MBA NORTH AUDITS 69 PROJECTS VALUED AT R8.8BN ACROSS FOUR PROVINCES

Supplied MBA North

The 2022 Master Builders Association (MBA) North Regional Safety Competition is currently in full swing.

The 2022 Master Builders Association (MBA) North Regional Safety Competition is currently in full swing. This initiative has been running for 40 years – a mark of the important role it plays in what is recognised as one of the most dangerous industries, says Gerhard Roets, Construction Health & Safety Manager at MBA North. The annual competition provides construction companies in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and North-West Provinces the opportunity to benchmark their health and safety management systems and implementation against their peers.

“The Regional Safety Competition generates keen interest from our members because safety is an area that we all know needs attention in our industry,” he says. “As we learn to live with COVID-19 and construction activity starts to pick up, we cannot lose focus on this important aspect of our work.”

The Competition is sponsored by the Federated Employers Mutual Assurance (FEM) and is free to MBA members and FEM policy holders. FEM covers more than 300 000 workers in the construction industry and according to the statistics reported by FEM in 2021, there was a total of 6 423 accidents across South Africa, of which 56 were deaths, 699 accidents which resulted in disabilities without pension and 5 were granted pensions.

Entries for this year’s competition closed on 10 May 2022. Entries were received from 59 contractors and 10 sub-contractors, representing a total project value of more than R8.8 billion. The majority of projects entered into the competition fell into the value range of R40 million-R250 million, and 33 audits have already been successfully completed.

The Lead Audit team will now be visiting outlying towns such as Emalahleni, Middelburg, Nelspruit, Secunda, Mahikeng, Rustenburg, Polokwane, Randfontein and Nigel.

The team consists of MBA North Construction Health and Safety officers Manie Van As, Mbuya Ramabulana and Gerhard Roets. The judging process is based on the MBSA Occupational Health & Safety Audit System.

This year, the competition attracted 69 entries, up 9 from 60 in 2021. New entrants included Concor Construction, 3 Dot Construction & Development, H Kampman, VIVA Projects JHB, JC Van Der Linde & Venter Projects, Reinforcing Mesh Solutions, Alt Ener Pro, Basonani Projects, Formacon, Bri-Rebar and Tate and Nicholson.

Aside from projects, MBA North also calls for nominations for Best Performing SHE Representative, OHS Officer, OHS Manager, Construction Manager and Client’s H&S Agent during this competition.

“This is an important event for our industry and MBA North thanks all those who participated this year. We encourage more construction companies to enter in 2023,” says Roets. “Benchmarking is one of the best ways to monitor your performance and, critically, to position yourself to win future contracts.”

The competition results will be submitted to Master Builders South Africa (MBSA) by 30th June 2022 and will be published in the South African Builder Magazine’s July edition. Category winners will be automatically entered into the MBSA National Safety Competition.

The Safety Awards Ceremony is scheduled for 18 August 2022.

For more information, kindly contact Amisha Chunderduth amisha@mbanorth.co.za.

About the Master Builders Association North

The Master Builders Association North is the amalgamation of the former Master Builders Associations of Johannesburg (founded in 1894) and Pretoria (founded in 1903). The organisations merged to form the Gauteng Master Builders Association in 1996, and was renamed Master Builders Association North, representing four regions: Gauteng, North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. It is a chapter of the Master Builders Association South Africa. Based in Halfway House, the Master Builders Association North represents the interests of employers in the building and allied trade industries in the abovementioned four regions. It aims to serve its members by facilitating best practice within its membership and the building industry as a whole.