WorkSafe: Total SHEQ Management, 25th & 26th June 2014, Crowne Plaza Hotel and Resorts, The Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa

Marcus Evans has launched the WorkSafe: Total SHEQ Management conference scheduled to take place on the 25th & 26th of June 2014 at the Crowne Plaza hotel and Resorts, The Rosebank in Johannesburg, South Africa. With the various key legislation and regulations being altered in South Africa, many practitioners have found themselves somewhat out of the water when it comes to compliance. This interactive and fully inclusive conference will demonstrate how to improve safety systems and ensure that you are updated on current legislative state in the health and safety environment which will allow you to put corrective measures in place ensuring that similar events do not occur.

Participating in the interactive round table discussing the topic of “Mine Health and Safety Bill 2013” is Kate Collier, Partner of Webber Wentzel and also Specialises in Occupational Health and Safety. We explore her expert opinion and view of the industry as well as her take on Top management heads of QHSE/HSE and Safety department job roles today in this exclusive interview.

What is your view and expert opinion about the upcoming conference?

I think this conference is important as it encourages interested personnel to share information and in doing so, it raises the general awareness on health and safety management. Furthermore, it highlight the legislative developments relevant to health and safety management, and it also provides attendees with important practical advice on how to enhance the overall safety of the working environment, including advice on risk identification and assessment, and hazard prevention.

Tell us a bit more on your opinions on the market generally in relevance to the industry?

Occupational health and safety as an industry is developing steadily in the country. Aside from the many occupational risk assessment service suppliers and occupational health and safety practitioners that been established, the law as it relates to occupational health and safety is also developing at a steady pace. Furthermore, legislation is making the roles to be played by the different role players in occupational health and safety more defined, and is also stressing the importance of accountability. What has been interesting to witness, especially in the large scale mining industry, is how employers have gone about reconciling the overall responsibility placed on them as "employers" under the Mine Health and Safety Act of 1996, and the difficulty that faces such employers in monitoring and accounting for the conduct of the often many layers of contractors and subcontractors who are usually involved in a particular mining venture.

You will be presenting at the upcoming conference. Which topic in the event interests you most? Why?

If I were to choose one particular topic it would be the legislative developments in the occupational health and safety industry, especially with regards to the 2014 Construction Regulations, and the 2013 Mine Health and Safety Bill. I have been involved in making submissions on the Mine Health and Safety Bill, and I am interested to hear what people think of the Bill and the changes that it proposes. The Construction Regulations are of interest because they develop further regulation in the area of construction health and safety by providing a legislative platform for addressing health and safety in that area, which regulations will need to be properly managed.

What role do you see from Top management heads of QHSE/HSE and Safety department evolving to in the near future?

Management is going to need to play a more proactive role when it comes to occupational health and safety, by ensuring that they develop, implement, manage and enforce, health and safety standards and procedures, and that these standards and procedures are updated as and when incidents occur which highlight deficiencies in them, that is the best way to not only avoid liability, but to also ensure that your workforce performs at its optimum capacity.

How would you advise professionals to respond to the issue of registration of safety practitioners when not all industries have health and safety bodies?

The best advice that I can give to any employer is to ensure that they comply with the law as far as is reasonable practicable, and to engage with the relevant government department whenever they encounter challenges which stand in the way of their compliance. For more information on the event details, please visit:www.marcusevans-conferences-africa.com