Importance of workplace safety at JIC

Workplace safety is a matter of concern for employers and employees. Each of us has a responsibility to ensure the safety of us and also of others affected by our activities at workplace.

As an employee we should act responsibly and perform the work according to the applicable safety standards and follow the directions given by the employer so that we do not endanger the health and safety of others at workplace.

At JIC we aim for safety culture at workplace and we are striving to achieve perfection and excellence at our work environment.

Safety has become a way of life for us. There was an instance where one of the chefs was asked by an external safety inspector to use the meat cutting machine without a PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) purposefully, the chef was reluctant and informed the inspector that he will not do so, as he is concerned about the safety of others around him and also himself.

Safety culture can be achieved neither through compulsion nor it can happen overnight. It is necessary to inculcate the safety first and later it would get its fruit as a cultural outcome.

As Employee wellness is always on the priority list of our organization agenda, their safety was a basic requirement hence employee safety became a part of JIC's organizational DNA since its inception.

Though we knew the importance of safety culture our knowledge on work safety concept was insufficient initially, we overcame it by implementing the BS OHSAS 18001 in the year 2011 and thus we took our first step towards our journey for excellence in safety.

 Our strategy to achieve safety culture was to keep it simple by addressing the issues and communicating the safety concept.

Communicating safety to the employees is a challenge as we have a very large workforce from different parts of the world. Our Training department plays significant role in educating our employees through videos, posters and multi-lingual communication.  

We follow a 3 tier induction program for our new employees to ensure safety culture is inculcated from the beginning of their journey with us. The first tier induction from HR covers the general aspect of safety rules and regulations of our company and also of the Emirates. The second tier induction from HSE takes it further to the details of risks and hazards related to workplace and the safety measures that need to be practiced as part of our regular work and the third and the last induction is provided by the departmental heads to ensure that the employees understand the work safety related to their specific job roles.   

Our employees are empowered and encouraged to report any kind of safety deviations to the management. This helps in addressing the exact root cause of the lapses and resolving it.

                                  

As mentioned in our earlier blog we at JIC consider Safety as every individual’s responsibility. Our Journey towards perfection in safety is never ending.