March 1, 2005
By Anish Abraham
IN a groundbreaking initiative, Johannesburg's City Parks is training small contractors in safety regulations. Those who have completed the course will get preference for future contracts in maintenance and construction work.
The City's greening, conservation and cemetery agency is to spend more than R50-million on maintenance and construction contracts over the next financial year.
Jenny Moodley, the spokesperson for City Parks, said: "The potential for loss of life, primarily because of lack of knowledge of safety regulations, has prompted Johannesburg City Parks to develop a safety protocol course targeting small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs)."
The programme is the first of its kind by a local authority and will be joined by other programmes on greening maintenance, building construction, increasing productivity levels, contractor obligations and tendering for SMMEs.
Moodley said the safety programme had four modules - basic safety; health and environment induction; construction regulations; hazard identification, risk assessment and incident investigation - two of which already had been completed. The dates when contractors must attend the remaining two modules must still be confirmed.
Subjects dealt with include employer and employee duties regarding health and safety in the workplace; the use of protective clothing and equipment; fall protection; offences and penalties; risk assessment documentation; and pre- and post-incident investigation activities.
"The course allows contractors to comply with the SHE [Safety, Health and Environment] Act, as legislated by the national government," Moodley added.
Luther Williamson, the managing director of City Parks, said: "We cannot talk about empowerment and integrating small business into the BEE [Black Economic Empowerment] Charter if we do not equip them with the necessary tools."
City Parks has also taken a decision to use seasonal contractors, as the bulk of maintenance work is undertaken in the summer months - a move that enables the company to utilise existing permanent staff more productively.
Moodley said the first group of 22 operators would receive their certificates of attendance on the compliance of Johannesburg City Parks Safety Protocol. The certified courses would assist small business operators by making them aware of the safety compliance requirements while undertaking contracts.
For more information, contact Johannesburg City Parks on 011 712 6600.
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