Sasol, an integrated energy company in South Africa, has shut down its Secunda Operations plant for statutory maintenance of the company’s critical infrastructure and equipment.
The shutdown, which started Monday, 30th August, 2021, is expected to run till the end of September 2021.
In a statement, Sasol said: “We believe that well maintained equipment enables reliable operations and encourages a safe and healthy working environment.”
The company has planned a number of activities during this one month shutdown.
According to Sasol, its Secunda employees and service providers would be carrying out some of the following activities: “restoring and/or replacing some of our equipment to strengthen a safe and reliable operational environment; improving procedures to ensure that our processes are aligned to best practices; reviewing and measuring our ways of working against those used by market leaders and optimising cost, time and available resources to ensure a successful shutdown.”
It is expected that during the shutdown, approximately 1.3 million man hours would be worked to complete all activities.
During this time, ± 102,000 planned activities would be performed to repair, clean, service or replace approximately 7,500 pieces of equipment.
“Our objective is to achieve a successful shutdown in terms of safety, stakeholder involvement and community impact as we adhere to the current COVID-19 regulations. It is for this reason that, ahead of shutdown, Sasol partnered with the Mpumalanga Provincial government and the Department of Health to rollout a COVID-19 vaccination programme to our service providers and employees.”
The company explained that this was done as an effective measure to mitigate the increased workplace exposure to the COVID-19 and the risk of it spreading.
Sasol encouraged all stakeholders to remain vigilant and practise non-medical interventions by wearing masks, washing hands and observing social distance. Health is a top priority for Sasol.
Secunda would be expecting an influx of people coming for a shutdown, which may result in increased traffic. Sasol would like to encourage stakeholders and communities to be patient.
“Zero harm is only possible when we do it together, so let us Own it,” the company said.
Source: https:// energynewsafrica.com
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