ASPASA/SARMA
VIEWPOINT
October - November 2013
MODERN QUARRYING
35
undations
Far left:
Building collapses such as those seen
in Bangladesh and Nigeria recently, can and
have happened in South Africa, unless more
careful attention is paid to the specification of
appropriate materials to meet each building’s
design criteria.
Left:
Where readymix concrete is being used,
design engineers should follow a paper trail and
ensure that the materials are being properly
procured from Aspasa members and that
readymix suppliers are registered and approved
by Sarma.
readymix concrete is being used, design
engineers should follow a paper trail and
also ensure that the materials are being
properly procured from Aspasa members
and that readymix suppliers are registered
and approved by Sarma. It is also advis-
able when mixing concrete onsite to have
the project manager oversee material
usage and ensure that the right mixtures
and ratios are as specified. Failure to do
so may have catastrophic consequences.
“If we are to prevent similar tragedies
as those in Bangladesh, Dares Salaam and
Lagos in which thousands of people died,
then it is critical that South African profes-
sionals take responsibility for the compo-
sition of the concrete they use. “
Safety initiative
Nearly a decade after Aspasa began audit-
ing member mines and quarries to ensure
compliance with required health and
safety requirements, the initiative is pay-
ing dividends. Today, fewer injuries and
fatalities are being registered than ever
before and Aspasa member companies
are involved in less serious incidents than
in years gone by. The Association grasped
the opportunity to become involved in
a mining industry-wide initiative in 2008
which aimed at improving the safety
record of the industry in measurable mile-
stone increments.
“The first goal of meeting current
international benchmarked standards is
upon us and is to be met by December
2013,” Pienaar says. While results will be
gathered and collated early next year, he
commends the industry for taking the
health and safety of its workers seriously
and committing to the ultimate goal of
completely eliminating deaths and seri-
ous injuries on all our quarries.
“Aspasa members are swiftly moving
towards the industry-wide goals. With the
assistance of regular ISHE audits, we are
able to guide our members to take pre-
cautions and move towards ‘zero harm’
within our industry. Our audits are geared
to help members achieve the goals of the
industry and our auditors advise and
coach members to implement effective
health and safety policies,” he says.
“This is done on an annual basis and
where repeat problems are not rectified
or are again encountered during the fol-
lowing year’s audits, the Association will
take strong action. If still not heeded
this may lead to the expulsion of mem-
bers from the Association. We are serious
about safety and so are our members,” he
says. Aspasa is working on setting up a
strong and healthy relationship with the
DMR Inspectorate to ensure that Aspasa
and the DMR work together in dealing
with health and safety in the industry.
The milestones set by the industry
leading up to the year 2020 include:
achieving a zero rate of fatalities and
injuries on a constant basis;
the complete elimination of silicosis
using new diagnosis techniques; and
the elimination of noise induced hear-
ing loss (NIHL) by regulating equip-
ment and individual machines to
below 110 decibels at any location on
the mine.
“Health and safety of workers is a top pri-
ority of all our Aspasa members and we
constantly use results from our annual
audits to improve the way we do business.
While members still do make mistakes
we believe that the overall awareness of
health and safety issues will drive down
the accident rate to the zero levels we are
aiming for,” Pienaar says.
The concrete and aggregates indus-
tries are being called upon to take respon-
sibility in their own communities and
collectively help to shape society simply
by speaking out and taking action against
things that are hampering the further
development of our country.
Solid foundations
Members of both Aspasa and Sarma, are
being urged to stand up against inef-
ficient or corrupt public services, high
crime rates, poor levels of education, ill
treatment of workers and poor corporate
governance. Pienaar strongly believes
that South Africa has the opportunity to
build on solid foundations and meet the
highest social and developmental goals
imaginable, but only if companies and
individuals act now, to route out problem
areas.
“Our members in the concrete and
aggregate industries already contribute
to building our country’s infrastructure
with rawmaterials that make up the foun-
dations of our roads, built environment
and infrastructure. Now we need them
to address tougher issues that threaten
to stifle development in their own towns,
regions and nationally.”
Members can contribute by insisting
government unlocks infrastructure devel-
opment programmes that have been
idling for years. Also, district and munici-
pal infrastructure budgets must be spent
and communities cannot be left waiting
for infrastructure and related services to
be delivered. Maintenance of existing
infrastructure must be highlighted and
tackled by all parties that are affected.
“Levels of crime in local communi-
ties and nationally must be tackled,” he
urges.“These are driven by various factors
including drugs, poverty, poor upbring-
ing and various other social factors. As
an industry we must stand up and work
towards alleviating all the factors that
can contribute to crime. Where crime still
occurs we must work with enforcement
© Shutterstock
