Debswana Jwaneng Mine has started the first 2013 instalment of the Jwaneng Premier Safety, Health & Environment League (JPSL) Awards. The event was held at the Jwaneng Showgrounds, with participants from JPSL, the mine staff and contractors, recognized and awarded for their dedication and adherence to a culture of zero harm as punted by the mine’s Safety, Health And Environment (SHE) department. This was the second ever awards event since the inception of JPSL in June 2012.
The first season of the year, kicking off in January and concluding in April, saw 27 teams battle it out to take home the titles of JPSL Team of the Season, Top Defender, Player of the Season, Players’ Player, Captain of the Season as well as. Thiba Ka Koo,comprised of the medical personal on the mine, emerged as overall winners. Additional awards conferred on the day included Top Defender, Captain of the Season, Head of Department and Sustainability Awards.
Tefo Molosiwa, Senior Manager of Sustainability says the company has always believed in incredibly strict safety regulations whilst working under such potentially dangerous conditions. “We promote a culture of safety throughout the mine and which in fact is encouraged even offsite. Through JPSL, we are not only striving to reduce and eliminate injury or ailment; it is bigger than that. In fact, teams are able to work their way up the league tables even through strong community involvement. For this and for all their efforts towards making Jwaneng mine a zero harm zone, we recognise and thank each one of our participating teams and offer a special congratulations to our 2012 victors, Sechwiriti Hotspurs”.
JPSL is an initiative which aims to incentivise mine personnel to adhere to all SHE regulations. It seeks to involve all employees into a SHE premier League in which players (employees) and teams (inter-departmental) are incentivised to perform their best in the upkeep and practice of the SHE regulations by awards. Adherence to SHE regulations and protocols result in points being gained by each player and by extension of their good play, their team. Breaches of SHE protocols see penalties carried out by the reduction or removal of points. JPSL also aims to improve practice of high SHE standards by encouraging active and continual participation. With JPSL, the message recipients are not only spectators but players. Playing the teams against one another while the players direct their efforts to ‘Playing it Safe’ in the true spirit of “safety sportsmanship” encourages participation and dedication towards a culture of high safety and zero harm.
“JPSL still has a long way to go and will see greater development with time and increased learnings, gaining more shape particularly after each review. However, we have already seen 10,000 Near Hits reported in 2012, a drastic increase from the 78 Near Hits reported in 2010. This means that 10,000 dangerous situations were identified and rectified at the source by mine staff themselves, thus de-risking the business and ensuring the safety of all staff. Staff participation and enthusiasm are what have really helped take JPSL to the next level and for that we celebrate them with this event and look forward to the next season kicking off,” concludes Molosiwa.
