Marina achieves six years without a lost time accident
On 24th april, Marina Generating Station reached another historic milestone having reached six years without a lost time accident on site. The same week, Marina also achieved OHSAS 18001 Certification for its safety management system.
In 2006 and 2007, Marina was also awarded a Merit Award in the Power Generation excellence in Health and Safety Awards. In recognition of this excellent safety record and the obvious commitment of all staff members to Marina's safety culture, the June meeting of the Power Generation Safety committee was held in the Station. This meeting gave Marina staff an opportunity to witness and input into the Power Generation Safety committee.
A function to celebrate the stations achievements was held in Maryborough House Hotel. The function was attended by Power Generation Executive Director, Pat O'Doherty, who congratulated all of the Marina staff for their safety achievements to date. Pat also said, "Marina has proven that Zero Lost Time Accidents is an achievable target and that the challenge facing all in Marina was to sustain and improve on its high standards."
Marina has been to the forefront in promoting safety initiatives. One of the more recent initiatives has been a series of health talks for staff, covering areas such as mental health, back care, healthy heart and male cancers. These talks were delivered by local health professionals and were well attended by the Marina Staff.
Another health promotion initiative in Marina is their 'Fry- Free, Free-Fruit Friday', where staff are encouraged to substitute their daily fry for a healthy helping of fruit, at least for one day a week. This emphasis on health promotion helped encourage a large team from Marina to participate in the recent Sligo walk, with four of the Marina contingent finishing in the top 20 in the 30km event and all of the team successfully completed the event.
Another recent initiative was the introduction of an electronic safety information point in the staff canteen. This has proven to be an innovative means of selling the safety message in the station with safety DVDs and presentations played for staff during their tea and lunch breaks.
The proactive approach to safety management in Marina has resulted in the implementation of the Power Generation Arc Resistant PPE policy well in advance of the deadline for its introduction. The station was also to the forefront in completing the Power Generation Risk Assessment Project in which a large number of staff took an active part.
Donal Lehane, Nominated Safety Engineer for Marina, says that everyone in Marina is delighted with their achievements, which are the result of many years of hard work. "Safety is the first consideration in everything we do and only the highest level of safety management is acceptable to our staff."
