Every year, BMMI marks Health & Safety week across its operations, coinciding with the International Labour Organization’s World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

In line with our efforts to ensure health and safety are a priority, various activities and workshops were held in our Gabon operations, from April 24 to 29.

On April 26, QHSE Director, Guy Roger Moussavou, kick-started the workshops with a brief overview of HSE statistics concerning GSS Gabon. This was followed by session on hypertension, aka the ‘silent killer’, led by Clara Soriano, our resident Dietician, who advised on several measures to avoid high-blood pressure.

Additionally, a session regarding environmental issues took place on the same day, led by HSE Supervisor, Justine Ozenga Kouchanou. The talk highlighted the different types of waste, the negative impact of waste on the atmosphere and human health and how there needs to be a better understanding of the implications behind wastage in order to better protect the environment. Justine outlined a few actions we as individuals can take to protect the environment:

• Sorting waste
• Switching off electrical appliances at home when not in use
• Diluting liquid products for domestic use
• Using biodegradable packaging in stores
• Switching off lights, faucets, and all machines at the end of a work day

The series of workshops didn’t stop there. On April 28, a session on vehicle safety was given by Hans Gnama Pissama, HSE Supervisor for the GSS base in Port-Gentil. His technical presentation began with a review of the policy regarding vehicle driving in GSS. Hans also discussed the importance of paper work concerning a vehicle, such as having the vehicle registration, technical inspections, insurance and so forth at hand. At the end of the sessions, gifts were given to attending employees and the team celebrated the fact that GSS Gabon has remarkably set a new record of 371 days without accidents!

The week’s workshops came to a close with a fire safety demonstration led by Jose Lary, Logistics Manager of Port-Gentil. Participating agents learned to handle and use fire extinguishers, as well as the correct ways to read their labels and to put out fires.

A fire-safety training also took place for our GSS Sudan employees in Khartoum, held in the GENPOC tower, to mark the World Day for Health and Safety at work.

We are proud to hear of the initiatives taking place in our African operations and the emphasis put on health and safety, which has always been one of BMMI’s main priorities. Great job team!