Health & safety
Providing employees with safe working conditions is of paramount importance to the group. The group’s target is to achieve zero fatalities and a continuous reduction in lost time accident rates.
The group continues to work towards achieving the Indonesian Health and Safety Work Management System (SMK3) accreditation with the intention of securing this in 2022. Implementation of the international standards of Operational Health and Safety Management System (ISO 45001:2018) was again delayed in 2021 as the required external trainers were not available due to Covid related international travel restrictions.
It takes time for health and safety practices to become fully embedded in workforce practices. As part of this process a series of audits and Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC) exercises have been conducted at REA’s mills and established plantations by both external consultants and the group’s safety team. A range of measures have been implemented to address the issues identified during these assessments. These include:
- Introduction of a more comprehensive safety induction for new employees and contractors
- Provision of training to ensure that high risk tasks are carried out safely, including working at height and in confined spaces
- Integration of the actions necessary to eliminate and control hazards into existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), as well as the development of new SOPs
- Introduction of a more rigorous and inclusive incident investigation procedure, which is designed to ensure that the cause of any incident is identified and the senior management team and operations team understand the remedial action needed to prevent such an incident from recurring
- Structural improvements, particularly in the mills, to control physical hazards.
With safety a high priority, the group has already embarked on a programme of investment to make the structural improvements required to control the hazards identified. The biggest limiting factor to obtaining OHSAS 18001 is the speed at which the fundamental behavioural change necessary for safety considerations to become a habitual part of every employee’s working routine can be realised. This is fundamental to the group’s ability to uphold the OHSAS 18001 standard on a daily basis.
Monthly internal audits, inspections and training are conducted in accordance with ISO 45001:2018 standards in order to better understand, highlight and manage potential health and safety hazards that may occur. Routine training covers safe working practices throughout the operations, fire risks and management, and first aid.
Roads in and around the group’s operations can be hazardous, particularly after heavy rain, so drivers of all vehicles are required to pass a company test for driving competency. Motorcycle safety training is also provided for employees and their family members as motorcycles are their standard mode of transport. Additionally, the group provides training on action in the event of natural disasters, the impact of which could potentially be significant given the remote location of the group’s operations.
Occupational health and safety (OHS) training increased in 2021 following a partial relaxation of the local government Covid prevention protocols. Total training hours across all of the group's operations increased from 2,650 in 2020 to 7,860 in 2021 with the focus on increasing general awareness of best practice and task based safe behaviours. Government mandated regulatory safety training also continued throughout the year for certified safety managers, vehicle and heavy equipment operators, users of pesticides, and first aid and fire prevention officers.
Safety performance saw a significant improvement in 2021 with the number of work accidents decreasing from 1,408 in 2020 to 656 in 2021. The number of working days lost due to work accidents also decreased from 13,822 in 2020 to 1,010 in 2021. There were no fatalities recorded across the group in 2021. The group treats any fatality within its premises extremely seriously and responds in the same way irrespective of whether or not the incident is considered to be work related. There is also a rigorous accident reporting and investigation procedure to ensure that the cause of any incident is properly identified, and senior management and operational teams implement any necessary remedial actions across the group to minimise the risk of repeat occurrences.