Basil Read aims to reach another 1 million LTI- free hours milestone at Durban Harbour

The Civils Division of leading construction company Basil Read (Pty) Ltd has been involved in the Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Re-Engineering Project for Transnet since June 2008. With a stringent set of safety standards and a zero tolerance policy, Basil Read looks set to notch up another 1 million LTI- free hours at Durban Harbour this year.

“With 2.15 million man hours worked at Transnet and only one Lost-Time-Injury (LTI) to date, Basil Read currently has 860 000 LTI- free hours and are aiming to achieve 1 million LTI- free hours by October 2009,” says Glenn Jardine, Project Site Manager.

Basil Read’s involvement at Durban Harbour began in 2006 when Transnet saw the need to upgrade Durban Harbour to build up capacity for future handling, as well as a need for investment in the port industry. With the harbour being a key gateway to trade, Durban Harbour has become a major import and export hub. The building of the Container Terminal at Pier 1 was awarded to Basil Read in 2006 and during the life of this project 931 791 LTI- free man hours was achieved. Basil Read then progressed over to the Truck Staging and Durban Point Car Terminal for Transnet and it was during this time that Basil Read achieved a 1 million LTI- free milestone. “Towards the end of the Durban Point Car Terminal Project, we had one minor LTI- incident when a concrete dumper ran over the foot of one of the labourers on site,” says Jardine. “At that stage the team had achieved 1.3 million LTI- hours.” According to Jardine, the project is multi-disciplined, in that it involves demolition work, earthworks, civils, re-routing services, concrete surface bed slabs, structural steel work and electrical work.

In June 2009 Basil Read was commended by Transnet Safety Manager, Stark Horstmann on its commitment by all its staff to safety, and for the excellent results which have contributed towards Transnet achieving a better than expected LTI- rate. Jardine says with 700 staff and an additional 100 management members on site, all disciplines working together as a unified team have contributed to the significant safety results.

Says Jardine: “Apart from our own internal audits which include Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality (SHEQ) carried out on a monthly basis with sub-contractors, an external safety audit is carried out by Transnet at regular intervals. Basil Read achieved 93% for Safety and 97% for Environmental at the last audit carried out in June 2009.”

Basil Read’s zero tolerance policy and the strong continued encouragement of safe work practices, which is carried throughout the organisation, ensures that safety personnel are constantly involved on all sites, appointing safety representatives from various sub-contractors and encouraging all employees on site to keep safety standards at the highest levels.  Safety Managers Chris Roelofse and Assistant Safety Managers Quinton Visagie ensure these are carried out at Durban Harbour.

“The commitment of our sub-contractors, teamwork and taking ownership, together with the good management of the team lead by Construction Manager Roelof van der Merwe have collectively contributed to our achievements thus far. We look forward to achieving the next 1 million LTI- milestone by October this year,” concludes Jardine.