On July 31, UPM Raflatac’s terminal in Cape Town, South Africa achieved seven years without any lost time accidents.

“We have adopted the attitude of being our brother’s keeper–everybody is responsible for watching out for one another,” says Shawn Van Wyk, production supervisor, Cape Town Terminal, UPM Raflatac South Africa.

This success is a result of creating safety awareness among all employees by engaging them in all kinds of safety activities. This includes, among other things, conducting safety talks and walks during daily meetings with team members, or involving employees in pre-job analysis to help determine how to do a job safely based on their past experiences.

Also, reorganizing the working area by minimizing work within forklift operations or by installing cages to prevent entry while slitting machines are up and running certainly has contributed to further growth of UPM Raflatac’s employees’ work safety.

“My future plans are to eliminate all manual handling at our terminal and ensure that we continue to improve our work safety,” says Shawn Simons, Terminal operations manager, UPM Raflatac South Africa.

The safety milestone is largely due to generating a system that engages employees in active participation in safety; starting with basic PPE check-outs all the way up to creating a safe work environment for everyone. To further develop the safety culture, training needs are currently being re-evaluated to set future plans in this matter.

“Congratulations to the Cape Town team,” says Laura Cummings, director, health, safety and environment, UPM Raflatac. “It’s when milestones like this are reached that we stop to recognize and truly appreciate the day-to-day efforts of a team to keep each other safe. It is a proud moment for you and an inspiration for the rest of us. Wishing you many more LTA-free years.”