Health professionals laud Promasidor safety measures

Health and Safety professionals have given thumbs up to the management of Promasidor Nigeria Limited, makers of Cowbell Milk for providing hygienic and safe working environment for its members of staff.

L-R: Mr. Adelaja Oladimeji, Chief Fire Superintendent, Lagos State Fire Service; Dr. Anthony Omotola, Chief Medical Director, St. Raphael Hospital Limited; Mr. Olivier Thiry, Managing Director, Promasidor Nigeria Limited; and Mr. Taiwo Eko, Assistant Corps Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC); during the 2015 Promasidor Safety Day Celebration held within the company’s Headquarters in Isolo, Lagos…recently

The commendation was given by the experts that attended the 2015 Promasidor Safety Day held at the company’s headquarters in Isolo, Lagos.

Dr. Omotola Anthony, Chief Medical Director- CMD, St. Raphael Hospital Limited, who spoke on Industrial Accidents, Ill-Health/Occupational Disease and Prevention; said the safety gadgets installed in strategic locations within the Promasidor premises is an indication that the company holds the issue of sound health in high esteem.

According to him, the Safety Day annually celebrated by the company is another major programme that Promasidor uses to educate its workforce about the need to be safety conscious in their workplace.

Dr. Anthony said an industrial accident is a sudden and unforeseen event that happens to somebody and resulting in injury to self and possibly to co-workers. According to him, falls from heights – ladder, vehicles/trucks are common in manufacturing environment and should be prevented by all workers.

He therefore, advised that any responsibility that requires working at heights should be properly assessed with enough provision made for risk management. His words: “Permanent safe access to heights is required where frequent access to heights is required in the course of our daily responsibility.”

The CMD also advised that the management and workers should eliminate contamination of the floors in the workplace in order to prevent injuries resulting from slips. “There should be effective pedestrian and vehicular segmentation. There should be safe traffic routes. It is important to be safety conscious and ensure pre-employment and intra-employment medical checkups”, he stated.

Similarly, Mr. Adelaja Oladimeji, Chief Fire Superintendent, Lagos State Fire Service; advised the management and staff to always ensure their fire alarm system is functional at all times. In periods of danger, he stated, the staff should respond spontaneously to the alarm raised to save lives and property.

His words: “In times of evacuation, it is not a time for you to discuss with other members of staff. The assembly point is a designated area for all occupiers of the building to gather. Your response to emergency must be quick.”

Mr. Taiwo Eko, Assistant Corps Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said it was noteworthy that Promasidor was among the few organisations in Nigeria that organise Safety Week to replicate the FRSC practices. He said: “This effort of yours could not have come at a better time than now when the Yuletide is fast approaching.”

He advised that building the drivers’ capacity should be given serious attention. He stated that what keeps the personnel of any organisation on the job is capacity development. “As the senior executives are exposed to Overseas trainings, it behoves on them to also expose the low cadre personnel to trainings”, he stated.

Speaking earlier, Mr. Olivier Thiry, Managing Director, Promasidor Nigeria; said it is the company’s culture to celebrate safety at work. According to him, the management does that because it plans its business to outlive this generation for the benefit of generations yet unborn.

His words: “In line with our broad HSE agenda, Promasidor has continuously sought out opportunities to improve her environmental performance and invariably enhance environmental efficiency. The accident record/man-hour loss has been very low and our staff are generally conscious of safety at work.”