ST LUCIA Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) launched its 19th Health and Safety Month on Monday at its Cul de Sac facility.
A series of workshops have been planned for LUCELEC staff and contractors including “Medical Insurance Benefits”, “Contractor Safety”, “Medicine Management”, “Ebola” and “Fire Safety” as part of activities that will culminate with a Wellness Walk on Sunday March 29.
LUCELEC began observing March as Safety Month in 1997. Over the years, the scope of activities has broadened leading to a combined observance of Health, Safety, Environment and Fire Awareness Month – Health and Safety for short. The month is aimed at reinforcing work place safety habits as well as helping staff to take responsibility for their overall health and wellness.
One of the overriding goals of Health and Safety Month is to have zero reportable accidents. It is a goal LUCELEC accomplished for the first time ever in 2013. In 2014, there was one such incident and already this year one has been reported.
Addressing Monday’s ceremony, LUCELEC’s Chief Engineer Goodwin d’Auvergne urged all staff to constantly keep the company’s “Go Zero Pledge” which it adopted in 2000 in mind while on the job. The pledge calls for employees and contractors to dedicate themselves to work safely, in a manner that upholds the health of all and wellbeing of the environment. It also requires employees observe, in word and spirit, all rules and procedures, and develop habits conducive to achieving a zero-accident workplace.
“This is particularly critical, given the nature of the work we do and various hazards that we interface with on a daily basis. Careless mistakes can be very costly, not just in the field, but at our offices as well. A bad fall on a wet tile, for example, can result in major injury. So teaching our staff to identify potential hazards and taking the appropriate steps to eliminate or minimise them is extremely important. We want to ensure that every day we can send our employees back to their homes and families safely,” he explained.
The feature address at Monday’s ceremony was delivered by Monsignor Michel Francis who drew on the theme, “Energize Health and Safety at Work”. He provided a series of tips to achieve that goal. They included laughter, meditation and prayer as well as a reminder to “be happy”.