The Sunday News
Stanford Chiwanga, Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE’S leading manager in the field of mining occupational safety, health, environment and quality (Sheq), Mr Abednego Chigwada, was the only African at the Mining, Technology and Operations (MTO) Forum held in Perth a fortnight ago as his accident prevention AKBC Model was viewed as one of the solutions to the challenges faced by industries in Australia and New Zealand.
In an interview with Sunday News Business, Mr Chigwada said his accident prevention AKBC model was deemed relevant to the companies in Australia given the myriad of exotic cultures present there.
“It is pleasing to note that out of 14 speakers and above 80 delegates, I was the only who had been invited from the continent of Africa as my model is seen to be very relevant for the Australian and New Zealand industries who have exotic cultures and need a value driven approach to accident prevention strategies.
“The AKBC model emphasises on probing and unravelling critical human challenges before formulating strategies. One of the pillars of this model in relationship to accident prevention is a strong leadership safety culture which is grounded upon sound values and collaborations. I must say the AKBC model was highly received at the summit,” said Mr Chigwada.
Mr Chigwada’s presentation was about understanding the role of human error in organisational performance in order to mitigate the risks brought by these errors.
“My presentation emphasised the need to invest in technology, Sheq management systems and the correct human factor. The presentation delved on moving away from dealing only with the knowable and predictable issues, but to also deal with complex matters that deal with people matters that have unpredictable energies which introduce errors in operations.
“It is imperative to note that with the best technology and management systems you still need people with the correct skills, mind, and determination to transform productivity in the industry. This requires us to have a rallying point and the ubuntu/hunhu philosophy presents that opportunity and I believe Zimbabwe can make the difference if this culture is nurtured and developed. I am persuaded that we need a social apprenticeship with ubuntu/hunhu identity from grassroots levels and in all our various institutes. Hence the AKBC model emphasises on probing an unravelling critical human challenges before formulating strategies,” he said.
Mr Chigwada revealed that he did not only impart knowledge but used the summit to gain new information which he hopes to use to improve Sheq management strategies in Zimbabwe.
He said: “The summit was very informative and addressing key pertinent industry challenges. The speaker presentations were of high standards and the interactive sessions were very fruitful. The summit format was an ideal method for uniting decision makers and solution providers. The world’s foremost strategists, thought leaders and trend setters delivered visionary keynote presentations, real life case studies and interactive sessions.
“The emphasis was on utilising data as a means of transforming productivity and optimisation of financial outcomes and operational technologies such as equipment sensors can provide benchmarking data to assess how the fleet is actually working. Future trends will be driven by emphasis on productivity and the reduction of sustaining capital. As such we will see the development of improved optimisation technologies and good predictive maintenance.
“There are certainly huge learning points for Zimbabwe industry to be more pro active and adjust to changes and not to wait for collapse. The environment has become so dynamic that we need collaboration of key players to salvage what we still have.
All parties, the government, the private sector and employees should rally to ensure that survival strategies are crafted and implemented.”
