Dear AMSPSA Member,
Allow me to start by extending best wishes to each and every member and their mining house for 2021. The year 2020 is certainly one that will be remembered well into the future as it was filled with difficulty and hardship, economical instability and challenges, but also an immense forced growth curve in organisational maturity, with a reality check on business continuity and readiness to handle large scale business interruptions.
Thoughts on COVID-19
COVID-19 forced us all to relook at our implementation strategies and tactics and to really test how effective we are in communication and implementation of an initiative or program. Each operation has learned from this experience and continues to learn as we progress through the waves of the pandemic. I urge all members to not slack on any efforts on COVID-19 governance, awareness, education and monitoring or legislative requirements.
It is sad to say, but even in a pandemic of this nature, it is still evident that “at-risk” behaviour is prevalent among our workforce and society as a norm. It is very likely that the same person displaying “at-risk” behaviour in the workplace would also display “at-risk” behaviour outside the workplace and in this instance, not sanitise, wear a mask or social distance. With this said, it stands to reason that “at-risk” behaviour leans towards an individual character profile and way of life as opposed to only being short-cuts driven. The view of “it won’t happen to me” or even worse “who cares” attitude or approach is problematic, not only for the individual but also for employees around the individual.
It is at this time where the severity of the “at-risk” behaviour must be impressed upon the employee. The employee needs to be protected from themselves, as well as the employees in their team. The government has implemented strict and severe penalties for non-compliance to regulations, likewise, we as professionals in health and safety cannot do any less than implement a similar approach in terms of penalties at our responsible areas. Compliance officers as per regulation need to have the adequate level of authority for monitoring, gathering information as well as acting upon and reporting non-compliance for consequence management.
For the first time in many years, the “health” portion of the health and safety profession has arrived wanting from us and we were forced to engage a section of our portfolio which was not on the same level as our “safety” activity levels. I believe we all learned a lot through this process and continue to learn a lot.
The Association
I would like to thank each member and each council member for the work they have done for the association as well as for their district in particular to keep momentum during this difficult time. We have effectively lost an entire year’s worth of active value in the organisation and most of the time was spent on sharing COVID-19 related governance and awareness.
Social Media
We have made some strides during this period though, working in the background with MPAS on our website. This website as well as the Facebook page marks the beginning of our social media engagement platforms and will expand with features and benefits to members going forward.
AMSPSA Website click here …
AMSPSA Facebook page click here …
Webinars and Conferences
We have successfully hosted our first webinar on 29 July 2020 on the topic of the time being COIVID-19. This was a milestone achievement for AMSPSA and I would like to thank all involved for their contribution towards making this happen.
We look forward to scheduling a webinar each month going forward as one of the platforms to share value in industry.
Members and Association Growth
Our association remains small with less than 100 members despite our opportunity to engage literally thousands of members. This is indeed troubling. Our growth in the last 18 months has been stagnant with no visible change on the current horizon.
A renewed effort will be made by the council to engage colleagues across the country to join and be part of AMSPSA. We will use our social media platforms, webinars, conferences, peer visits and benchmarking visits etc. to demonstrate our value. However, the council’s reach is limited. The council relies on the district councils and members to assist in creating, sharing and advocating the value of the association. We need to really start driving our value proposition at every level.
I am currently in “last leg” discussions with the president of the South African Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (SAIOSH), an institute with more than 10 000 members in South Africa to undertake a memorandum of understanding, to learn from them and share the platform they have already established, connections they have made and relationships they have with sponsors, service providers, suppliers etc. Outside the mining industry SAISOH is the benchmark for safety professionals and recruitment strategies outside mining require registration with SAIOSH at a certain level, similar to the construction industry with SACPCMP. Likewise, I will be engaging with the president of AMMSA to discuss a similar approach throughout the mining industry, for all Safety Professionals to be registered with AMSPSA and that recruitment of Safety professionals require this certification.
Financials
Our association’s financials are looking very poorly with no income other than annual membership fees. If we are to continue with the Association, we will require not only assistance from the district councils on new membership, but our own fundraising initiatives and programs. It is required that each district hosts at least 1 golf day per year as well as 1 other fundraising initiative such as a conference, webinar, etc. We will be looking to arrange a gala dinner at the end of 2021 to aid this cause and to thank everyone for work done during the year.
Work Going Forward
The work for AMSPSA in certainly cut out as several initiative and planned engagements could not be fulfilled in 2020. The discussions regarding alignment of qualifications for safety professionals and the takeover of the mines safety awards tracking program is among the list of activities that had to be deterred. However, with the forced quantum leap in technology to Teams, Zoom and Skype meetings, OneDrive and etc. I firmly believe that despite the current and possible future restrictions, we will be able to make some headway on this list of activities.
In Conclusion
I look forward to a prosperous year, although challenging already from the onset. I firmly believe that we will generate an enabling environment for growth in the association if we have the commitment of each member and most importantly, prove the value of the association.
In order to facilitate a state of movement and subsequent momentum, I have decided to launch an awards program for the districts performance. This performance will be measured on a quarterly basis and criteria for performance will be communicated during this week to all council members.
I look forward to engaging with you in 2021.
Think Safe, Work Safe
Owen Mc Cree
AMSPSA President 2020