The Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) has unveiled its acquisition of the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 45001:2018 Certification,the highest accreditation for occupational health and safety management system.
The certificate was obtained on April 1 this year after processes for its acquisition was initiated in November 12, 2019 with the goal of benchmarking and certifying the company's Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) management system to international standards.
Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a globally acclaimed expert in business assurance and risk management and one of the few registrar and classification societies, headquartered in Norway, conducted the independent audits.
By this feat, GNGC became the first wholly owned state enterprise in the energy sector to attain the accreditation.
Speaking at an event in Accra to mark the milestone, the Minister of Energy, Mr Matthew Opoku Prempeh in a speech read on his behalf lauded theworkforce and board of the GNGC for their contributions towards the delivery of such an important certificate.
"ISO 45001:2018 is the new international standard for Occupational Health and Safety management system published in March, 2018.
"The certification process is renowned for increasing worker participation at all levels of the organisation enabling the seamless integration of health and safety into the company's overall business processes," he stated.
Mr Prempeh disclosed that his outfit was working with the GNGC to exploit the use of natural gas as feedstock for fertilizer production in the country.
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He added that plans were far advanced for the construction of a fertiliser plant in the Western Region to mitigate the shortage of fertiliser.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GNGC, Dr Ben Asante, in his remarks said aside the certification ensuring the protection of life and property, it would also enhance efficiency of operations, boost the company's international image, attract investment, enhance compliance to safety protocols as well as soar stakeholder confidence.
He noted that to work on a gas processing plant with very volatile components it was important that management and board constantly introduced policies and measures that guaranteed that the occupational health and safety needs of the workers are met.
On his part, DNV representative, Emmanuel Siaw said after a rigorous and meticulous audit routine where his team visited the GNGC's Atuabo Gas Processing Plant and other facilities, the GNGC met all the standards that merited the certification.
He advised the GNGC to maintain and continue to improve the process and standard as this would enhance productivity and deliver customer satisfaction.
To maintain the ISO certificate, an independent annual review and a three-year recertification audit of the GNGC's safety management system is required.
