BANGKA -- Building a culture of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) within a mining company is an ongoing process that requires time and long-term commitment.
Therefore, PT TIMAH (Persero) Tbk continues to strengthen its commitment to building a safe, healthy, and sustainable work culture by placing Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) aspects as the main foundation in every business process of the company.
As a member of the MIND ID Mining Industry Holding, PT TIMAH recognizes that the implementation of an HSE culture is an important element in supporting the sustainability of company operations while ensuring the safety and health of workers across all operational areas.
This commitment is realized through various integrated occupational health programs implemented by PT TIMAH, which are now aligned with the Occupational Health – Industrial Hygiene (OH-IH) program. The program is designed to support employee productivity while minimizing health risks in the workplace.
Through the OH-IH approach, PT TIMAH aims to reduce lost workdays due to illness or absence severity rate (ASR), decrease the number of workers with high-risk health conditions (medical high-risk employees/MHRE), prevent occupational diseases, and avoid illness-related fatalities among workers.
As an initial step, PT TIMAH conducts Health Risk Assessments (HRA) to identify various potential hazards in the workplace, such as noise, dust, chemical exposure, work posture, and biological risks such as bacteria.
Following that, PT TIMAH routinely carries out workplace environmental inspections, both internally and externally, to ensure and verify potential health risks within operational areas.
“The workplace environment mapping serves as the basis for preparing the medical check-up (MCU) matrix for employees. Workers with certain exposure risks receive additional examinations such as audiometry, spirometry, and biomonitoring,” said PT TIMAH (Persero) Tbk Department Head of Corporate Communication Anggi Siahaan.
The evaluation results from workplace inspections and medical check-ups then become the guideline for implementing four pillars of comprehensive occupational health efforts: promotive, preventive, curative, and rehabilitative measures.
In the promotive aspect, PT TIMAH routinely conducts occupational health webinars, health campaigns based on MCU results, OH-IH management socialization, as well as First Aid Training (P3K) and drill tests to ensure optimal medical emergency preparedness.
Health webinars are conducted regularly across the company’s operational areas.
Meanwhile, in the preventive aspect, the company implements the Fit for Task (FFT) program, which involves health condition checks before workers perform their duties, especially for employees in high-risk areas.
The company also conducts Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS) evaluations through random sampling to measure worker fatigue levels and carries out mental health screenings using the DASS-21 method.
In addition, PT TIMAH routinely performs fumigation and fogging in work areas and employee residential areas to maintain a healthy work environment.
“In the curative aspect, the company provides first aid kits in every work area and Hyperkes rooms in eight operational areas to deliver initial healthcare services for workers while on duty,” Anggi said.
The Hyperkes rooms are also equipped with basic health screening facilities such as blood sugar, cholesterol, and uric acid checks as an early detection measure for employee health conditions.
Meanwhile, in the rehabilitative aspect, the company monitors the health conditions of employees who are on medical leave to ensure the recovery process runs optimally before they return to work.
Through these occupational health programs, PT TIMAH continues to demonstrate its commitment to building a sustainable OHS culture in support of employee safety, health, and productivity within the company. (*)
