MEET THE STAFF SERIES

 

We should Always look at Safety beyond legal or Regulatory Requirement - Gimba Saleh

 

 CCD: Can you briefly tell us about your self?

ENGR GIMBA SALEH, TL HSE

GS:My name is Engr. Gimba Saleh, I am an Environmental, Health and Safety Specialist with thorough hands-on experience in Environmental, Health and Safety Regulations, Environmental Health and Safety Management Systems, Risk Management, and the promotion of a Positive Safety Culture. I have over 10 years of experience in Health, Safety, and Environment, both power and petroleum Sector.

CCD:  When did you join the service of Kaduna electric, and what have you been doing ever since?

GS: I joined the service of Kaduna Electric in September 2015 as a HSE Officer under the Control and Compliance Department. Part of my job roll includes: re
view of job hazards analysis, maintenance of risks registers, dissemination of company’s HSE policy, Procedure, and ensure compliance with company’s and regulatory safety rules, maintenance of safety statistic, conduct staff training and tracking of HSE Performance among others.

CCD: As a safety Officer, what are the challenges you face in discharging your duties?

GS: : None adherence to standard safety policies and procedures by the staff is the greatest challenge of our job. These Safety standards policies and procedures were designed to ensure the protection of lives from harm and property from damage and also to ensure business sustainability. Therefore, to ensure continuity of the business, the policy and standard has to be fully implemented.

CCD:  How are you coping with these challenges?

GS: We were able to management these challenges through various Safety Engagements and other communication medium to broadening staff understanding of safety, that will help in changing their perceptions, involvements and commitments towards safety. This is to enable Safety to take its proper place in the priority list/position in the company.

 CCD: The HSE target of Kaduna Electric is zero accident, what are your plans and strategies to achieving this?

GS: One way to achieve the goal of zero accident is to change the way safety is being perceived and measured. We have to measure both the bottom-line result as well as the accident preventive measure i.e. the combination of the leading and lagging indicators. To each of these safety metrics, targets is being set and performance is being measured. This approach has enabled us to see and measure what we are doing versus what we are not doing, while hoping for continues improvement in Company’s safety performance.

CCD: Any appeal or suggestion to the Management/staff?

GS: My appeal to all staff is to ensure genuine and sincere participation in health and safety matters. As passionate we are about the results from various objectives, we should equally have concern about how safe the results were achieved. I encourage all of us to take ownership and make safety personal by encouraging positive (safe) behaviors and challenging the negative (unsafe) behaviors. This can be achieved through reporting of unsafe practices and stopping the unsafe job witnessed.