Best of the best

Air Products South Africa – manufacturer and supplier of industrial and speciality gases and chemicals – continues to prove its commitment to best practice in safety, health and the environment (SHE), and was recently presented with several NOSA awards.

The company’s highest achievement was winning the International Top 100 award for world-class SHE performance in the commercial category at NOSA’s annual NOSHCON conference. This award is the highest NOSA accolade and was a second consecutive win for Air Products.

NOSA holds a number of award functions each year, with its audit guidelines providing a thorough evaluation of the principles and practices that keep an organisation safe, healthy and environmentally sustainable.

Air Products was also thrilled to receive NOSCAR awards for five of its facilities. The NOSCAR awards are the ultimate symbol of excellence in occupational risk management – recognising “the best of the best.”

Sue Janse van Vuuren, head of SHE at Air Products, explains why NOSA awards hold value for the company: “Winning NOSA awards gives us confidence in the effectiveness of our internal environmental, health and safety programmes and assures us that our systems are world class.”

Each region additionally holds its own function where companies with the best NOSA-integrated system in each industry sector are given awards. Air Products won a number of first and second places at the 2011 regional awards – for best occupational safety, health and environmental management programmes, among others. Its Kempton Park facility was overall winner in the electricity, gas and water sector.

Despite its achievements, the company isn’t resting on its laurels. “We continually strive for improvements in our SHE systems and performance, and are working to bring all our facilities up to the same level,” says Van Vuuren. “It’s also important to remember that SHE management isn’t all about awards – it’s about providing and maintaining a safe workplace for our employees and preventing harm to the environment.”