Ensuring that DUT adheres to all safety, health and environmental matters is Lehlohonolo Mokhohlouloane, the University’s Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Registered Occupational Safety Practitioner.

Mokhohlouloane recently attended a conference at the University of Cape Town (UCT), which was a gathering of all health and safety professionals from all universities and universities of technology in South Africa, for the official launch of the Safety Health and Environment Campus Association of South Africa (SHECASA).

He has been elected as part of the executive committee of the association. “SHECASA was established in 2012 with very few member universities and it is growing momentum yearly. This year was the official launch and I was elected into the executive committee of the association.

My role will be to ensure that the issues of health and safety are well understood and taken as serious within the university’s communities so that staff and students will change their behavioural patterns and their attitudes towards their safety and understand our operations within the confines of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993,” he stressed.

He also added that the main aim of SHECASA is to be a platform for sustainable relationships and standards of excellence in occupational health, safety and environmental management at tertiary education institutions (TEIs) as well as the optimization of solutions to common problems and concerns by circulating particular expertise, experience and knowledge on SHE between SHE professionals working in TEIs.

“As part of the organisation, we are aiming at providing representation at educational authorities and government bodies, specifically the departments of Education and Labour, for SHE professionals working in TEIs and regular liaison with national university management forums which includes the Vice-Chancellor’s (VCs) forum, he said.
Adding more on how vital his department is in keeping abreast with various news procedures, Mokhohlouloane said that meeting with other universities was crucial in terms of learning new progresses that were made within the university culture with regards to health and safety. “Not only that, but we have realised that we need a buy-in from management and it is through these platforms where we engage with VCs for their commitment to health and safety of their staff to a certain degree, students and visitors and contractors,” he said.

With more than eight universities on board, Mokhohlouloane is excited to be part of an organisation and learn more about how to maintain the international standards for safety and environmental management as well as be part of arranging conferences, meetings, lectures, discussions and other activities.

-Waheeda Peters

Pictured: DUT’s Lehlohonolo Mokhohlouloane, who is now part of the Safety Health and Environment Campus Association of South Africa (SHECASA) executive committee.