The issue of health, safety and environment (HSE) remains one of the top priorities in the workplace. By making health and safety the priority, construction companies are effectively communicating that competent employees are a valuable resource in the industry.
This was made known by Ahmed Seinu, senior Health, Safety and Environment advisor at the Ghana National Gas company.
Speaking at the weekly e-Discourse organised by Platforms Africa, Seinu said that efficient health and safety at workplace not only ensures that employees are happy and productive, but can also help to reduce both the human and business costs of injuries and unnecessary lawsuits.
Platforms Africa forum, an e-community of intellectuals, policy moulders and opinion leaders in Africa, was founded by award-winning journalist, Adeola Yusuf, in his quest to fight misinformation among Africans.
Health and Safety Officers, according to Seinu, need to create and implement policies and procedures in accordance with current legislation.
“If the Health and Safety Officer is working for an organisation that employs five or more people, they must also create a written Health and Safety policy and ensure that it is regularly updated to reflect any changes to the law. They must ensure that each member of staff is aware and adheres to this policy.
Another important aspect of the role of a Health and Safety Officer is running regular inspections and reflecting their finding in risk assessments, which are used to ensure that any hazards are rectified and risks are at a minimum.
Health and Safety Officers must also ensure that all staff receive adequate Health and Safety Training appropriate for their job. This includes distributing mandatory training, like Fire Awareness and Manual Handling,” he said.
Speaking further, he said little research attention has been given occupational health and safety practices adding that most countries and industries scarcely recognize it as a crucial determinant of national development.
“Most African countries are struggling with occupational health and safety practices as few attempts from the industries and the governments are notable.
Despite the struggling attempts, several steps have been taken to protect employees’ health and safety at both the
national and industrial levels. However, there is still little attention to occupational health and safety issues, as this is shown by several occupational health and safety hazards, risk and diseases in the country.
Many believe that this is due to lack of political will.
The private and public sectors must partner in this direction. There must be a renewed attention to action-oriented
OHS researches. These would eventually lead to the mainstreaming of occupational health and safety practices
into the national developmental agenda.
“Health and Safety issues are a matter of life and death. It is also a human rights issue as every employee has the right to optimal heath and safety in their working environment. For instance, in the UK, companies are prosecuted and fined millions of pounds and others are closed down due to violation of health and safety standards,”he added.
