M&D Construction Group, a leading diversified South African contractor, held yet another successful Safety Awareness Week from the 20th to 24th of May 2019.

The event is just one of a number of initiatives geared at positively reinforcing one of the group’s fundamental values, namely “Be Safe”. This core value has created a strong and proud culture of health and safety (H&S) on all of the company’s construction sites.

Every three months, group Directors and Heads of Department (HoDs) spend a full working week on individual project sites where they critically examine existing H&S protocols to ensure that they comply with M&D Construction Group’s own exacting standards. These findings are then assessed by top-level management and the best-performing teams awarded for their continued commitment to H&S at the end of the week.

Importantly, HoDs are also provided with an opportunity to present to the respective core M&D Construction Group teams on site. Their presentations focus on the best-practice that they have identified on other M&D Construction Group sites that they have visited since Safety Awareness Week was launched in early 2019.

“We deliberately set out to break silo mentalities by also exposing the various HoDs to other operations within the group that do not fall under their direct responsibilities. This unique approach has ensured ongoing transfer of critical knowledge and experience between HoDs, as well as other members of the Building, Civil Engineering, Pipe Laying, Roads & Earthworks and Plant Hire teams,” Lance Cox, M&D Construction Group’s Safety Health Environment Risk & Quality Manager, says.

Cox notes that the initiative has also been very well received by the company’s private and public sector client bodies. Representatives from Transnet Pipelines, for example, were also guest speakers at an earlier Safety Awareness Week where they had the opportunity to share invaluable insights as participants in numerous large and technically-complex infrastructure construction projects.

Every event has a unique theme and the latest Safety Awareness Week focused on maintaining very high reporting standards that support M&D Construction Group’s scientific approach to mitigating risks on its construction sites.

Moreover, this initiative has provided top-level management an important opportunity to demonstrate its unwavering commitment to one of M&D Construction Group’s core values.

 “The outcome of Safety Awareness Week, combined with other critical initiatives, is evident on all of our sites where a culture of safety is very visible. Our employees see that we take H&S very seriously, and remain committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the group by creating a healthy and safe working environment for all of our employees and those of sub-contractors and suppliers,” Rukesh Raghubir, CEO of M&D Construction Group, concludes.