The West Africa operations of mining equipment giant, Sandvik Mining and Construction (Ghana) Limited has achieved a significant milestone of 10 million work hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI).

Attained in February 2025, the outstanding achievement cements the company’s reputation as one with strong Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) credentials and culture.

Company managers say the milestone is evidence of the dedication and tireless effort of employees in ensuring that safety remains a top priority across all operations in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali.

Lost Time Injury is an injury sustained in the course of work that results in the loss of productive work time for an employee(s). It is a measure of a company’s past safety performance.

According to Safeopedia, “Tracking lost time injuries provides safety departments and employers with a key indicator of the effectiveness of the organization’s safety program.” 

This result “means the West Africa operations, with legal entities in Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso and physical presence in non-entity countries within the subregion have worked over 12 years or 400,000+ continuous days without an injury serious enough to warrant absence from work,” said a company executive.

Commenting on the achievement, Sandvik’s Vice President, Sales Area West Africa, Nuhu Salifu, said, “We have rebuilt hundreds of customer equipment and supported the mines without losing a day’s productive hours of any worker as a result of severe work-related injuries, thereby living our mantra of customer service with EHS focus”

Globally, mining operations expose workers - be they miners or working in support services - to a high risk of serious injuries.

This has often necessitated relentless safety campaigns and adherence to safety protocols. As part of such initiatives, Sandvik last year emphasised psychological safety by encouraging workers to freely express themselves without fear of victimisation.

The company also held mental health training and exercises to ensure the total well-being of workers within the SALES area.

Mr. Salifu said the ten million work hours LTI-Free milestone demonstrated the Sales Area’s commitment to preventing work-related injuries to its workers, after all it is a fact “that accidents do not just happen; they are caused and if they are caused, then they can be prevented.

A Decade of Safety Excellence

The company said it last recorded LTI in 2012, it has continually improved its Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) standards by implementing stringent SHEQ management system and fostering a culture where every employee takes ownership of workplace safety.

As a result, in 2022, “we proudly celebrated our tenth year of being LTI-free, and today, we mark another major milestone that highlights our long-standing commitment to ensuring a safe and accident-free work environment,” the Vice-President noted.

Leadership Commitment to Safety

Mr Salifu stated that the attainment of ten million work hours LTI-free was not accidental but the result of a deliberate commitment and dedication by employees within the Sales Area.

“It is worth mentioning that leadership commitment is pivotal in the quest for a ‘Zero Harm’ work environment and our leaders are aligned with the ‘Zero Harm’ objective and prioritise safety within their respective operations.

"Fortunately, the Sandvik Group and local management team are aligned in our commitment to drive improvement annually and every leader commits to this absolutely,” he stated.

He said the desire and determination to meet or exceed compliance obligations with corporate, regulatory and statutory requirements which involves commitment of resources to train workers yielded this dividend.

ISO management Certifications

To cap his comments, Mr Salifu noted that the established and effective management systems the company built had kept everyone on their feet.

“The journey towards ISO certification started in 2009 with OHSAS 18001:2007 which transformed into ISO 45001 in 2018. In 2019 Kumasi and Accra were certified ISO 45001,14001 and 9001. These certifications have kept us on the path of continual improvement.

“As a part of the Sandvik Group, where the core values and sustainability focus mandates us to be responsible corporate citizens and workers owe it to themselves to ensure personal safety and duty to care to each other and protect the environment, can only but remain compliant,” he stressed.

He pointed out that, “While we provide customers with quality, we cannot afford to go home injured. Therefore, the need to return home safely to our families is imperative and a must for all.”