Industrial training and safety pilot project launched

27th July 2018

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Industrial equipment multinational 3M and JSE-listed petrochemicals multinational Sasol have launched an industrial training and safety initiative that aims to nurture local welding and grinding skills, as well as improve safe working conditions using appropriate safety equipment.

3M South Africa Personal Safety Division appli­cation engineer Rani Naidoo and Sasol Inzalo Foundation programme manager Dr Cynthia Malinga say that the welding and grinding skills and safety pilot initiative aims to determine how to create an effective and sustainable industrial training programme that develops scarce skills required by, and are in short supply in, the South African economy, as well as ensure that skilled workers are pro­tected and add value throughout their careers.

Protective Equipment
3M, as an industrial equipment company focused on promoting safe working and appropriate protective equipment use, has several initiatives and long-term programmes that focus on training and worker protection through the science of safety and the science of fit, adds Naidoo.

“This is a joint effort by like-minded companies,” says Naidoo, adding that the economic imperatives underpinning the pilot project are significant, as 70% of welders used on critical infrastructure projects are brought in from other countries.

“We believe that we can and should develop high-level welding and grinding skills through the use of the latest available technologies in the industrial space, coupled with the use of the correct personal protective equipment.”

Therefore, it is important to develop these skills in a safe manner through the science of safety.

“The initiative will involve a welding and grind­ing competition to help identify a weld­ing and grinding ambassador; a dedicated professional that can help to change the perceptions of the discipline; and the correct use of personal protective equipment,” says 3M South Africa Personal Safety Division marketing manager Shivani Pillay.

The first leg of the three-phase initiative will take place next month in Durban, the second in October, in Cape Town, and the final in November, in Gauteng.

“We must develop the pipeline for skilled professions from school level. We require more than 30 000 artisans a year in South Africa, but are only getting about 15 000 a year in the industries. Only about 6 000 welding and grinding professionals a year qualify, and we must expose more learners to welding and grinding professionals,” says Malinga.

Grinding Safety
The initiative will run for three years and seeks to create awareness of welding and grinding safety, and will seek to draw in big companies that want to participate to increase the scale of the impact and the support of welding and grind­ing institutions in South Africa, confirms Pillay.
The initiative will leverage 3M’s channel partners throughout Southern Africa to raise awareness of the campaign and stimulate participation, says 3M South Africa Abrasive Systems Division sales and marketing manager Nivie Atkinson.

Edited by Creamer Media Reporter

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