Putting the colour in SHEQ

Year after year Noshcon delivers the goods – and the 2014 event was no exception. SHEQ MANAGEMENT enjoyed the mix of information and entertainment.

There are probably few other people who can pull a crowd, make people stand up, dance and sing, and leave each one feeling deeply South African, as can Johnny Clegg. This much was true on the opening night of Noshcon 2014 – held at Champagne Sports Resort, from September 9 to 12.

As the band began playing the first chords of each song, more and more delegates left whatever course of their meal they were eating and began to smile, dance, sing and cheer. It was a perfectly apt way to kick-off the Nosa’s 53rd Annual Occupational Risk Management Conference and Exhibition, themed “colour”.

The evening functions ensured the colourful and up-beat nature of Noshcon was continued, with local band Georgetown entertaining delegates during the second evening’s cocktail function. The Barnyard’s energetic “Time Warp” routine kept delegates on their feet during the final evening’s gala dinner and awards ceremony.

The presentation of Nosa’s Noscar awards to it clients, which have truly lived the company’s values in their day-to-day SHEQ-related activities, is always a highlight of Noshcon. This was the first year that the Noscar and international awards were integrated into one, and over 500 delegates and guests were in attendance.

“Noshcon is a fantastic opportunity for Noscar winners to get the recognition they deserve. Health and safety departments have to juggle a very limited budget to ensure everyone goes home in the evenings. The awards are a small gesture of appreciation to those who get it right,” says Nosa CEO Duncan Carlisle.

Carlisle was keen to point out that Noscar companies represent only eight percent of all companies on the Nosa system.

In his address, Carlisle gave a rundown of the company’s current standing. “The Nosa business continues to grow in South Africa and abroad. Our operations in China have grown significantly and, to service our growing European client base, we’ve recently opened an office in Belguim.”

Carlisle was also proud of the company’s recent investments into new products and markets; including the announcement of a significant investment in the field of contractor management and supplier vetting, along with the launch of Samtrac E-learning for the mining and security sectors.

“We have also recently established an innovation hub, which is responsible for tracking global trends in occupational risk management to ensure we offer our clients solutions in line with global best practice,” he adds.

By offering delegates a platform to discuss pertinent topics, the Noshcon programme integrated all aspects of the SHEQ industry. A mix of local and international speakers kept delegates both entertained and informed; beginning with the dynamic opening address by global risk consultant Andrew Sharman, who used his love of swimming with sharks (complete with a recent bite on the bum!) to talk about turning personal fear into a positive force.

In all, 26 individual sessions were on offer – including the thought-provoking interactive debate, and the entertaining industrial theatre by Losika Change, entitled Health, Safety and Silliness.

You can look forward to reading about some of these in future editions of SHEQ MANAGEMENT, beginning next month with a feature on venomous animal risk management, presented at the conference by Jonathan Leeming, CEO at VenomWorks.

From creatures with sharp teeth and venomous defences (yes, some of them were actually part of the exhibition); dancing the night away and days filled with information and discussion; to Nosa and the Noshcon delegates showing their true colours by raising over R30 000 for the Bongani Masuku family trust (one of Johnny Clegg’s band members tragically murdered a few months ago – the trust ensures that the education and medical needs of his four children are met), Noshcon 2014 certainly was one of the most colourful yet.

How we got there

Hyundai Automotive South Africa was kind enough to give SHEQ MANAGEMENT the use of a new ix35 sports utility vehicle (SUV) for our trip to Champagne Sports Resort.

Upgraded earlier this year, the ix35 (we drove the middle-of-the-range Executive model) presents an ideal mix of safety and economy for a trip to a SHEQ event such as Noshcon 2014.

The R359 900 ix35 Executive instils a sense of safety, beginning with its stiffer and lighter body shell made from ultra-high tensile strength steel.

It also features a full suite of standard safety features; including six airbags, ABS anti-lock braking, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Electronic Stability Program, Vehicle Stability Management, Active Yaw Control, Downhill Brake Control and Hill-start Assist Control. The upgraded styling of the ix35 also incorporates daytime running lights to improve the vehicle’s visibility to other motorists.

With this ingrained focus on safety, we were able to enjoy the ix35’s comfortable, near-silent drive. The vehicle’s new 2,0-litre engine is also exceptionally kind to the environment, emitting a mere 207 g/km of CO2 while consuming just
8,5 litres of fuel per 100 km (incidentally, a figure we bettered during our time with the vehicle).

It’s little wonder that Hyundai is currently the fourth-largest vehicle manufacturer in the world, and has been the world’s fastest-growing car brand since 2011 – a scenario born out of the company’s serious focus on quality.