Fri, 09-Jan-2009
Employee safety not just hot air
Published: Nov 18, 2008
Singapore - For a company that is in the business of working with volatile gases, valuing the safety of its 50,000 employees worldwide becomes a top priority.
For Linde Gas Singapore, being in an industry which it works with volatile chemicals such as acetylene, an accident at the workplace could mean injury to the employee or even death. Not only can it damage the company's reputation and shareholder value, but it also can result in low employee morale.
"A safe workplace not only delivers superior business performance but also creates a feeling of ownership to our employees, and a view that we are a caring organisation,” says Sanjiv Lamba, Linde’s regional business unit head for South and East Asia.
Hence, the company invests in processes such as appropriate personal protective equipments, risk assessment tools and a safe system of work to ensure that employees are protected from harm. It also has in place occupational health and hygiene programmes.
As a result of this, Linde Gas Singapore was recently awarded Silver by the Ministry of Manpower's Workplace Safety and Health Awards 2008. The company surpassed two million man-hours without having an incident which caused more than three days of delays.
Chong Yee Mei, a chemist, at the Bukit Rajah site in Malaysia, says the safety practices have helped translate into ensuring utmost safety outside work as well. “Consequently, we do not only practice safety at work but wherever we are and whatever we do.”
For Linde Gas Singapore, being in an industry which it works with volatile chemicals such as acetylene, an accident at the workplace could mean injury to the employee or even death. Not only can it damage the company's reputation and shareholder value, but it also can result in low employee morale.
"A safe workplace not only delivers superior business performance but also creates a feeling of ownership to our employees, and a view that we are a caring organisation,” says Sanjiv Lamba, Linde’s regional business unit head for South and East Asia.
Hence, the company invests in processes such as appropriate personal protective equipments, risk assessment tools and a safe system of work to ensure that employees are protected from harm. It also has in place occupational health and hygiene programmes.
As a result of this, Linde Gas Singapore was recently awarded Silver by the Ministry of Manpower's Workplace Safety and Health Awards 2008. The company surpassed two million man-hours without having an incident which caused more than three days of delays.
Chong Yee Mei, a chemist, at the Bukit Rajah site in Malaysia, says the safety practices have helped translate into ensuring utmost safety outside work as well. “Consequently, we do not only practice safety at work but wherever we are and whatever we do.”
