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Social life cycle assessment in the South African sugar industry: issues and views

  • Authors: Nemarumane, Takalani Musundwa , Mbohwa, Charles
  • Date: 2016
  • Subjects: Sugar production , Wages , Gender equality , Health and safety
  • Language: English
  • Type: Book chapter
  • Identifier: http://ujcontent.uj.ac.za8080/10210/379828 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/91577 , uj:20118 , Citation: Nemarumane, T.M. & Mbohwa, C. 2016. Social life cycle assessment in the South African sugar industry: issues and views.
  • Description: Abstract: The South African sugar industry is one of the world’s leading costcompetitive producers of high- quality sugar and makes an important contribution to employment and sustainable socioeconomic development, particularly in rural areas, as well as to the national economy. The South African sugar industry is divided into growers and millers. South Africa produces its sugar from sugar cane, which is a tall tropical grass with thick, solid, tough stems that are a chief commercial source of sugar. The objectives of the study were directed by the guidelines on social life cycle assessment of products developed by the United Nations Environmental Programme and SETAC initiatives. The data were collected using field research, historic comparative research, interviews and questionnaires. The analysis and validation data was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software. The impacts identified and discussed were health and safety, gender equality, and wages; these impacts were analyzed in terms of descriptives and factor matrix. The employers in the sugar industry provide full independence of the operations and procedures of the existing associations, but do not encourage their workers to become members. It was found that workers do not have wagerelated incentives, and that wages have not increased in the past 2 years. The workers reported that they have been discriminated against due to their genders; it was also found that male workers were favored by employers as compared to women, with regard to remuneration, training and development, and promotional opportunities. It was also found that the workers are exposed to unpleasant smells and dust particles in their working environment. Recommendations were made to enable favorable working conditions for both employers and employees.
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Identifying worksite intervention strategies to improve construction workers’ nutrition : a review of literature

Rasberry Pi and BeagleBones : evaluating a cost effective GPS system for on‐mine navigation

  • Authors: Grobler, H. C. I. , Van der Walt, C.
  • Date: 2017
  • Subjects: Navigation , Health and safety , Mine survey
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/241333 , uj:24843 , Citation: Grobler, H.C.I. & Van der Walt, C. 2017. Rasberry Pi and BeagleBones : evaluating a cost effective GPS system for on‐mine navigation.
  • Description: Abstract: The South African Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA) requires the mine surveyor to inform the manager of all workings within 100 metres of other workings, abandoned areas and hazardous accumulations of water or gas. The main purpose of this requirement is to ensure that all employees are aware and can take all the necessary precautions against un‐planned breakthroughs, falls of ground and subsidence. In the case where mines are mining through abandoned workings in order to remove remnant pillars and previously unmined reserves, the potential for subsidence and equipment falling into excavated areas become a reality. A single incident where a machine falls into a collapsed working can amount to in excess of R1 million per incident, excluding the risk of loss of life or serious injury. An unplanned collapse of workings in the specific case study can also lead to sufficient air flow into the old underground to cause spontaneous combustion of the remaining pillars. Although systems for navigation of drill rigs exist the cost to deploy a similar unit to all vehicles in the mining area is prohibitive. A low‐cost system that can navigate a vehicle and indicate to the operator what the subsurface features look like in the direct surroundings of the vehicle was developed using off‐the‐shelf technologies. This paper discusses the process of developing a lowcost navigation system towards a real time information management system for a mining operation. Benefits from this system may be applied in underground navigation and guiding rescue services in the search of illegal miners in abandoned mines.
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An investigation of factors that assure a zero accident goal in construction sites in Gauteng, South Africa

  • Authors: Van Heerden, J. H. F. , Musonda, I. , Okoro, C. S.
  • Date: 2018
  • Subjects: Construction industry , Gauteng , Health and safety
  • Language: English
  • Type: Conference proceedings
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/282206 , uj:30405 , Citation: Van Heerden, J.H.F., Musonda, I. & Okoro, C.S. 2018. An investigation of factors that assure a zero accident goal in construction sites in Gauteng, South Africa.
  • Description: Abstract: Construction accidents and fatalities bear heavily on companies. Thus, achieving zero accidents on construction projects is a desired goal universally. The present study aims to identify critical conditions or factors to ensure zero accidents on projects. A field questionnaire survey was used to collect data in different locations in Gauteng. Participants were selected using snowballing and judgemental sampling techniques. Empirical data were analysed using EXCEL to output descriptive statistics including mean item scores and standard deviation. The factors were further ranked to identify the most important as perceived by the sampled respondents. The study found that clear H&S goals, regular recording of accidents and incidents, regular tool box talks as well as following strict H&S rules, procedures and processes were the most indicators of a good safety record among the sampled organisations. On the other hand, involving staff in H&S planning and worker incentives did not appear to have much bearing on achieving zero accidents in the organizations sampled. The study was conducted in only one Province in South Africa and may not be generalisable to construction organizations in entire country or other geographical areas. The current research identifies factors necessary to prevent or avoid accidents on construction sites. Continuous health and safety improvement is likely if factors to prevent accidents are taken into account to prevent their occurrence.
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The influence of work pressure on worker attitudes towards health and safety in a platinum mining stope

A health and safety model for occupational exposure to radiofrequency fields and static magnetic fields from 1.5 and 3 T MRI scanners

  • Authors: Rathebe, Phoka , Weyers, C. , Raphela, F.
  • Date: 2020
  • Subjects: Health and safety , Occupational exposure , Model
  • Language: English
  • Type: Article
  • Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/426304 , uj:36561 , Rathebe, P., Weyers, C., Raphela, F.: A health and safety model for occupational exposure to radiofrequency fields and static magnetic fields from 1.5 and 3 T MRI scanners.
  • Description: Abstract: The exposure of MRI staff to SMFs and RF fields in the MRI units happen as a result of their induced movement in the MRI room during patients’ examination. Exposure to SMFs among health care workers has been associated with vertigo, nausea, increased heart rate, hypothermia and metallic taste in the mouth. The only known adverse effects associated with RF fields’ exposure include induced tissue heating, and the scientific arguments regarding non-thermal effects are inconclusive. The emission of MRI-related electromagnetic fields and exposure of workers to RF energy and SMFs can be reduced through implementation of reasonably practicable control measures. This study attempts to recommend the hierarchy of controls that can be implemented in the MRI units to reduce emissions and exposure of MRI staff to RF energy and SMFs. The controls are recommended based on exposure assessment conducted to quantify the exposure levels and self-reported priori-related and unrelated health consequences. In the MRI units, elimination is an impractical measure, hence, the implementation of engineering and administrative control measures as well as the utilisation of personal protective equipment (PPE) are recommended to mitigate exposure. Engineering controls include modification of MRI scanners to reduce emissions while administration controls include the design of work schedules and processes to be adaptive by MRI staff. PPE is recommended as a last resort and include protective equipment that are fit to reduce exposure arriving to workers. In South Africa, there is no legislation to assist in enforcing exposure limits and as a result, exposure levels are uncontrolled. The model of this kind could assist in reducing exposure levels in the MRI units and substantially reduce exposure-related effects amongst workers.
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