The Zest WEG Group has made robust progress in aligning ISO 9001 standards with the requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and this alignment has elevated the group’s customer focus to a new level. All activities are being implemented to achieve high levels of health and safety with the main objectives being boosting customer satisfaction and employee motivation as well as contributing to the well-being of the group’s local communities.
So says newly-appointed Group SHE (Safety, Health & Environment) specialist, Jaqui-Lynne de Beer, who occupies this recently created position to co-ordinate all SHE activities within the Zest WEG Group.
“As a major supplier to industry in Africa, it is essential for all our companies to align their SHE undertakings with each other and with the required legislation,” says de Beer. “We are highly focused on raising awareness across the board of all the issues in this arena to improve our processes.
“All members of the group’s top management team have given their full commitment to the process, granting it top priority by making a major investment necessary to reach our objectives. This is not about paying lip-service to the law, we are truly committed to uplifting SHE standards across the group.”
Craig Smorenburg, Zest WEG Group’s SHEQ and customer services manager, adds that the intention is to extend SHE compliance above and beyond the legal requirements.
“Our health and safety policy confirms our moral and legal duty to ensure the health and safety of our employees, contractors and customers,” he says. “We are striving to ensure that our employees adopt the healthy and safe culture necessary to achieve a risk-free environment. We want to promote such a strong awareness of health and safety issues that our employees take these behaviours well beyond the workplace and make them a natural part of everyday life. This includes identifying and assessing safety, health and environmental hazards in both new and existing operations and managing the associated risk.”
The company promotes health and safety on its intranet and through extensive training and monitoring through the Group SHE Specialist and committees. These practices are intended to encourage ownership of SHE issues by all employees as a crucial element of the group’s day-to-day operations.
“To help achieve this, we have initiated a recognition programme that identifies and recognises the SHE successes of employees at all levels,” comments de Beer. “The programme aims to motivate employees to actively participate in creating a healthy and safe environment and has been very well accepted by our employee body.
“Implementing the Zest WEG Group management system is incredibly rewarding, as it offers the opportunity to develop partnerships with all levels of stakeholders. These relationships are crucial in achieving the group’s health and safety goals.”
For more information contact Jamie Wilson, Zest WEG Group, +27 (0)11 723 6000, jamiew@zest.co.za, www.zest.co.za
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