Most of AngloGold Ashanti’s operations had, until 2006, used safety management systems based on those developed by the National Occupational Safety Association (NOSA) of South Africa. When NOSA was placed in liquidation in May 2005, this resulted in the requirement to implement another system, but at the same time provided the opportunity to standardise systems across the group. The objective has been set for half the AngloGold Ashanti operations to achieve certification in terms of OHSAS 18000, the international occupational health and safety management system specification, by the end of 2007, with the balance being completed by the end of 2008.
OHSAS 18000 comprises two parts, 18001 and 18002, and embraces input from a number of international standards bodies, international certification registrars and other interested parties around the world. OHSAS 18001 indicates the specifications to be complied with, while the complementary 18002 documents explain the requirements of the system and how to work towards implementation and certification.
Broadly, the system provides a framework for organisations to identify elements of their business that present risks from an occupational health, safety or environmental perspective, and to identify and document a programme to manage, mitigate or eliminate those risks (See box below on OHSAS guidelines.)
Cerro Vanguardia was the first AngloGold Ashanti operation to be recommened for certification, in December 2006.
“The operation carried out an exhaustive review of systems in place, covering all 17 areas across five broad sections, namely occupational safety and health policy, planning, implementation and operation, checking and corrective action and management review,” says John McEndoo, Manager:Safety for the AngloGold Ashanti Group.
“The OHSAS 18001 specification has a number of advantages compared with the NOSA classification,” says McEndoo. “The specification, together with the guidelines, is used and accepted internationally, facilitating internal and external benchmarking; it is accessible and supported in more than 70 countries worldwide, including many areas in which the company operates; and the system provides for – indeed is driven by – continuous improvement. Using NOSA, a mine could maintain a 5-star rating year after year without making any changes. Using OHSAS 18001, a steady improvement is necessary to retain OHSAS classification, with achievements that were once exceptional becoming the norm.”
Another advantage is that, while not officially aligned with International Standards Organization (ISO) standards, the OHSAS and ISO guidelines are very closely aligned, for example with the ISO14000 series used as the basis for environmental management systems. Mines which have already gained ISO14000 certification, or are close to achieving this, should have little problem achieving OHSAS 18001 certification.
Cerro Vanguardia has been working with integrated management systems since the start up in 1999. At the end of 2005 the operation started the transition to the OSHAS standard.
“Every change must be seen as an opportunity for improvement, and it is against this background that the Cerro Vanguardia team has embraced this challenge,” says Rodrigo Vilela, general manager of operations. “Safety awareness and management is something we live with every day, and if we let any aspect of this process slip, we increase the risk of an accident. Integrated systems like OSHAS help the organization and the internal order of doing things.”
OHSAS guidelines do not state specific performance criteria, nor do they give detailed specifications for the design of a health and safety management system, but rather suggest standards covering the following aspects:
AngloGold Ashanti Annual Report 2006 - Report to Society
