After a number of accidents at its operational plants, dual-listed fuel and chemicals group Sasol on Wednesday declared safety “a top priority” for 2005.
Sasol CEO Pieter Cox addressed the media in Johannesburg, saying that there is no greater priority in the company than safety.
He added that the group has a zero-tolerance approach to unsafe behaviour.
The group, which has 33Â 000 employees, spent R450-million on safety measures in 2004, according to Cox.
Cox said the group has a target of a 0,5 recordable case rate (RCR) for 2006, or at least a 50% reduction on the 2001 baseline — an RCR rate of between 0,1 and 0,5 is an exceptional world standard on safety.
The RCR for the group at the financial year-end was 1,03, compared with 1,34 in 2003 and 2,18 in 2002.
“While an important improvement, it is evident that additional and ongoing efforts are required if we are to meet the group’s target of 0,5 before the close of the 2006 financial year,” Sasol general manager of safety, health and environment Mike Rose said.
Cox pointed out that the recent spate of fatal accidents in the group’s operational plants was unacceptable and the errors have flown in the face of safety.
“It is important to put things into perspective and necessary to contextualise this safety issues. Sasol is a company of international stature and integrity, and we have obligations and responsibilities to safety,” he noted.
The group has concluded its internal investigations into the recent accidents, but Cox could not be drawn into the status of the investigations because external investigations are still continuing.
The company has come under fire from trade unions and the Department of Labour on safety matters.
According to the group’s benchmarking safety performance, it had 12 fatalities per 100Â 000 employees in the 2003/04 financial year.
In 2003, when it came to injuries, companies such as Exxonmobil Chemicals, Dow and BASF were ahead of Sasol, while the group fared better than Bayer, Shell Chemical, Eli Lilly and Eastman Chemical, Sasol said.
Cox noted that a safety culture is an integral part of Sasol.
During the 2004 reporting period, there were 26 significant process safety incidents throughout the group, compared with 24 incidents in 2003 and 63 in 2002.
This represents a 35% reduction on 2001 levels and indicates the group is on track for meeting the 2006 target, according to Rose.
The group has appointed an independent safety company, DuPont, to assess its safety status.
The Dupont review feedback is expected in the next quarter. — I-Net Bridge