Risk Analysis Workshop: Ensuring Safety in Plant Construction

Risk Analysis Workshop: Ensuring Safety in Plant Construction

Enhancing the safety and efficiency of plant construction

The Plant construction project is moving ahead apace. The earthworks currently underway will soon give way to civil engineering works, for which the company in charge is already deployed on the DASA site.

Following validation of the process layout, the Engineering Department has already delivered the bulk of the manufacturing drawings to the factories, and produced the functional assembly drawings.

These plans, which define the layout of equipment and components in the plant’s various workshops, are an important step in ensuring the safety of operations and the success of production programs. For these reasons, the Project decided to hold a review workshop to examine, criticize and amend all the functional diagrams and their dimensioning.

This exercise, which took place over 4 days – from January 13 to 16 – at SOMIDA headquarters, brought together :

  • Project management,
  • Project managers, responsible for purchasing & logistics, planning, construction management, quality control and costs;
  • Engineering office
  • Operational staff from the DASA site
  • Experienced Niger experts from outside the project
  • Executives from the Ministry of Mines.

The 35 participants unabashedly reviewed the plant’s functional diagrams and suggested corrections to anything they felt posed a risk to the safety and performance of future operations.

DASA mine celebrates 500 accident-free days – a testament to safety and teamwork

DASA mine celebrates 500 accident-free days – a testament to safety and teamwork

A milestone of safety and dedication at the DASA mine

In a remarkable demonstration of commitment to safety and teamwork, the DASA mine, operated by SOMIDA and supervised by Global Atomic Corporation, reached a milestone: 500 days without a lost-time accident (LTI). This achievement underlines the mine’s unwavering commitment to creating a safe working environment and its success in implementing effective safety measures.

On January 2, 2024, a special meeting was held to celebrate this milestone, bringing together night and day crews. The event provided an opportunity to review the mine’s impressive safety performance in 2023, with six sessions focused on critical areas such as vehicle interactions, electrical safety, hygiene, waste management, working at height and hand injuries. These sessions highlighted the mine’s proactive approach to identifying potential risks and implementing preventive strategies.

The highlight of the event was a team dinner, a gesture of appreciation for the team’s hard work and commitment to safety. John Wheeler, Chief Operating Officer and General Manager of DASA, addressed the team, underlining the importance of this achievement. He emphasized that the steady increase in the number of accident-free days at work is not just a figure, but a testament to the fact that every team member can return home safely to family and friends.

Adding to the significance of the event, John Wheeler delivered congratulatory messages from SOMIDA CEO Moussa Souley and Stephen G. Roman, President and CEO of Global Atomic Corporation. Their words echoed the sense of pride and underlined the collective effort of everyone at the mine to achieve this important safety milestone.

The record of 500 accident-free days at the DASA mine is not just a figure, but a symbol of SOMIDA’s safety-first culture. It reflects the dedication of every team member and the effective management and leadership that drive the mine to higher standards of safety and operational excellence. As the mine progresses, this milestone will serve as a reminder to all of the importance of safety and the value of teamwork in achieving such significant accomplishments.