Creating Value with the Future in Mind - Anglo American South Africa

investing in our people health
health
The issue
Occupational health
hazards have the
potential to harm
employees if not
managed properly.
Failure to address them
is contrary to our
commitment to zero
harm and has a
negative impact on
productivity levels.
Percentage reduction in
new cases of noise-induced
hearing loss since 2011
28 %
employees, their
dependants and
contractors participating
in VCT during 2012
c.95,000
Our strategy and
management approach
The crux of our occupational health
strategy, and our entire focus on
occupational health management, is
informed by the principle of prevention.
We strive to proactively identify and
manage the source of potential health
risks, and to eliminate exposure to
hazards that can cause disease to
develop. Our management approach
is governed through a series of
standards, guidelines and assurance
processes around two disciplines:
occupational hygiene and occupational
medicine. The former is about
identifying occupational exposure
(to hazards), profiling the associated
risks, and controlling exposure in the
workplace environment; the latter
refers to monitoring the health of
employees. Our principal occupational
health risks relate to noise, inhalable
hazards (mainly dust), and fatigue.
Building on these initiatives is our
employee health and wellness
programme, which includes a strong
emphasis on combating HIV/AIDS and
tuberculosis (TB) within our workforce
and their families. Beyond our
immediate workforce, we believe that
we must help strengthen healthcare
systems in under-serviced rural areas
and build partnerships to improve
access to quality healthcare.
Occupational health
Our approach to managing
occupational health is governed by
the Anglo American Occupational
Health Way. This is underpinned by
three guiding principles:
Implementing simple,
non-negotiable standards
During the year, we educated
managers on our noise and dust
standards and the associated risk
management programmes. These
hearing-conservation and respiratoryprotection
standards, published last
year as part of the Group Technical
Standards, are being rolled out to the
businesses for implementation.
Businesses have completed selfassessments
against the requirements
of the noise and dust standards. By
the end of 2012, our business units’
average levels of compliance with
these standards were between
60% and 85%.
We are putting renewed emphasis
on fatigue management. On the health
front, we are educating people on the
importance of getting a good night’s
sleep, eating correctly, and reporting
to work in a fit state. On the safety
side, we recognise the need to design
jobs so they do not create fatigue,
for instance by ensuring sufficient
breaks, or through technology that
will protect people if they are tired.
In 2012, we also reinvigorated our
approach to fighting alcohol and
substance abuse in our workforce.
We take a human-rights-based
approach that focuses on prevention
and rehabilitation, so that as far as
possible problems are identified and
dealt with long before disciplinary
measures are required.
Total new cases of occupational
disease and occupational disease
incidence rates 2008–2012
Beyond our
immediate
workforce,
we believe
that we must
help strengthen
healthcare
systems in
under-serviced
rural areas
and build
partnerships
to improve
access to
quality
healthcare.
••
All occupational illnesses are
preventable
••
We will learn by assessing and
monitoring exposure and
surveillance of disease incidence
in order to prevent further harm
••
We apply common, simple and
non-negotiable standards
throughout the Group.
500
400
300
200
100
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
ODIR
NCOD
The significant increase in new cases of
occupational diseases reported in 2009 was a
consequence of improved reporting between
2008 and 2009. Detailed occupational health
statistics are available in the appendix.
0.0
48 Anglo American plc Sustainable Development Report 2012