How SBL ensures safety and health for employees, visitors, and the environment

Have you ever had the opportunity to visit the Serengeti Breweries Lim­ited (SBL) plant located in Chang’ombe, Dar es Salaam? If you haven’t had that oppor­tunity, let me tell you a brief story about what I witnessed when I visited the plant.

It was the morning of April 18th when I arrived at the fac­tory to meet my host, Saimon Peter, the Safety, Health, and Environment Manager at SBL, with the aim of under­standing how they prioritize safety and health in the work­place.

Before entering, I was greet­ed by a guard and then went through security procedures, including an alcohol test. Af­ter that, I entered the recep­tion area where I was shown a safety instructional video on TV, providing essential safety guidelines for guests within the premises.

The video, which lasted no more than ten minutes, ex­plained safety signs, dos and don’ts while at SBL. After the video, I was given a question­naire to assess my under­standing of the content.

Honestly, this surprised me because I have never visited any place in Tanzania where safety and health are given such priority. Indeed, I learned and enjoyed many things.

After meeting my host (Pe­ter), he told me that the pur­pose of these measures is to ensure that everyone who enters the factory remains safe until they leave. I dare say that SBL is an exemplary model in terms of safety and health in the country.

The questions I had pre­pared to ask Peter were largely answered at the gate and in the reception area, as I witnessed firsthand how SBL prioritizes safety and health.

Peter explains that safety and health at SBL are con­sidered in three main areas: employees, visitors, and the environment, and this is also implemented in other facto­ries of the company located in Moshi and Mwanza.

“SBL always takes various measures to ensure a safe working environment for its employees. Among these measures are regular safety training, provision of protec­tive equipment, enforcement of accident prevention proce­dures, and implementation of emergency response plans,” says Peter.

SBL also fosters a culture of encouraging employees to participate in improving safety systems and providing feedback on areas that need improvement.

These steps demonstrate SBL’s commitment to ensur­ing that its employees work in a safe and healthy environ­ment.

Safety and health for employees

In terms of safety for em­ployees, there are several considerations starting from the moment they arrive at the gate, where they are re­quired to undergo tests for intoxication (alcohol).

“The purpose of this test is to ensure that employees do not work under the influence of alcohol, which could en­danger their lives and those of other employees because we believe alcohol impairs decision-making,” says Peter.

The second aspect is pro­viding safety induction, which covers procedures, safety signs, what to do and what not to do, when, and why.

“We have employees who are permanent staff, but there are also contractors. All of them adhere to the safety regulations in place. Upon arrival, they are given safety protocols and instructions on what to do while inside the factory to protect their health and that of others,” explains Peter.

These trainings also include instructions on what actions to take in case of accidents and guidance on specific tasks that require permits (high-risk work), which are is­sued by SBL according to the job requirements.

“High-risk work includes tasks that could result in Se­vere, Fatal or life-threatening injuries. Among these tasks are working at heights, enter­ing confined spaces such as trenches and tanks, excava­tion, lifting, and entering high voltage rooms,” says Peter.

Other tasks that require special permits include those performed by contractors, with the aim of monitoring daily tasks to ensure safety compliance.

The SBL official details that each department has a su­pervisor responsible for en­suring that all safety matters within the department are adhered to in order to pre­vent accidents.

Regarding the procedure followed by the company in case an employee is injured while at work, Mr Peter says, “SBL has a workplace health and safety policy, which di­rects that every accident that occurs must first be report­ed. Then an investigation will be carried out to determine the cause of the accident by interviewing the victim and other witnesses.”

If the investigation reveals that the accident was due to the negligence of the employ­ee, disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with la­bour laws and company pol­icy.

If the outcome of the in­vestigation shows that the accident was not caused by negligence, the company has a policy that clearly outlines the measures and duty of care for the injured employee.

“In any accident, after com­pleting the investigation, we use the result as a lesson and take steps to ensure it does not happen again,” says Mr Peter.

On health for the employ­ees, Peter says that SBL is among the companies that greatly prioritise the health of employees. He says they believe that health and safe­ty is an asset, and even if you have the best technolo­gy and equipment, without a healthy workforce, you can­not achieve your set goals.

“We provide our employ­ees with health and safety training through health pro­fessionals who come and meet them. We also facilitate the provision of vaccination services for the employees, such as hepatitis vaccina­tion. Most importantly, every employee undergoes health check-ups before starting work as required by law. We also do surveillance medical check-ups for all the employ­ees every year to confirm their fitness to work,” he says.

He adds that the SBL em­ployees have health insur­ance coverage from reputa­ble insurance companies that also provide medical care for their families.

Safety and health for vis­itors

Mr Peter explains that all visitors are required to fol­low all safety procedures and regulations in place. First, any visitor must have their host who will have information about where they are from and why they are there.

Second, they undergo in­duction tailored to their pur­pose. If they come for regular office activities, they receive basic safety training, and if they come to work in the fac­tory, their training will be dif­ferent.

“For one-day visitors, their training is brief, but for those staying for three days or more, they receive special training on how to conduct themselves in this environ­ment,” says Mr Peter.

Safety and health for the environment

In terms of the environment, he says they also make great efforts to ensure that their factories do not contribute to environmental degradation.

“In terms of the environ­ment, we ensure that we do not release hazardous chem­icals, waste, or polluted wa­ter into the environment. We have wastewater treatment plants, whereby all produc­tion-related water is biolog­ically treated before being properly disposed of and not being released into the envi­ronment.

“Much of the treated waste water is pumped to DAWASA sewerage line for second­ary treatment before being discharged into the environ­ment,” says Peter.

He adds that they have a robust system for controlling solid waste and other waste, as well as managing the ef­ficient use of electricity and water.

Regarding achievements, Mr Peter says they take pride in managing the health and safety of their employees by investing in superior work­place safety systems, pro­viding regular health and safety training, and ensuring high safety standards are ob­served in the workplace envi­ronment.

“We are proud to have re­duced the incidences of workplace accidents due to our effective safety manage­ment system. We have built a culture of caring for the health and well-being of our employees by taking steps to prevent workplace accidents and ensuring safe working environments are main­tained.

“We are proud of everyone in the business for driving zero harm agenda and by living our Safety Moto, “My safety, My Responsibility,” which has resulted in great achievement in health and safety on site. So far Chang’ombe brewery has more than 10 years since it last recorded a lost time ac­cident (LTA) in 2013,” says Mr Peter.

Discussing the company’s strategies, Peter says their main strategy is to continue promoting a safety culture among employees and visi­tors to the company.

Another strategy is to invest in digital systems in produc­tion areas by installing mod­ern and safe equipment and systems to facilitate work, re­duce accidents, and manage the safety and health of the employees. SBL’s strategies in managing employee safety are important to ensuring a safe and healthy working en­vironment.