VINLEC’s Environmental Health and Safety Awareness Month launched

VINLEC has officially launched its ‘Environmental Health and Safety Awareness Month’, under the theme: ‘Safety Ties Us Together’.

At an opening ceremony on May 2 at the VINLEC Cane Hall plant, Communications Officer Tamara Job-Sprott said VINLEC remains committed to ensuring a safe working environment for their workers.“This promises to be a very informative and exciting month and we have a number of activities planned, including motorcades, daily quizzes, training just to name a few.”

She explained that safety ties persons together when they work as a team.Anthony Patterson, the Environmental Health and Safety Officer explained that safety at VINLEC was not only about training, but about how persons are able to remain calm under pressure.

He said it was also more effective when persons can anticipate and prepare for accidents on the job by doing job safety analyses, and inspections of facilities and team members which can help to prevent accidents.Dr Vaughn Lewis, the Acting Chief Executive officer, reminded workers that safety is also related to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and he encouraged office employees to exercise more often by visiting other colleagues’ desks.

Chairman of the board René Baptiste was the first to sign a safety pledge which all employees are expected to sign to encourage them to make a conscious effort to be safe on the job.Baptiste said this year’s environmental month is different and she highlighted the CARILEC Linemen Symposium and Rodeo from May 7-13.

Other activities will be Wellness Workshops, Lockout Tagout Workshops, Environmental Protection Seminar, and a Get Fit Games and Wellness Walk.The electricity provider will also be providing the public with information on how to be safe when using electricity and they have started a drive to collect used Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) or energy saving bulbs.

The feature speaker at Wednesday’s event was Dr Del Hamilton, Coordinator of Non-Communicable Disease in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, who highlighted efforts which are being made to improve the health of the nation.