Leadership
Permanent engagement
The leaders’ engagement in safety issues is permanently encouraged by the people requirements comprised in the safety management programs and tools. Sectorial safety responsibilities should be assigned, so that this issue is given priority with relation to other issues, with the purpose of evolving to a Safe Production culture.
Visible Felt Leadership – This is a leadership training methodology for engagement of the labor force, whose guidelines provide commitment and responsibility in the management of all the company’s processes.
This way, all the leaders remain committed to the management of the safety aspects in their sectors, giving them the same priority as that assigned to other aspects of the processes. For example: the production leaders are responsible for both the production management and the safety management in their processes.
These managers and leaders constantly perform behavioral verification in safety aspects on the different work fronts, with the purpose of disseminating knowledge and confidence among the teams, as well as promoting awareness and engagement – which is evidenced by the outstanding positions these professionals hold in the company.
The scope of this training also comprises leaders from contractors. Several training sessions on this methodology were performed in 2009, with 98% of the leaders trained in Catalão sites (Copebrás and Mineração Catalão).
Safety Improvement Plan – SIP – Anglo American developed this plan to act on focal points that can improve safety performance, creating the necessary environment to establish a Safe Production Culture. The Plan is periodically revised by the top management according to the results achieved and by the introduction of new strategies.
The SIP is structured according to the following points of approach:
- Leadership
- Visible and Felt Leadership
- Safety Resources and Structure
- Engagement and awareness of the labor force
- Contractors Management
- Safety Risk Management
- Safety Performance Management
Action plans are prepared for each of these points with the purpose of implementing the requirements and improving the performance continuously.
The Anglo Safety Golden Rules – These are simple, non-negotiable rules that allow everybody to know how to apply practical measures of preventive character to avoid injuries to themselves and to third parties.
- Safety principles: define competences and authorizations for execution of tasks, establish the need for execution of risk assessments and change management as a guarantee for execution of safe work, define safety of equipment and machines as one of the essential elements for the safe execution of tasks, and emphasize the importance of establishing safety communications in an effective manner;
- Mining, piling and storage operations: establishes compulsory procedures for the handling of explosives and access to areas where these mining operations are carried out, as well as other operational procedures that ensure the safe execution of the works;
- Confined spaces: establishes compulsory procedures, inspections and verification for entrance and execution of works in this type of environment;
- Work at heights: establishes procedures and safe work practices that should be adopted as a control measure for the risk of falling from heights and the fall of objects;
- Machine and energy insulation: establishes compulsory procedures for the control and insulation of hazardous energy during the intervention, interaction and exposure of workers to its sources;
- Mobile heavy equipment and light vehicles: establishes compulsory procedures for the control of hazards associated with light vehicles and heavy machines, as well as determines the compulsory and effective segregation of interaction between vehicles/machines and pedestrians by delimiting safe routes;
- Mechanical handling: establishes compulsory procedures for load hoisting and elevation operations, as well as determines the compulsory and effective inspection of safety devices that act as control measures associated with this hazard condition. It also determines that these devices should be used in conformity with the initial safety specifications;
- Water and liquid accumulation: establishes compulsory procedures for the execution of works in which the hazard condition from the accumulation of liquids (in tailings dams and river pumping stations, for example) is present;
- Hazardous chemical substances: establishes compulsory procedures that should be carried out in the handling, storage, production, recycling and disposal of hazardous chemical substances, as well as in situations in which the exposure to this hazard condition exists;
- Hot metals: establishes compulsory procedures for execution of works in which the hazard condition from the exposure to metals and other cast materials is present.