The Chemical and Allied Industries Association (CAIA) announced the winners of its 2018 Responsible Care® Award, the 2018 Responsible Care® Haulier Award, the 2018 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Award and the 2018 Responsible Care® Sustained High Performance Award at a gala event that also covered the launch of the CAIA 2018 Responsible Care® Performance Report and the Association’s Annual General Meeting.
Responsible Care® is the chemical industries’ commitment to continual improvement in all aspects of safety, health, environmental performance and security, and to report openly to stakeholders and interested and affected parties.
Senmin, a Division of AECI Mining Solutions Limited was the proud winner of the 2018 Responsible Care® Award, while the 2018 Responsible Care® Haulier Award was won by Reef Tankers (Pty) Ltd. The Responsible Care® Haulier Award trophy – designed in natural wood and made by local artisans – is a closed, offset circular design that captures and depicts the importance of the continual drive towards improved performance that, at times, requires a change of gears to achieve.
The winner of the 2018 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Award in the Company Project division (Category A) was Sasol South Africa Ltd for its Aiming for “Zero Harm” Project, while Category B was won by BASF Agricultural Specialities (Pty) Ltd for its Advanced Spore Dust Management Concept Project. The award in the Corporate Social Responsibility division went to Dow Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd for its Project Butterfly.
The Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Awards, first presented in 2015, are symbolised through the trophy that is presented. An open-ended abstract design, beginning from a narrow base that widens, embraces the local community. With open ends, the continuance of both the Responsible Care® Initiative and the commitment to the community is implied.
The Responsible Care® Award and the Responsible Care® Haulier Award look at the greatest year-on-year improvements in the four major categories of Responsible Care® pillars, which are safety and health; resource efficiency; pollution prevention and product stewardship,” said Deidré Penfold, Executive Director of CAIA.
Penfold said the importance of the Responsible Care® Initiative and the commitment of CAIA’s members towards sustainability through the Initiative – to continually improve safety, health and environmental performance – shows its value very year when the performance of signatories is reviewed.
“CAIA applauds its Responsible Care® signatories for their commitment and achievements and will continue to support members wherever possible,” she said.
Rod Humphris, Chair of the CAIA board, awarded the trophies to the winners.
“A great deal of work has been undertaken to achieve a raising of the bar of Responsible Care® in South Africa in order to voluntarily realise further gains in sustainability objectives. Responsible Care® is clearly not in the same league as approaches that follow a “Business-As-Usual” approach – and companies within the chemical and allied industries in South Africa that subscribe to the principles of the Initiative can be proud of that!
“We are delighted with this year’s standard and number of entries and believe that the continuous expansion of the Initiative as well as the Responsible Care® in Action campaign will not only allow businesses to reap the benefits associated with increased sustainability but will also drive signatories to highlight their commitments towards voluntary initiatives and their associated benefits,” said Humphris.
CAIA recognises member companies for outstanding Responsible Care® performance and achievement https://t.co/isiCnJIc38 #ArriveAlive #CAIA @TruckAndFreight pic.twitter.com/DL5iEdzReR
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) November 15, 2018
Winners and runners-up of the 2018 CAIA Responsible Care® Awards
2018 Responsible Care® Award
Winner: Senmin, a Division of AECI Mining Solutions Limited
Runner-up: Air Products South Africa (Pty) Ltd – Pinetown
Runner-up: Labchem (Pty) Ltd
2018 Responsible Care® Haulier Award
Winner: Reef Tankers (Pty) Ltd
Runner-up: GanTrans (Pty) Ltd
Runner-up: Hi5 Integrated Logistics (Pty) Ltd
2018 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Awards (Company Project)
Turnover Category A
Winner: Sasol South Africa Ltd for its Aiming for “Zero Harm” Project
Runner-up: Interwaste (Pty) Ltd for its Landfill Gas Project
Turnover Category B
Winner: BASF Agricultural Specialities (Pty) Ltd for its Advanced Spore Dust Management Concept Project
Runner-up: Labchem (Pty) Ltd for its Waste Water Recycling Project
2018 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Award (Corporate Social Responsibility Project)
Turnover Category A
Winner: Dow Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd for its Project Butterfly
Runner-up: Cargo Carriers Limited for its Forest Town School Project
2018 Responsible Care® Sustained High Performance Award
Turnover Category A
Winner: Omnia Fertilizer, a Division of Omnia Group (Pty) Ltd
Turnover Category B
Winner: AEL Mining Services
Winners and runners-up of the 2018 CAIA Responsible Care® Awards
2018 Responsible Care® Award
Winner: Senmin, a Division of AECI Mining Solutions Limited
Runner-up: Air Products South Africa (Pty) Ltd – Pinetown
Runner-up: Labchem (Pty) Ltd
2018 Responsible Care® Haulier Award
Winner: Reef Tankers (Pty) Ltd
Reef Tankers (Pty) Ltd (Reef Tankers) identified the high potential for fatigue-related collisions in drivers and noted that their existing mitigation methods were reactive and not proactive in preventing these collisions.
In April 2017, Reef Tankers installed specialised equipment into their vehicles in the form of intelligent camera systems which monitor the driver’s eyes whilst driving. The camera is installed on the dashboard and scans the driver’s eyes continuously. This camera has the ability to detect if the driver is distracted, e.g. eating, cell-phone use, looking away from the road for extended periods of time, or fatigued. If the camera detects that the driver is falling asleep or distracted, an alarm immediately sounds to notify the driver. If the driver fails to correct the behaviour, the system instantly triggers the Drive Cam event recorder that allows the operational personnel to coach and mentor the driver. The management team receive Short Message Service notifications allowing them to stop the driver prior to any incident occurring. Monthly analytics are provided in order to reduce driver fatigue and further study the effects of fatigue.
Reef Tankers relies on this detection system to assist in reducing fatigue related accidents. Since implementation of the system, no collisions have been experienced due to a driver falling asleep on the road.
The company laid out R493 000, excluding ongoing monthly costs, for this initiative. Additional resources were deployed for the monitoring of driver fatigue and coaching. The project included a three-month trial period prior to implementation.
Runner-up: GanTrans (Pty) Ltd
Runner-up: Hi5 Integrated Logistics (Pty) Ltd
2018 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Awards (Company Project)
Turnover Category A
Winner: Sasol South Africa Ltd for its Aiming for “Zero Harm” Project
A suite of initiatives is being concurrently implemented within the chemicals division of Sasol South Africa Ltd (Sasol) to strengthen their management of critical preventative controls for their defined key undesirable product transportation event, ‘Loss of control of a product transport vehicle and/or product containment’. As with all Sasol’s High Severity Injury initiatives, a data-driven approach guides the identification of key focus areas to improve safety performance.
Based on analysis of incident data over a period of time, a selection of initiatives identified as vital to making a material improvement on transport safety performance, and which have already commenced, include:
- The Installation of Advanced Telematics, Driver Scorecards and Dashboard:
The installation of telematics and tracker systems in all chemicals product transportation and pool vehicles, together with the issuing of more than four hundred driver tags and the development of a driver behaviour scorecard, provides Sasol with the necessary tools to gather the data required to analyse driver performance.
The capabilities of these systems allow Sasol to track vehicle locations through GPS satellites; monitor the ‘ABCS’ of on road risk (Acceleration, Braking, Cornering and Speeding); detect vehicle impacts in case of emergencies; allow for visual assessment of severity in case of an incident; identify and manage licenses, certifications and odometer readings; define and manage locations, routes, stops and zones; and generate route, event, risk and trip and utilisation reports. This initiative allows Sasol to leverage the potential of digitalisation to ensure that drivers always return to their loved ones.
- Fatigue Management and Improved Quality of Incident Root Cause Analyses using the Seeing Machines:
An extensive Fatigue Management Guideline was developed in collaboration with an external fatigue management consultant. Fatigue management training and risk assessments were conducted at the four highest risk sites within the Sasol Base Chemicals environment and risk management gaps were closed out. The Seeing Machine technology utilises computer vision algorithms, optics and processing technologies that measure drivers’ visual attention to their environment, assess their degree of drowsiness and ultimately detect if the driver has passed a threshold of risk. This risk is then mitigated by alerting the driver as well as informing the vehicle’s wider control systems.
Sasol currently use Seeing Machine technology in high risk vehicles (e.g. ‘Box trucks’ transporting packaged explosives) to detect driver fatigue and therefore manage this risk in real time, which also allows for much improved incident root cause analysis by enabling the detection of true root causes. This empowers Sasol to put in to place the necessary controls and mitigating actions to prevent recurrence of incidents.
These initiatives commenced roll out during 2017 and Sasol expects to see the full benefits realised over a two- to three-year time horizon, with significant improvements already realised by June 2018. Within the Base Chemicals division where the bulk of incidents have historically occurred, the total number of transportation accidents has decreased from 22 to 17 in the 2018 financial year. The severity of these 17 incidents has also significantly reduced, as witnessed, for example, in incident investigations where improved driver behaviour resulting from defensive driver training has been noted, resulting in reduced impacts of incidents.
Further initiatives are being advanced for implementation in coming months and years, targeting further improvements in performance.
Sasol’s overall transportation indicator of performance, measured as the severity index of product transportation incidents over 1 000 000 km travelled by road, improved from 4.09 in FY 2017 to 2.2 in the FY 2018, representing a 46% improvement. These improvements reflect Sasol’s continued focus on strengthening controls to prevent transportation incidents, through the initiatives described above.
A combined capital in the region of tens of millions of Rands was invested during the implementation of the transportation safety initiatives of which a small portion relates to the installation of Seeing Machine technology and is supplemented by additional operating costs required to maintain these initiatives, such as driver tags, dashboard operation and vehicle tracking units. A further R3 000 000 is invested per annum as operating costs are required to maintain these initiatives, including driver tags, dashboard operation and vehicle tracking units. Significant cross-functional involvement in these initiatives from the SHE team, the capital budgeting team as well as the supply chain team was necessary to identify the targeted initiatives, to scope the associated projects and to implement change management across all affected stakeholders in order to ensure success. A considerable amount of management time was also involved to provide steering and oversight throughout the process.
Sasol states that these initiatives highlight the company’s commitment to safety and wellbeing, as well as their drive to ensure a high performance SHE culture throughout the life cycle of their products. Plans are in place to ensure the roll out of the telematics technology to a large number of LSP vehicles and their drivers, which is expected to have a positive impact on the safety performance and culture, not only within Sasol, but in all their areas of influence.
Runner-up: Interwaste (Pty) Ltd for its Landfill Gas Project
Interwaste (Pty) Ltd operates a Class B lined waste disposal facility (“FG Landfill”) in Olifantsfontein, Midrand. In 2016, the company invested in a gas extraction and flaring system that collects gases and extracts them to the flare. The flare combusts methane and other gases and converts them to less harmful gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapour. The project was implemented in order to control and assist in reducing the gaseous emissions produced by the decomposition of, predominantly, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW).
Initially, a 250 m3/hr flare was used as a pilot plant in order to determine the volume of gas produced from the waste body. Based on the results, it was decided to construct a 500 m3/hr flare in August 2016. However, it was later discovered that the volume of gas produced was higher than this flare’s capacity. As a result, an internationally designed and manufactured, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)-compliant flare with a capacity of 2 000 m3/hr was commissioned at the site in November 2016. This flare operates 24 hours, seven days a week.
After a full year’s operation, almost 10 000 000 m3 of landfill gas have been flared, which equates to a net greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction of 60 234 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in the 12-month period. Overall, a total GHG emission reduction of almost 100 000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent have been achieved up to the end of July 2018.
A financial investment of about R15 000 000 was invested towards the designs, piping, extraction systems and the flare. Permanently assigned personnel have been allocated to manage the daily operation and maintenance of the flare. This includes monthly maintenance. Operators are notified of any faults or stoppages on the flare through the use of a tracking and reporting system which monitors the flare daily, generating monthly reports to indicate the quantity of the gases produced and their proportions.
In addition, efficiency testing and air quality tests are conducted, and the results are shared with relevant stakeholders in the communities. Long-term plans include the installation of appropriate gas cleaning technologies to purify the gas and utilise it for electricity on site for landfill operations or as biofuel for the company’s fleet. A similar gas extraction project is planned for the Klinkerstene landfill in Delmas, Mpumalanga, in the future.
Notable benefits are highlighted through the registration of the landfill gas project for carbon credits in order to offset CO2 emissions of other companies when the proposed Carbon Tax comes into effect.
Turnover Category B
Winner: BASF Agricultural Specialities (Pty) Ltd for its Advanced Spore Dust Management Concept Project
BASF Agricultural Specialities (BASF) is a leading manufacturer of biopesticides and inoculants situated in Durban. It produces an active ingredient – Beauveria bassiana (microbial entomopathogenic fungal spores) – that is used in the formulation of bio-pesticides for crop protection in agriculture.
In early 2017 these spores received a new GHS classification, H330 and the SDS was amended to reflect Acute Toxicity 1 – fatal if inhaled. This resulted in an urgent need to review all occupational risk assessments and review technical, organisational and protective measures in place for employee and contractor exposure to spore dust in the plant.
The scope of the project was affected by significant challenges. Examples include:
- No definitive guidelines exist in local legislation or global guidelines;
- The spores are fungal and not visible to the naked eye (quantity of spores in one gram is approximately six hundred billion); and
- The spores are airborne.
The objective of the initiative was to develop an advanced spore dust management concept that would create a safer work environment through the combined implementation of STOP (Substitution, Technical, Organisational, and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)) measures.
The project resulted in the following improvements at the plant:
- Introduction of new processes (substitution of old processes) to eliminate open handling of spores
- Introduction of containment solutions to contain potential dust exposure in high risk processes
- Installation of a highly effective centralised dust extraction system
- Development and introduction of new and suitable environmental monitoring solutions (to monitor spore dust levels)
- Development of accepted Occupational Exposure Limits (OEL) for definition of control measures required in different areas of the plant
- Adapting the existing employee health surveillance concept to monitor employee exposure and the effectiveness of the new concept
- Significant improvement in operational efficiencies
- A dramatically improved safety culture and behaviour in employees.
More than R5 000 000 was put aside for dust management and containment, and process equipment improvements. In excess of R300 000 was spent on specialised respirators and other PPE.
The nine-month project was a collaborative process with support from local and European experts that involved input from a multidisciplinary team on site, regional and global BASF experts in Responsible Care®, occupational health, industrial hygiene and engineering experts, as well as external contractors and service providers.
The initiative has had a substantially positive impact on processes, procedures, and employee behaviour, and has addressed issues concerning a number of different codes in the RCMS. The long-term benefits will relate to improved safety and more effective environmental monitoring and there are also economic benefits that will have a positive impact on business sustainability. The team effort that was required significantly improved engagement and cooperation between departments and communication is also more effective.
The management concept and tiered hierarchy for occupational exposure is a best-in-class and first of its kind in BASF. It is a fully integrated approach utilising existing (known) measures as well as new measures developed in-house. The concept is transferable to other industries (not only biological) where hazardous powders are produced and handled and sets a standard for microbial spore dust production and management.
Runner-up: Labchem (Pty) Ltd for its Waste Water Recycling Project
A once-off project was initiated by Labchem (Pty) Ltd (Labchem) to install a waste water recycling system, after it was discovered that their previously installed water purification equipment was generating waste water containing concentrations of chemicals which rendered it unfit for irrigation and human consumption. This water would be suitable for use in the flushing of toilets.
Waste water generated from the water purification system is captured in a 1 000-litre storage tank that contains a float, linked to a switch over to the municipal supply if the waste water level in the tank is too low. The municipal supply does not enter the storage tank. There is an overflow at the top of the tank which feeds excess waste directly back into the municipal sewerage system and an additional diverter to turn on permanent municipal supply should it be necessary. A pump was installed to give sufficient pressure to fill the toilet cisterns from the tank water.
Mrs Stott from Labchem believes that “every drop counts” and that although “the Rand cost saving … is minimal … [it] was not the primary objective in installing the system”. She further notes that “the savings will be of long duration and it is probable that the environmental benefits will far exceed any direct cost benefit”.
2018 Responsible Care® Initiative of the Year Award (Corporate Social Responsibility Project)
Turnover Category A
Winner: Dow Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd for its Project Butterfly
To tackle one of the most pressing and visible environmental issues one faces globally – litter, Dow Packaging and Speciality Plastics (Dow) collaborated with industry association Plastics|SA and non-governmental organisation Destination Green to begin Project Butterfly that was launched in October 2017.
This plastic collection and recycling project was inspired by the idea that transformation is always possible and that with support and imagination something ordinary, dull or even unpleasant – like plastic waste – can be transformed into something beautiful and valuable.
Part of this project and in partnership with Destination Green, Dow established a buy-back centre in the Tembisa informal settlement that will reduce the travelling distance of the community members, when delivering their collected recyclables. Other benefits include:
- bridging the gap between recycling buy-back centres, sorting facilities, collectors and recyclers
- creating meaningful and useful objects from refuse
- exploring practical opportunities to improve structural waste management.
This ongoing educational platform is demonstrating to the community why it is important to keep the environment litter free, but also demonstrates what can be made out of reusable plastics and that there is inherent value in the waste that is collected and sorted. Competitions in local schools to collect the most waste, where the community, including school children, collect waste and take it to the buy-back centre, inspires the generation of good waste management ambassadors.
A financial investment of R130 000 was made in 2017. Furthermore, Dow team members participated in clean-up days, engaging with local communities. In 2018 it is expected to see Project Butterfly engage in a beach clean-up in Durban, to talk about the long-term vision and plans for the Tembisa infrastructure around waste management and to plan the launch of Project Butterfly in other parts of Africa.
Dow aims to teach the leaders of tomorrow the value of the planet’s resources and create young recycling ambassadors. This social impact project is specific to Dow and to Africa, to show Dow Packaging’s commitment to the region as well as to gain an understanding of some of the waste management and end-of-life packaging challenges and issues facing the different regions in Africa.
The growth of the project will hopefully lead to future job creation prospects.
Runner-up: Cargo Carriers Limited for its Forest Town School Project
In 2017, Cargo Carriers donated over R164 000 to Forest Town School, an institution catering to approximately 344 children and youth who are cerebral palsied or are learning disabled with other neurological impairments, including epilepsy.
A staff of 84 provide social work, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, audiology and speech therapy to these learners in an effort to place them in learnerships at a later stage and to assist with other occupational opportunities.
The objective and mission of Forest Town School is to provide quality learning, teaching and therapy at the school; to inspire each learner to persevere and to develop into a person with self-worth and dignity and to instil in each learner a system of values.
In order to provide learners with unique educational needs to reach their maximum potential physically, intellectually and emotionally, specific projects were identified. Amongst these projects was the need for interactive white boards and mini iPads with the supporting software.
The literacy software programme supports development in most learning areas, including reading, writing and mathematical skills, and can be used as a tool to teach in any subject area as well as integrating with all curricula and syllabi in schools.
However, since over 89% of the children come from very difficult socio-economic situations and only 20% of the school’s budget is in the form of a Government subsidy, the rest must be supported through donor funding. Cargo Carriers’ donation went towards the purchase of three smartboards and five mini iPads that are invaluable in the speech therapy department. They are pre-loaded with appropriate applications and allow non-verbal students to access the curriculum and participate more fully in classes. The donation also included the installation of security gates for classrooms and school fees for a learner.
Furthermore, Cargo Carriers spent a considerable amount of time interacting with not only the teachers but with the children as well. Cargo Carriers were treated to cake and coffee on the day of the donation handover that had been prepared by older learners, learning skills in the kitchen and bakery areas.
Cargo Carriers… “are proud to be associated with Forest Town School in supporting children with difficulties and disabilities, giving these children the opportunity, encouragement and support they need to rise and be the best they can be”.
2018 Responsible Care® Sustained High Performance Award
Turnover Category A
Winner: Omnia Fertilizer, a Division of Omnia Group (Pty) Ltd
Turnover Category B
Winner: AEL Mining Services
