos by Shutterstock
T
hroughout the world, logging and sawmilling hold
higher risk status due to exposure to hazardous
machinery and equipment as well as a higher level of
direct physical engagement with tasks. According to the
Department of Labour’s (DoL) document, ‘Health and Safety
in Sawmills’, the primary concerns around occupational
health and safety in sawmilling and wood products
manufacturing include machine safety, conveyor systems,
lifting, and repetitive work; as well as work posture; noise;
chemicals; dust; and explosions.
“Sawmilling is a high-risk sector and issues of health and
safety are taken very seriously by the DoL. As such, a health
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and safety management system should be in place and it
should be maintained by the employer,” says Teboho
Thejane, chief communication officer at the DoL.
Paul Wainwright, senior manager: Safety, Health,
Environment, Quality (SHEQ) at South African Forestry
Company Limited (SAFCOL), state-owned forestry company
under the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), remarks,
“SAFCOL believes that the creation and maintenance of a
safe workplace and safe work behaviours are a primary
business requirement. Health and safety at SAFCOL’s
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