March 2022: Take care of your health while you are still young.

This is the advice of 44-year old Tshepo Tello Petrus Lefu, Health, Safety and Environmental Officer at Beefmaster Group, who experienced first-hand how vitally important it is to look after employees’ wellbeing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keeping it in the family  

Tshepo – affectionately known as ‘Bokkies’, who has always been passionate about health and safety, began his career as an assistant truck technician at Beefmaster Group in 2000, one of South Africa’s leading beef companies and Kimberley’s largest private employer. After he completed matric, he had ambitions of becoming a technician and completed a learnership in transport and engineering. His uncle, who was a truck driver at Beefmaster Group and seeing potential in his nephew with his newly gained qualification, introduced him to the company.

Management soon saw more in Tshepo’s abilities.

“I would always point out safety concerns and report whenever I saw an employee engaging in a dangerous task,” he says.

That was when he was promoted to Safety Representative in 2016.

“I made use of every opportunity afforded to me by the Group. The company supported me financially and emotionally throughout my professional development,” says Tshepo, who completed a number of courses including a course in Animal Production as well as a NQF Level 3 in Management since being employed the Group in the last 22 years.

In January 2022 he was appointed as health and safety officer.

A day in the life of a health and safety officer 

He explains that a typical day as a health and safety officer starts at 6.30 by checking that “every employee that gets onto the company bus is sanitized, their temperature is being taken and that they wear their face masks while in the bus.”

“I check daily to see if there are any safety incidents I need to know about and also split my hours according to daily, weekly and monthly tasks. These include environmental monitoring, medical list updates, possible injuries on duty, inspections of the HSE System and the training required for the Health and Safety Department of all employees.”

Being in health and safety during a global pandemic  

When the COVID-19 pandemic made its way to South Africa in early 2020, a lot changed for Tshepo and his role. All employees had to adapt to a new “normal”. The company implemented strict protocols to ensure the safety of employees. A number of measures were put in place including ensuring that all employees sanitise, wear masks for protection and practice social distancing.

These new changes presented challenges both to employees and to the health and safety team, says Tshepo.

“Before Covid-19, employees had a certain level of freedom. They could socialise during their lunch breaks, and were able to make use of facilities without restrictions,” he says. “We needed to put the safety of employees first before anything else.”

He played an integral role in allaying the fears and concerns of employees, and ensuring that they adhered to COVID-19 regulations. “They were not used to wearing masks and complained that they struggled to breathe when wearing masks for prolonged periods.”

He adds that the company was an essential services provider, which means that to feed many South Africans, it could not afford to stop work. “Once this was emphasised to employees, it became a lot easier as they understood the importance of working together as a team.”

Looking to the future  

Although he has achieved much, he is not yet done. He is currently working towards becoming a Health and Safety Manager within the next five years.

He says education, as well as working hard and smart are key attributes to reaching one’s goals.

“It’s all about the choices you make in life, the people you associate with on a daily basis, and what impact they have on your life. Mindset is also key.”