Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) has become World’s first and only pit mining company to get ISO-45001:2018 Certification. The certification has been granted after six months of intense preparations, trainings and the audit carried out by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Limited (LRQA).
The new ISO 45001 published in March 2018 by the International Standards Organization (ISO), confirms excellence and good practices in Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. This new standard puts special emphasis on prevention systems and on the companies´ global commitment for the development of a culture of prevention and continuous improvement in a particular field.
SECMC received the certificate in recognition of its contributions across multi-pronged focus areas that included provision for the safety of all personnel in the organization; focus on mental and physical health of the workers; embedding proactive behaviors that emphasize prevention; reducing accidents and incidents; and benchmarking against best practices amongst others. The new ISO 45001 standard replaces the previous OHSAS 18001:2007 standard, currently the most widespread for Health and Safety at Work management. The ISO body has introduced a 3-year transition period for companies to upgrade their certifications. SECMC is the first mining company to be certified in Pakistan and across the globe as per the new standards.
Certification is a testament to our focus on deploying a safety culture to avoid accidents and enhance the well-being of employees, CEO SECMC
Obtaining ISO 45001 guarantees that the company has implemented, among other requirements, a high-level structure with an adequate context analysis, as well as a clear focus on risks and opportunities for Workers Health and Safety management.
In a statement released by the company, CEO SECMC Abul Fazal Rizvi said: “At SECMC we place utmost importance to the safety of our people, communities and our operations. This aspect is intrinsically embedded in our organizational culture and has helped us in operating with a zero Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR), achieving a total of 25 million safe man-hours of operations. Achievement of the new ISO 45001 certification is a testament to our focus on deploying a safety culture to avoid accidents, reduce incidents and enhance the well-being of our employees.”
The ISO 45001 certification adds on to the accolades of the organization which also has the distinction of being the only Company in South Asia to have an effective Safety and Health Management system (SHMS) compliance to Queensland Coal Mining Health & Safety Legislation along with an accredited membership of the National Safety Council, USA.
Published in Daily Times, February 1st 2019.