After successfully completing work on the Sasol Gas “Safety First” campaign in September last year, Flow has since been tasked with pulling together a safety-awareness campaign for Sasol Mining.
The project has involved hands-on research, including location assessments and some rather daring photography, and is finally coming together in the form of instructive billboards, banners, flags, posters, brochures, presentations, infographics, lunch-box cooler bags, button badges and lots more.
Says Flow’s design studio manager, Tina Brown: “The aim of the Safe Production campaign is to keep safety in mind at all times throughout Sasol Mining, at all levels.
“The project is exceptionally complex. Sasol Mining is based in Secunda and Sasolburg, and covers a huge area. All of the areas had to be recced and checked to determine what needed to go where.”
Flow project manager Ros Caboz physically visited 15 of the 17 mines involved in the campaign in order to take photographs and measurements, which took a number of weeks and was completed in December last year.
“It’s been interesting working at the mines and getting to see what the largest industry in South Africa is about. Safety is a serious issue at Sasol, and when you visit the mines you get to see how critical it is,” says Ros.
“I think that there is still a lot that can be done through effective communication and training, which could improve on the safety measures already in place. It is rewarding to think that these measures will make a difference, and could help prevent injury or death.”
The campaign is set to roll out in four phases, starting at head office in Brandspruit. The first phase focuses on eight “surface hazards”, as Brandspruit is where workshops and administration take place. Phase two will be an official launch in Brandspruit on Tuesday, 27 November, for over 200 people, including managers and the people who will be involved in rolling out the campaign in the actual mines.
The third phase is the roll-out of the eight “underground hazards” throughout 17 mines. Says Tina: “This will take many months and a huge amount of planning to accomplish, as it has similar collateral to the surface campaign but has to be installed over a vast area.
“The shoot for the underground hazards has already been completed and we will commence with the design portion of the work early next year. The campaign will be launched in the mines themselves as it rolls out, and it will impact approximately 14 000 people by the time it is fully rolled out.”
There are a number of hazards facing miners these days, including rockfalls, flammable gas build-ups, explosions and potentially hazardous equipment. Tina recalls seeing a 26km-long curved conveyor belt, moving at 40km/h underground. A mistake as simple as coming too close and allowing a piece of clothing to snag on a piece of machinery like this could prove lethal.
Explains Tina: “Photo shoots took place to document specific hazards, using Sasol Mining staff and equipment. The photographs were set up to show the completely correct safe behaviour in each particular situation, and were then put into design collateral that carries punchy copy in both English and isiZulu. We kept the collateral fairly simple, as the scope of the job was so huge. The deliverables are all physical objects carrying relevant information for each area.
“The highlight of my year has been going underground with the team to photograph – we had originally been told this was impossible due to a law passed by the Department of Mineral Resources that no photography can happen underground due to worries of the static from photographic equipment starting underground explosions, fires and therefore lack of oxygen.
“However, we managed to get special clearance if we stayed in ‘secondary’ areas. About a half a bakkie load of photographic equipment had to be moved underground to the shoot area, as there is almost no light in certain areas. Heavyweight mining equipment had been moved into place for us and a number of miners had volunteered to be our very real models.
“Working on the project has been a learning curve of note on many different levels. I always enjoy learning about our clients’ industries, and it was fantastic to have the opportunity to experience mining at many levels. From experiencing first-hand what miners deal with on a daily basis, to interaction with people at all the different levels to get the campaign on the road, it has been an eye-opener.”
