Yemisi Izuora
Axxela Limited, sub-Saharan Africa’s preferred fast-growing gas & power portfolio company, has achieved Five Million Man-Hours without any Lost Time Injury (LTI) across its operations. The noteworthy achievement was reached on Friday, May 1, 2020.
LTI is a measure of injury sustained on the job that is capable of preventing a worker from performing or continuing with a task or resulting in downtime in operations.
It is an oil and gas industry benchmark that evaluates adherence to safety and environmental requirements in the course of operations, and is a critical Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for Axxela’s conformity with the industry’s best practices.
Speaking on the monumental safety milestone, Bolaji Osunsanya, Axxela’s Chief Executive Officer said: “We are proud to celebrate Axxela’s advances in safety performance. This safety mark underscores Axxela’s unwavering commitment to health and safety best practices across all facets of our enterprise.
Our integrated Environment, Health, Safety and Quality (“EHSQ”) management strategy revolves around operational excellence, stringent safety processes, high standards, strict compliance, comprehensive training, capability building, and vigilant monitoring. Building on our 4 million LTI free man-hour record achieved in 2018, we are excited about this new accomplishment, and are already working towards the next ground-breaking milestone.
Safety is firmly entrenched in every aspect of our business and I must commend our managerial and operational teams, along with our partners and contractors for their relentless efforts in upholding our robust safety guidelines.”
Achieved over 8 years, the Five Million LTI-Free Man-Hours is comprised of operation time in the 12” x 128km Eastern Horizon Gas Company pipeline traversing Akwa Ibom and Cross River States (divested in 2014); the 12.15MW Akute Power Plant Project (divested in 2016); the Gas Network Services Limited Compressed Natural Gas (“CNG”) Mother Station (a 5.3mmscfd CNG Plant); the 10.4 MW Alausa Power Plant Project (divested in 2017); the 12” x 8.5km GLIV gas pipeline project taking gas from Ijora to the Marina in Lagos State; the 12” x 8.5km Central Horizon Gas Company pipeline expansion project from Trans-Amadi through the greater Port Harcourt area; the installation of Eight CNG Daughter stations across South-West Nigeria; and commencement of a 12” x 120km gas pipeline project in Sagamu, Ogun by Transit Gas Nigeria Limited.
Axxela’s EHSQ Manager, Uche Okpala attributed the remarkable feat to the dedication of employees and contractors to ensuring an incident-free work environment. He said, “This new safety record is indicative of company-wide adherence to our Occupational Health and Safety standards in line with (ISO 45001:2018). While we are elated, our vision remains zero accidents to our employees, contractors, customers, suppliers and host communities, and continued collaboration with our stakeholders to maintain a safe environment for all.”
In 20 years of delivering innovative energy solutions to the Nigerian and West African markets, Axxela has built and maintained a safety culture supplemented by a rigorous EHSQ management system for monitoring, evaluating, and reporting performance.
Axxela holds monthly EHSQ meetings and an annual EHSSQ Day to deepen awareness and strengthen an incident-free work culture.
The company is also the first organisation in the Nigerian oil & gas space to achieve and hold a trifecta of Integrated Management Systems: Quality Management System (ISO 9001:2015), Environmental Management System (ISO 14001:2015), and Occupational Health & Safety (ISO 45001:2018).