Determined to maintain a safe and secure business environment within the nation’s seaport, APM Terminals Apapa, Nigeria’s largest container terminal by volume, has urged employees to always ‘speak up’ to avert incidents that can lead to fatalities.
The theme reflects its unwavering commitment to fostering an environment where employees feel confident to ask questions, raise concerns, and suggest solutions.
Speaking at the 2023 Annual Global Safety Day with the theme ‘We Make It Safe to Speak Up’, Steen Knudsen, terminal manager of APM Terminals Apapa, said the company has a system in place that fosters feedback at the supervisory, managerial, and leadership levels.
“It is important as we grow up in the organisation that we are comfortable in challenging the status quo and taking the challenges very seriously will create positive changes and improvements in the business.
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“We need to be able to stand up and say when things are not right or when we have ideas to improve something. It might take courage, but it is the duty of all APM Terminals employees – so that we can avert incidents that can lead to fatalities,” he said.
Knudsen said the terminal operator is committed to protecting its employees, business partners, host community, and customers by ensuring that its operations are carried out safely and securely with minimal impact on the environment.
He said the terminal fulfils the commitment by providing a safe, healthy, and secure work environment, complying with relevant Health, Safety, Security, and Environmental (HSSE) legal and contractual requirements, ensuring business continuity to its customers through the application of effective HSSE related processes and ensuring that HSSE risk management is embedded across its operations and decision-making process.
Also, Frederik Klinke, chief executive officer of APM Terminals Nigeria, expressed appreciation to the employees and other stakeholders for maintaining a high safety record at the facility.
Klinke said the act of speaking up contributes to the process of finding solutions to safety challenges at the port.
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He listed the three major principles that underpin APM Terminals’ commitment to safety as leading with care, learning and adapting, and recognising its people as experts.
Mohammed Bello-Koko, managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) commended APM Terminals for observing the annual Global Safety Day to promote safety in the workplace and encourage global awareness and actions related to safety and health.
“Your voice has the power to prevent accidents and to save lives, so let us make safety everyone’s responsibility,” Bello-Koko, who was represented by Khadijat Sheidu-Shabi, general manager, Health, Safety and Environment for NPA.
The 2023 Global Safety Day celebration was attended by many stakeholders including the representatives of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Nigeria Customs Service, and the Western Ports Police Command, among others.
APM Terminals’ employees were given certificates for distinguishing themselves in safety practices.
