FEATURES
Safety in the sawmill encompasses a wide set of parameters, such as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements.
Continued from page 36
sawmill is governed by the company’s health and safety
policy and all supporting standards, procedures
and processes.”
The importance of policy implementation is echoed by
Davron Swift, group services manager at Rance Timber, who
notes that policies and procedures around safety in the
sawmill are put in place to ensure not only legal compliance,
but also to protect the health and safety of its employees.
“As an employer, we are required to provide a safe
working environment for all our employees, who are, in
turn, legally required to adhere to and maintain a safe
working environment. These statements are clearly defined
in sections 08 and 14 of the South African Occupational
Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHS),” he says, adding,
“Safety encompasses a wide set of parameters, which
include, but are not limited to, Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) requirements, machinery operation
requirements, best practices, hazard identification and
control, risk assessments, general safety rules and
employee safety training.”
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STATUTORY REGULATIONS AND THE SAWMILL
Under South African law, any company that employs
individuals is required to comply with the abovementioned
OHS Act and its 22 applicable health and safety regulations.
This is according to Swift, who notes that, “The applicable
regulations will only apply to operational tasks and
functions that are specifically regulated in terms of such
regulations. Over and above this, there are South African
National Standards (SANS) that may be applicable to terms
stated in these regulations; failure to comply with these
may result in imprisonment or a fine issued by the National
Department of Labour.”
“SAFCOL has its own internal Health and Safety Policy
and Safety, Health and Environmental Standards, which are
compliant with all applicable requirements of the OHS Act
and Regulations. In the longer term we intend to certify our
health and safety management systems to the recently
published ISO45001:2018 standard,” Wainwright explains.
Thejane notes that not just one, but several pieces of
legislation apply to the sector for compliance by the
See more on page 40