Company Announcement - Not only does legislation dictate that industry employers act in a responsible manner with regard to the health and safety of their employees, but it also makes good business sense to achieve maximised uptime from employees by safeguarding their wellbeing. “Choosing the correct suppliers for occupational health and safety services and products can be frustrating and problematic. Ensuring that the supplier you have selected complies with OHS Act regulations as well as SABS or other required standards, is a task that may ultimately cost you more money if you are not up to date on current legislation,” says Joshua Low, A-OSH Expo Event Director at show organiser Specialised Exhibitions Montgomery.

A-OSH Expo 2015, which is being held between 12 and 14 May at the Gallagher Convention Centre, take the pain out of matching risk issues to viable solutions. The exhibition, the largest and most comprehensive of its kind on the African continent, provides visitors with the ideal opportunity to discuss their occupational health and safety, and environmental issues with the country’s leading suppliers and manufacturers.

Low explains that constant improvement in visitor offerings is key to sustainability for the exhibition. In addition to its recent name change to underline a more Africa-centric approach, the event has also added a number of new features. “We have had amazing feedback from visitors over the past four years and as a result we are constantly looking for ways to improve both the exhibitor and visitor experience. Visitors to A-OSH Expo 2015 can also look forward to a comprehensive educational programme which hones in on pressing and pertinent industry-related and legislative issues. This includes the SAIOSH conference, the Working at Height Theatre and the First Aid Demonstration Zone,” says Low. In addition, a new service – known as the Global Meetings Programme – will see visitors matched up with companies that are best able to devise solutions to their apparent threats and risks. “We have a number of other exciting plans in the pipeline and we will be rolling these out over the months preceding the exhibition,” Low points out.

On show
Local manufacturers and suppliers of personal protective equipment will showcase the latest trends and will be on hand to discuss best practice solutions that comply with OHS Act regulations. Elvex’s offering includes ballistic rated safety glasses that have been tested to US Military Standard MIL-PRF-31013 of 195 ms, which is seven times the ANSI Z87+ energy standard, and four times the Z87 Impact Velocity Standard, Superior Lens Technology. ALCO-Safe will be showcasing its newest high speed breathalyser, the Alcoblow Rapid Test, which can test numerous people at site entrances points or any other work place with ease and accuracy. The Rapid Test requires a tiny amount of air and automatically resets instantly to be ready for the next test. No mouth pieces are needed. The ALCO-Safe Alcontrol is the first breathalyser to be manufactured in South Africa and is a completely standalone unit.

According to the HSP Group, a health risk assessment should be conducted in conjunction with the chairman of the company’s health and safety committee and a person competent to perform such an assessment. As a result of this Health Risk Assessment the company’s medical surveillance, biological monitoring needs as well as employee PPE and health training needs will be identified. It is a legal requirement to quantify the risk by completing environmental surveys. With these documents the OHMP and OHP can put together a health risk assessment ensuring legal compliance medical examinations and follow-up is in place. Bramhope Safety Solutions believes that no company can afford unnecessary loss due to inefficient procurement practices, lack of maintenance and poor management of PPE and safety equipment. Proven management solutions guarantee a reduction in total cost of ownership. Apart from its wide range of more than 50 000 PPE and safety related products available via its revolutionary on-line shop, Bramhope Safety Solutions also offers consulting services, software solutions and training programmes. Consulting services include all aspects of PPE management, that is, policy and programme development, PPE profiling, procurement, logistics, distribution and maintenance.

Companies may also opt to run their PPE programme even more efficiently by using Bramhope Safety Solutions’ cloud-based software which takes care of all aspects of PPE management, including forecasting, sourcing, procurement, tracking usage per item and per user and real-time reporting.Charnaud’s four-in-one personal protective suit provides protection in severe heat applications. The ‘Metal-Safe’ branded personal protective clothing garments are made from next-generation personal protective fabrics to ensure that the user is sufficiently protected against life-threatening hazards such as fire, static, electric arc flash and severe molten red metal splash.

Underfoot safety is very important in any industry. COBA Plastics offers a number of heavy-duty safety flooring products for oily industrial locations, with ultra-tough recycled rubber and PVC options suitable for the rigours of South Africa’s mining industries. 
FastWorks is a browser based SHEQ software solution with integrated modules for occupational health and safety (ISO 18001), environmental (ISO 14001) and quality (ISO 9001). The FastWorks mobile application can be used offline to capture and read data, complete audits and more. I.B. McIntyre’s Master Lock products work on a simple yet effective method of lockout. Lockout restricts access or operation of machines, circuit breakers, switches, valves (ball or gate), distribution boxes or compressed air fitting – even single switches, single or three phase plugs and single valves – until the last person involved has removed his or her padlock from the device.
“The key to finding the right solution is to visit A-OSH Expo 2015. This melting pot of ideas provides a convenient and fast way of sourcing your health and safety needs, without the aggravation of sourcing suppliers over an extended period of time,” says Low.