Company Announcement - Leading consulting firm, GIBB is in the final stages of compiling a procedures manual for use in a water supply network and reticulation upgrade project that includes five towns in Lesotho. Roland David, Environmental, Health and Safety Manager at GIBB’s Durban office said that GIBB was initially appointed to conduct an Environmental Health and Safety audit on the upgrading project by Lesotho’s Millennium Development Agency, the local implementing agency of the Millennium Challenge Account. The findings revealed certain areas of non-conformity and it was clear that, to comply with the contract and funding conditions, a comprehensive manual incorporating best EHS practices was required by the custodian of the upgraded infrastructure, Water and Sewage Company to ensure that the beneficiaries received safe, fit for purpose, quality infrastructure.

“The implementation of practical EHS systems is critical to sustainable operations in the water supply industry in ensuring that risks to all stakeholders and the environment are clearly identified and mitigated. This needs to be followed through, after completion of construction, and not ignored once the project is complete as it can result in an unsafe environment and ultimately impacts on worker productivity and community dissatisfaction with the implementation of projects such as these,” said David.

He added, “In many cases, environmental management and safety plans only consider periods prior to and during construction. The post construction period is when these operations are at their most vulnerable and close monitoring is required. Without proper management plans in place, effective monitoring is unachievable and could result in heavy losses in terms of operations, time and resources.”

With the proactive cooperation of both WASCO and LMDA, the project in Lesotho was evaluated using a five point scale, classifying risks according to their impact to the operations and the long term effect of the risk. The major risks were identified for immediate correction and an EHS management plan adopted. The plan ensures that all operations are guided by internationally accepted practices and that staff and surrounding communities are protected against the risks associated with the new or upgraded infrastructure.

“Once the EHS policy was in place, compilation of a procedure manual began in May 2014 with a completion date of six months. Thereafter training and guidance was provided to all staff that needed to be trained in these procedures. Upon implementation of the EHS policy, audits have been carried out to ascertain whether these policies are being followed and whether they are effective in the management of EHS. The procedures followed at the sites are then reviewed against policy and updated to ensure that the policy is sustainable in the long term,” said David.

The initial conclusions arising from the project found that the monitoring aspects of the environmental management plan needed to be incorporated into EHS policies and procedures as soon as possible so that uninterrupted monitoring could  continue post construction. EHS systems need to change as the infrastructure is developed and it is important for an EHS specialist to be on hand to ensure that the system changes to meet the requirements of the new developments and that the risks are constantly re-evaluated and mitigated.