The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Safety

  • Firm wins global food safety award

    Plantation Industries Limited a leading cocoaprocessing company in Nigeria has won the prestigious second edition of Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) 2018 Markets Awards for Africa Region.

    Global Food Safety Markets Award 2018 is a recognition of excellence in food safety.

    The award was is a reward of our huge investment of capital, expertise and energy as well as seamless Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and strict adherence to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regime in processing cocoa beans into high food grade cocoa products.

    Plantation Industries Limited won the award for the Africa region in recognition of its success in the application of GFSI Global Market Programme, a framework for building food safety capacity as well as encouraging continuous improvement.

  • Road shoulder, safety and job creation

    Road shoulder, safety and job creation

    I Can remember vividly that in the 70’s, some government workers were responsible for the clearing of drainage system and the road shoulders, but today, it’s like the governments at the Federal, state and local levels are no more seeing the need to regularly keep the drainage system clean and keep the road shoulders clear of every form of obstruction.

    What we often see today are over-filled drainage or gutters with water and some flowing over to cause hydroplaning and allied problems for road users.

    The most disturbing which prompted me to write this article is the case of road shoulders overgrown with weeds.

    I recently travelled from Ikole in Ekiti State to Oshogbo in Osun State. At a point, the road was taken over by overgrown weeds thereby narrowing the two-lane road to only one. Hence the incessant crashes along the road.

    Keeping the road shoulder clear of every form of obstruction will enable road users exercise more result-oriented visual or hazard perception skills for accident avoidance. It will also create opportunity for a faulty vehicle to park on the road shoulder for repairs without obstructing the traffic. Imagine what will happen if a vehicle breaks down on a two-lane road which has already been narrowed down to one lane by overgrown weeds. The sharp bends and the slopes on the road make it more hazardous.

    Thousands of unemployed Youths can be employed and equipped to regularly clear the drainages and road shoulders along the intra-State and inter-state roads. This will also reduce the rate of unemployment in the country as well as reduce the rate of road traffic crashes and fatalities.

    While passionately pleading with the governments to wake up to these challenges, I also want to plead with the road construction companies to make it mandatory to construct lay-bys at strategic points of every road to prevent a situation where vehicles that wants to drop passengers or needs repairs will obstruct free flow of traffic.

    Regular monitoring of roads by officers of the relevant government Ministries, Departments and Agencies is highly expedient to prevent further loss of lives and valuable properties on Nigerian roads. Prevention is always better, safer and cheaper than cure.

     

     

  • LASBCA urges engineers to report safety violations

    The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has urged engineers to be whistleblowers by reporting safety standard violations resulting in buildings collapse in the state.

    LASBCA General Manager, Olalekan Shodeinde, made the appeal when the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) paid him a courtesy visit in Ikeja.

    “Whistle blowing is an avenue to give us whatever information on any structure, be it construction or reconstruction, that is structurally defective,” Shodeinde said.

    He urged engineers and concerned members of the public to call the agency’s toll free lines to give information of deviation from approved permits and approvals and other atrocities on sites capable of jeopardising safety.

    Shodeinde listed the agency’s toll free lines as 070050504040 and 07000527222.

    He appealed to APWEN to sensitise building professionals against shoddy deals, which compromise safety and standard of buildings.

    “We need floods of information. We need to get professionals to get the force behind materials to avoid safety reduction in construction,” he said.

    He said Lagos, with about two million households, was the only mega city growing horizontally instead of vertical growth.

    According to him, developments in various parts of the state usually preceded governance such that hinterlands would have been built up without requisite building approvals and permits before government would get the information.

    He said the involvement of engineers to expose atrocities in building sites was important for an all-inclusive fight against buildings collapse.

    According to him, builders on sites often shun LASBCA advice and stressed the need for constant presence of professionals on construction sites.

    He said that getting building permits and approvals was not expensive, adding that many developers deviated from approved plans to short change government thereby compromising safety.

    Earlier, APWEN National President, Mrs Felicia Agubata, and its state Chairperson, Mrs Laolu Adedapo-Aisida, said the association had embarked on career mentoring of more women into engineering in tertiary institutions to accelerate Nigeria’s technological advancement.

    Other members of APWEN delegation included, Mrs Funmi Akingbagbohun, Mrs Edith Alagbe, Mrs Atinuke Wuraola-Owolabi, and Mrs Shakira Subair.

  • Safety policy statement coming in Lagos

    The Lagos State Safety Policy Statement will be signed next year, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    He said the policy was part of initiatives to ‘’effectively address emerging safety challenges inhibiting the Lagos mega city vision’’.

    Represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Tunji Bello,  at the unveiling of the rebranding of Lagos State Safety Commission, Ambode said the policy would help in  developing knowledge-based communities, using mechanisms that appreciate local laws, cultures and international best practices.

    The rebranding, he said, entailed the establishment of a safety training institute.

    The institute, he said, would phase out quack consultants who operate under the pretext of government backing.

    “This unique identity will help in abating the activities of impostors who have formed the habit of extorting money from the public under the guise of working for the government. It will ensure Lagosians are not defrauded.

    “I urge Lagosians to support the rebranded commission in every way possible especially by giving timely information on activities likely to jeopardise safety,” he said.

    The Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr Oluseye Oladejo said prevention and detection of potential risks of mishap were central to the state’s security measures.

    The rebranding idea, according to him, would create more awareness and deepen the commission’s cooperation with the public.

    He said: “We intend to embark on massive advocacy that will cut across all the sectors to ensure we are all on the same page as regards prevention of mishaps.

    ‘’The important thing is not to apprehend people. We need to create that awareness. The safety business is not a revenue generating venture but to ensure that we stay safe because staying safe is cheaper than imposing fine for infractions.”

    Lagos Safety Commission Director-General Hakeem Dickson said the rebranding would eliminate disaster through zero-tolerance for safety threats.

    Stakeholders, he said, would from next year sign a safety commitment pact for workers’ protection.

    “If they leave their home safe, they must be able to go home safe. We would project to people the measures they need to be safe in advance, and ensure utility safety becomes a culture for all. Being proactive simply means prevention is better than cure. The badge indicates you possess the authority to preach safety. We are also going to have consultants who will be registered practitioners,” Dickson said.

  • Navy unveils Safety Information portal

    Navy unveils Safety Information portal

    The Navy has launched an online Maritime Safety Information (MSI) portal and data centre to provide mariners with real time security and safety information on the waterways.

    The centre, located at the NN Hydrography Office on Point Road, Apapa, Lagos, was inaugurated yesterday by the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas.

    Ibas said the portal would provide adequate information on happenings in the maritime domain for sailors and ensure timely collation, processing and dissemination of navigational warnings, other safety information to mariners operating within the country.

    The CNS, who was represented by the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Sylvanus Abbah, said the availability of accurate and timely hydrographic data was a necessity for improved maritime activity.

    He said: “Robust Maritime activities cannot thrive without security and safety, which largely depends on the availability of accurate and timely hydrographic data and information.

    “This data can be in form of nautical charts, be it paper and/or electronic navigational charts as well as navigational warnings about uncharted dangers which need to be dessiminated quickly to facilitate safe conducts of maritime activities.

    “With this portal, I enjoin stakeholders to cooperate and utilise this facility for promotion of safety and security in Nigeria’s maritime environment.

    “With our waters safe and secure, robust maritime activities will thrive, which will boost Nigeria’s economy and ultimately improve the well being of Nigerians.”

    The Hydrographer of the Navy, Commodore Emeka Okafor, said: “The MSI portal and data centre is intended to provide navigational warnings of uncharted dangers and meteorological forecasts to mariners navigating within Nigerian waters.

    “On the other hand, mariners would be able to easily reach out to the hydrographer to report any uncharted features observed during their voyage within the Nigerian waters, which may constitute dangers to navigation.

    “Presently, the world is divided into 21 navigational areas and Nigeria is number two. Through this portal, Nigeria has fulfilled a critical International Hydrographic Organisation’s requirement for the development of hydrography.”

  • Lafarge Africa Plc partners Canaancity on safety

    A building solutions provider, Lafarge Africa Plc, has partnered an association of indigenous and foreign companies, Canaancity Consortium, on a safety awareness programme training for 200 employees of the consortium.

    The partnership is aimed at improving the safety standards and practices at Canaancity sites, which is building over 700 housing units in the first phase of estates it is developing. More estates are still being planned. Directors and heads of projects of the consortium attended a one-day health and safety training at the Covenant University Guest House, Otta, Ogun State, last week.

    Speaking on the training initiative, Director for Health and Safety at Lafarge Africa Plc, Graeme Bride, said: “We are always pleased to share our experience on safety in the Nigerian construction industry. Our aspiration to do business with zero harm is not limited to our factories and employees. We are also particular about safety on the sites of clients and contractors.”

    Canaancity Consortium Chief Executive O fficer (CEO) Pastor Tokunbo  Olofin said: “We are happy to partner Lafarge on this initiative. It will improve our project site safety standards and reduce lost time incidents. We see this engagement as an avenue to build a stronger relationship with Lafarge.”

    During the training programme, engineers, technicians and other operational employees were trained on the risks related to their construction work while health workers were trained on how to prepare for and respond to emergencies. There were also sessions on the best onsite safety practices such as deployment of safety signages as well as procedures for reporting and responding to incidents.

  • Safety enginering germaine to danger-free society

    The pursuit of a danger-free industrial and public environment will not be effective without sufficient training of safety engineers, former Ogun State Governor Gbenga Daniel has said.

    According to him, there was a need for engineers to have the mastery of safety engineering, noting that only those who have undergone specialised training in public safety measures should be certified.

    He spoke on the theme: “Assuring public safety in Nigeria – the roles of safety engineers”, at the Nigerian Institute of Safety Engineers (NISE) conference and Annual General Meeting at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.

    The former governor, who was represented by the Managing Director of Kresta Laurel Limited, Dideolu Falobi, said safety engineering is a pivotal field of engineering essential to accident prevention, design and implementation of modalities with acceptable level of safety.

    According to him, the most potent tool to achieve Zero Lost Time (LTI) in public and industrial safety is the utilisation of a robust risk assessment.

    “In the true spirit of engineering, a suitable and sufficient risk assessment should not only capture design and implementation stages, but also the pre-design. Besides, mandate review of these audit reports at planned intervals is essential for safety engineers to achieve zero incident and make positive impacts in society.

    “This engineering exercise would shed light on the professional skills and required competencies needed to implement the safety programmes,” he said.

    NISE’s National Chairman Adeyemi Oyedepo reiterated the body’s commitment to protect life, properties and the environment, by guiding organisations on safety, assisting statutory bodies to enact engineering standards and educate the society to contribute and adhere to safety regulations.

  • Navgas promotes safety standards

    Navgas has unveiled its ‘driving safety forward initiative’ in  Lagos. This came almost two years after it launched the same programme. According to the firm, the objective was to promote world-class safety standards and practices within the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry.

    Its management said:“Navgas strongly believes it is important to take a leadership role in ensuring safety of the Nigerian LPG industry.

    “Since Navgas introduced this initiative, we have achieved a number of accomplishments; the most notable being the mandatory installation of functional emergency shut offvalves on all LPG trucks.  Before Navgas started this programme, less than 20 per cent of LPG trucks in Nigeria had emergency shut off valves, and now almost all LPG trucks in Nigeria have them installed and this has greatly helped to control incidences of truck leaks in the industry.”

    It continued:“Navgas is now taking the Driving Safety Forward initiative a step further by directly reaching out to LPG drivers by launching a Loyalty and Reward programme.

    “Navgas believes that drivers, who come to our terminal serve an important role in the distribution chain and appreciating their efforts in safety will further reinforce safe behaviours, highlight the importance of safe practices in the communities they service and will help improve the overall safety of the LPG industry at large.

    “Navgas will reward drivers, who clearly demonstrate their commitment to safe LPG loading practices by entering them into a draw for various prizes. The initiative has begun on October 28, this year and will run till February 14, 2018.”

  • Engineers to sensitise on safety, prevent disasters

    Engineers to sensitise on safety, prevent disasters

    The Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers (NISE) has embarked on efforts aimed at preventing disasters and improving safety awareness on fire, flooding and building collapse.

    According to its Chairman, Abiodun Oyedepo, the move became necessary after safety concerns were raised in several quarters on fire, flooding and building collapse.

    As part of NISE’s efforts towards sensitising the public on preventive measures, Oyedepo said NISE leadership had been paying visiting various organisations and agencies, such as Chevron, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) (Retail), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Minister of Labour and Productivity, among others.

    At the places visited, Oyedepo said their responses were warm, with people expressing appreciation that Nigerian engineers had risen from their slumber.

    To this end, the NISE has slated its first conference, with the theme: “Assuring public safety in Nigeria: The roles of engineers”.

    The conference will hold from  November 7 to 10, at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos.

    “We are building a foundation for others to build on and are setting up chapters in more states of the federation, with the first one recently being inaugurated in Awka, Anambra State,” Oyedepo said.

    The Chairman of the NISE Conference Planning Committee, Seun Faluyi, said institution would work with regulatory agencies on capacity development programmes to address building collapse. He lamented that regulatory bodies were not sufficiently staffed.

    “Engineers know what to do if you want to prevent flooding even where there is plenty of rainfall. Where you design buildings and factor in safety during the construction, collapses can be prevented,” Faluyi said, adding that the assurance of safety is higher when qualified engineers are actively involved.

    The Conference Planning Committee Secretary, Kayode Fowode, said the NISE was sensitising the public on the need for housing construction supervisors in every state to take proper measures during construction to prevent building collapse. He said there would also be training courses for registered builders to identify problems during construction and address them promptly.

    A member of the committee, Oluwafemi Ogunseitan, asserted that for the entire value chain, from design to construction on site, NISE would support other regulatory bodies, adding that it would ensure robust safety checks through capacity building and necessary standards. He said the institution was not formed to compete with other safety bodies and agencies but to collaborate with all, to improve safety, as an engineering body.

    The NISE, a division of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), was inaugurated in January, last year. NISE is made up of engineers who are registered with the NSE and active in safety practice. Membership of NISE is open to engineers; persons involved in safety jobs are also welcome as associate members.

  • AMF Business Service, Safety awards

    Alpha Mead Facilities (AMF) has been adjudged winner of the High Quality Professional Business Service Award, organised by the 9jaSAFE Awards.

    The Award, which is designed to distinguish firms and individuals, who record outstanding results in their industries, recognised AMF, a facilities management (FM) company with operations in Nigeria, Dubai, South Africa, Ghana, Senegal and Cameroun for its outstanding achievements in the FM industry.

    “This is a well-deserved award, which we are convinced is merited, given the amount of time, financial and very high quality human resources that we have deployed to take charge of this aspect of our business,” Femi Akintunde, an engineer and Alpha Mead Group Managing Director,  said.

    He described the award as apt, giving the level of awareness about Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) in most organisations. “It’s quite unfortunate that some people still assume that safety is expensive, when in reality the cost of an accident or fatality far exceeds the initial cost of preventing same,” he added.

    He further explained that as a Health and Safety conscious organisation, the firm has, in its 10 years of operations, implemented strategies that ensure the strict compliance of its HSE policy, which is periodically reviewed to suit the dynamic nature of the business environment. Similarly, the company recently won the achievement award for Outstanding Commitment to Health, Safety, and Environment by the Nigeria Safety Award for Excellence.

    The Awards Co-ordinator, Mr. Jonathan Hicks, expressed pride in the success of the winners: “Working in this vibrant and exciting region offers many challenges and opportunities. Therefore, it is my pleasure to congratulate Alpha Mead Facilities and wish them the best of luck as they look ahead,”he said.

    The 9jaSAFE Awards is one of Nigeria’s most prestigious and respected award for Safety Professionals/Practitioners and organisations across the country. The award aims to recognise outstanding performances and laudable initiatives of companies and individuals, to foster and promote Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) best practices in the workplace and in the nation at large.