Hambantota International Port (HIP) was recently certified as compliant for its Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OH&SMS), by the International Organisation for Standardisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
The port went through six-months of preparation and a three-month audit, before receiving the certification, which enables organisations to put in place an effective occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system. The audit was conducted by Bureau Veritas Lanka (Pvt) Ltd., a global leader in audit services in the fields of Quality, Health and Safety, Environment and Social Responsibility.
ISO 45001 will position HIP to manage its OH&S risks and improve OH&S performance by developing and implementing effective policies and objectives. Key potential benefits of using the standard include, reduction of workplace incidents, reduced absenteeism and staff turnover, reduced cost of insurance, creation of a health and safety culture, reinforced leadership commitment, ability to meet legal and regulatory requirements, enhanced reputation, and improved staff morale.
“The Hambantota International Port has a world-class loss prevention system in place that protects the people, environment, assets as well as the reputation of all our stakeholders,” said CEO of HIPG, Ray Ren.
COO of HIPG, Tissa Wickramasinghe said, “We are dealing with a myriad of different operations which involve man, machine and systems. It is also relevant to note that HIP is currently, the only port in Sri Lanka to receive this standard.”
HIPG, one of the two companies formed to manage HIP, handles port services, maritime services, the port-related industrial zone, integrated logistics as well as act as the business incubator for the port.
Being under the CMPort umbrella is an added advantage for HIP in establishing world standards, as the global port operator brings a wealth of knowledge sharing, and expertise to their local partner.