Sibongiseni’s Itinerant Life Ensures Site Safety For Gauteng Piling
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“Have Safety File, Will Travel” has become a way of life for Gauteng Piling’s Health & Safety Officer, Sibongiseni Dlomo, as he makes unexpected spot checks to ensure that his safety rulings are implemented at sometimes up to eight or more widespread sites where Gauteng Piling is active. Dlomo, 30, who joined the leading piling company in 2006 as Site Foreman, studied Health & Safety at a one-year Master Builders Association North-sponsored diploma course for which he ‘graduated’ at the end of 2009. The following year Hennie Bester, MD of Gauteng Piling and a past president of MBA North, promoted Dlomo to become what Bester now calls “GP’s Safety Dude”.
The young man now controls Gauteng Piling safety at sites that could be as far apart as Nelspruit, Rustenburg, Pretoria, and Johannesburg – and sometimes these sites are all operational at the same time. “The regularity of my safety checks depend on the size of the site and the number of piles we have to provide but I find the work rewarding, albeit challenging. Having been a site worker, I know only too well that our piling operators need constant reminders to be safety-conscious. And I also know how easily accidents can happen – and how easy it is to forget to wear protective gear,” he said while on a safety check visit to a Gauteng Piling site in Inanda recently.
Dlomo takes various factors into account in compiling his important safety file for each project: aspects such as ensuring that open holes – unavoidable in piling operations - are either covered or barricaded, that workers’ hearing is protected by ear plugs, and that measures are in place to prevent possible injuries from falling objects. “All sites potentially dangerous areas are identified right at the outset before any piling operations commence. We even take the condition of access points, sloped or uneven ground, into consideration as this would affect moving our heavy rigs on to site,” he explained. “In consultation with the site foreman, I then draw up a Safety File specific for each site – and then I have to ensure adherence to the File’s regulations by doing the same kind of unscheduled – and unexpected – calls that the Department of Labour’s inspectors do.”
He says his area of responsibility extends to sub-contractors as well and he has to ensure that they also receive Safety File induction before starting work on a Gauteng Piling site. He admits that when your life revolves around health and safety, it is sometimes difficult to switch off. “I think my wife, Precious, sometimes gets irritated when I spot potential safety hazards at our home in Diepsloot. But I have learnt a lot from my job. I am a much safer driver now, for a start,” he adds. Hennie Bester, MD of Gauteng Piling, says he spotted Sibongiseni’s potential soon after the young man joined the company. “We take health and safety very seriously at GP and it is not always easy to find the right person for the job. The person entrusted with the job has to, for a start, have the confidence and respect of the staff he controls. Sibongiseni’s role in preventing accidents on site has been substantial,” he stated. Gauteng Piling was placed second in its category at the MBA North annual Construction Health & Safety Awards this year.
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