Article
Development of SHEQ compliance audit protocol
Published: 03/02/2025
During the November 2024 Agbiz Grain SHEQ (safety, health,
environmental, and quality) seminar held in Pretoria, the need for a
standardised SHEQ Compliance Audit for the grain handling and storage
sector was one of the panel topics.
The grain handling and storage sector consists of many facilities across
South Africa that differ in type, size and age of construction. Such
differences result in the sector being challenged by distinct SHEQ risks and
mitigation methods, not just in terms of compliance obligations, but also
regarding the insurability of the sector.
Although there was unanimous agreement that the sector needs a specific
SHEQ compliance protocol, the development of such a document will
require all grain handling and storage stakeholders to participate. A sector
committee was established and includes nominated participants from
industry stakeholders.
The committee will commence early in 2025 with the first step to confirm
the scope of the audit protocol and to identify all SHEQ compliance
obligations relevant to all types of grain handling and storage facilities.
The identified obligations will be used to develop a SHEQ compliance
audit protocol. Existing audit protocols of external service providers will
also be considered.
The committee then needs to identify an independent auditing body, and
determine the audit frequency and requirements. A standardised SHEQ
compliance audit protocol will not only allow for the compliance evaluation
of each stakeholder but will result in the collective growth of the sector.
The nominated sector compliance committee members are Luven Naidoo of AFGRI Grain Management Service (Pty) Ltd, Lester du Plooy of
Agrimark Operations, Elize de Beer of NWK, Jaco Joubert of Overberg
Agri, Fabian Boysen of OVK, Lionel Smit of Schoeman Boerdery, Adeline
Earle of Senwes, Mariska Malan of SSK, André Badenhorst of TWK Agri,
and Gerhard Lourens of VKB/GWK. – Jaco Joubert, Overberg Agri