Ten for Air Products

A total of eight Noscar awards (plus two individual awards) made Noshcon 2016 a special occasion for Air Products South Africa. Sue Janse van Vuuren, corporate risk manager at Air Products, explains

For a company to achieve a Noscar award requires the fulfilment of numerous criteria in line with the Nosa grading system. In the case of Air Products, one simple health, safety and environmental (HSE) vision guides its operations.

“This is to be a leader in protecting the health and safety of all our employees, customers and communities, as well as the environment in which we operate,” explains Janse van Vuuren. “In order to achieve this, we continually strive to improve our HSE management system.”

The result in 2016 was that seven Air Products sites – Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Pinetown, Empangeni, Witbank, Newcastle and Springs – received Noscars for continuing to meet the stringent criteria in their last Nosa audits, while the company’s Kempton Park site was the overall sector winner and also received a Noscar.

“This was a record for Air Products, as it was the most Noscars that we have received in one year,” Janse van Vuuren smiles.

“The Noscar criteria are based on achieving high system compliance, as well as a low disabling injury frequency rate (DIFR), consistently for three consecutive years. Our sound HSE management system is used to identify and manage our HSE risks throughout the entire supply chain, from our suppliers to our customers, as well as to any identify risks that may impact the environment in which we manufacture and distribute our products.

This, coupled with the dedication and commitment from our management and staff, is what enables us to achieve and maintain our Noscar status,” Janse van Vuuren explains.

In addition to the Noscars, two employees at Air Products received individual awards: Rushda Thomas for Environmental Coordinator of the Year and Sue Janse van Vuuren for Corporate Group Risk Manager of the Year.

It is very important to the company that personnel, who have played a key role in attaining the awards, attend the Noshcon awards dinner, so that they can personally receive their awards and the recognition that they deserve.

“The staff members at Air Products are proud of our achievements. Receiving Noscars gives us the recognition and assurance that we are one of the top performing companies in HSE management in South Africa,” explains Janse van Vuuren.

“Our employees can see the results of their efforts in the various programmes in which they participate, and our customers are assured that we are managing the risks relating to our products and services,” she concludes.