Sandvik Mining & Construction (Ghana) Ltd., has obtained ISO14001 certification and OHSAS 18001 re-certification from the global certification body, DNV-GL. The Company has been OHSAS 18001-compliant since 2010.
Sandvik Mining & Construction (Ghana) Ltd is a subsidiary of Sandvik AB of Sweden; a high-tech, global engineering group that offers advanced products and services that enhance customer productivity, profitability and safety.
The Company was incorporated in Ghana in 1998 and offers cutting-edge technology in rock-drilling, rock-cutting, rock-crushing, loading, hauling and materials handling. It is a market leader in the supply of equipment and tools as well as in the provision of technical solutions for the mining and construction industry in West Africa.
Commenting on the certifications, the Sales Area Manager and Managing Director of the Company, Mr. Nuhu Salifu said, they are in recognition of the Company’s passion for and dedication of resources to personal, environmental and product safety.
According to Mr. Salifu, as a world leader in equipment and tools for the mining and construction industries, ‘’our products are recognised for their high safety and engineering standards adding that Environment, Health and Safety sit on top of our priorities at work’’.
Mr. Salifu added that even though he was excited about the certification and re-certification, he wasn’t surprised because Sandvik has always insisted that ‘’if it cannot be done safely, it would not be done at all.’’
He said ‘’in pursuit of this, we have tasked ourselves to exceed minimum legal requirements and set standards that appropriately protect our people, our customers, our neighbours and the environment. To achieve this, Sandvik has identified all aspects of its activities that are likely to impact on the environment, personal and product safety and has put structures and resources in place to eliminate, or at least, minimise the impacts of these activities.”
These certifications, for him, are a further step in Sandvik’s quest to ensure that customers and other stakeholders receive the best quality products and service and that their employees return home safe and healthy. In this quest, Sandvik’s ‘default position’ is safety by design. To achieve this, the Company strives for continual improvement through, field experience and customer feedback to ensure we are actively involved in setting the industry standards through the application of sound engineering principles to deliver new technology and safer equipment.
Mr. Salifu said the Company is well aware of the fact that certifications by themselves do not produce results.
In recognition of this, Mr Salifu stated that, “we will consistently continue to drive our people-consciousness by providing positive and dedicated EHS leadership and rewarding safe behaviour.
He added that ‘’It is our ardent intention to use our EHS management systems to support our employees and our customers to achieve their personal and organisational goals.”
Touching on the global standing of the Company, Mr. Salifu said, in 2015, the Group had about 46,000 employees in more than 150 countries and made sales of about US$ 11 billion.
Since 2013, Sandvik has been signatory to the UN Global Compact.
It is also signatory to the OECD guidelines for multilateral corporations and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
In addition, the Company is included in major global sustainability indices such as the FTSE4Good and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index World.
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By: citifmonline.com/ Ghana