# Railway safety with Edward #

"Workers do not always follow the instructions and trainings that they are given, and thus there should be adequate level of supervision. It simply means enforcing the occupational safety rules, policies, regulations and standards."

# Railway safety with Edward #

Security on the railway
Vandalism attempts on railway properties negatively impacts on safe passage of railway equipment, posing risks to lives of railway employees, passengers and the public. Kenyans must accept and protect the MNSGR properties. It is our own. It is proudly Kenyan!

# Railway safety with Edward #

At C.R.B.C (K) safety supervision department, we work to keep people safe, and continuously assess the risk to human safety that comes with MNSGR operation; whether it is in the yard or the office. We believe it is important to perform job briefings before starting any activity and as the job or conditions change. We answer the safety questions of what, how, when, where, who, why...We believe in employee safety!

# Railway safety with Edward#

"The CRBC (K) safety department has a responsibility to ensure every Mombasa-Nairobi SGR employee works safely, free from controllable occupational hazards. To be safe, all employees must follow and comply with the established safety procedures, instructions and guidelines as stipulated in the overall MNSGR operation safety management system, other relevant railway operation safety regulations and according to locally and internatioanlly acceptable railway operation safety standards. Railway facilities and operations are dangerous, and non-compliance may result to injuries, fatalities and regulatory fines. Well, for the MNSGR operation and maintenance staff, we do not anticipate either of the risks. It is horrible to die at work, especially at our SGR operations. Your family, friends, colleques and the world need you. Be safe, be alive!"

SGR: EHS compliance

SGR: EHS compliance.

There are three stages that form the basis for a development project: namely the commissioning, operational and decommissioning phases. The commissioning phase, literally, is the actualization of the project plan, design and involves establishment of a qualified and competent team across all levels of an organization – the management, service and product levels. In particular, the Mombasa – Nairobi standard gauge railway project is in its implementation process and in order to have a maximum output and achieve set goals, important safety standards on workers, environment and machines must be put in place. It is a noble duty of an environment, health and safety (EHS) officer to enforce these standards, with a surgeon’s precision and the professionalism it deserves.

To increase efficiency and boost employee morale, first, workplace hazards must be reduced to zero. This is attained by setting up a framework for an occupational, health and safety management system consisting of policies, procedures and controls needed for C.R.B.C section 4 to achieve best possible working conditions, aligned to internationally and locally recognized best legislative practices. With the magnitude and engineering complexity of the standard gauge railway project, various categories of workers with varied safety requirements have been pooled together, making a team. This comprises of carpenters, masons, drivers, operators, foremen, steel fixers, surveyors, environmental experts – whose safety and health concerns must be guaranteed.

    Thus, EHS officers are the power at the grass-roots in strict implementation of the public and production management policies, plans and methods. They identify, analyse hazards and put in place controls to manage them, engage and motivate all staff to observe safety, reduce workplace accidents and illnesses through conducting trainings, performing emergency drills, enforcing use of personal protective equipment(PPEs) – all of which create best possible working conditions for C.R.B.C section 4 workers.

Secondly, EHS work involves putting an effective environmental system in place. The nature of the railway construction activities pose serious environmental risks that must be prevented, without hindering smooth progress of the project. To ensure the railway project is environmentally sustainable, EHS officers earnestly identify environmental impacts and reduce them, as well as liaising with other environmental and conservation stakeholders in safeguarding the serenity of our natural surroundings. Threat to environment is threat to life, and at C.R.B.C section 4, sound environmental practices are integrated into all our operations.

Thirdly, EHS officers generally assist in ensuring compliance with all construction related legislations and implementing various ISO requirements pertinent to the standard gauge railway project. In addition to the aforementioned duties of an EHS officer, C.R.B.C in return benefits in cutting down hazard related costs, minimising risks of regulatory and environmental liability fines, and improving the company’s global image, thus increasing its business opportunities.

Conclusion

Though EHS work is an arduous task, it is a rewarding and proud work. Constant interaction with workers creates a mutual understanding and improves workers’ esteem towards their daily activities. In a nutshell, EHS officers at all time endeavour to protect lives, protect the environment and ensure maximum compliance of all EHS regulations. In their daily recipe - education, sensitization and EHS awareness are daily routine priorities, coupled with inspections and supervisions throughout the day, and finally daily work recordings and incident notifications.

Proper record keeping helps the EHS department in reviewing continuous performance, and bridging safety knowledge gaps that may exist. The universal goal of EHS officers is to have zero records of work related incidents, pollution free and healthy environment for all and ensure proper participation and communication amongst all environment, health and safety stakeholders. Adieu.

POPULATION AND GLOBAL WARMING

POPULATION AND GLOBAL WARMING

Global warming is an issue the 21ST generation should ignore at own peril. Global climate scientists have kept those who may want to hear duly informed about the drastically changing climate patterns and the expected effects. Ignorance to counteract and make aware all humanity may have shocking consequences in the future.

Population growth and this global monster are conjoined at the hip. A fulfilling life of tomorrows’ generation is at the stake unless we act now. Large masses are at risk. Time is ripe for nations to tame the spiralling human growth or try avert the factors fuelling faster warming of the planet. To nip the growth factor bud, democracy, equality and religion are critical. Democracy at its best promotes livelihoods. It calls for economic power across all groups of people, in a stable and conducive environment. Such a power demands inputs of population controls and checks to be sustainable. Democracy makes health information available, costless, cheap and efficient.

Women, being more vulnerable to exacerbate the growth index, are given the will to decide sizes of their families vis-a-vis the prevailing economic conditions. Women education and empowerment are also pillars of hope in any nation claiming to be democratic. The benefits vested in properly educated women, far from the family spectacle, are greater than making technological advancements in space exploration. I dream of a society where quality education for all is not a monopolistic right, but a democratic right be-throned for all skins. A precious right to go to school and get knowledge until the brain can absorb no more.

Democracy begets equality. Espousing equality is tantamount to biblical wisdom of brotherliness. In many global family settings, gender equality is still as elusive as the idea of planet relocation in case of severe and intolerable warming. It is an issue everyone hates discuss. Think of societies where women and men work and earn; where both are equally privileged to hold property; where sexual orientation is not a determining factor in career preferences and where success is recognized regardless of hands that bring it. Such societies have many things in common: well knit and bonded families, adequate access to life basics in tangible and in non-tangible forms and the ability to make right decisions for informed causes. Thus, population problem is not really a problem where equality thrives.

Lastly, religion and population topics have lately been very controversial amongst all faiths. Religion terms as disrespect to God’s command of recreate and produce any measure taken to regulate the number of offspring man can have. In extreme cases, particular religious sects instinctively deny medical care upon children citing spiritual repercussions. As a Christian, I doubt religion is anaemic to human wellness.

Contraception and man has lately threatened to divide the church, with religious demigods battling to oust the scientific ideas of family planning. I am not an atheist, but I am never convinced to take sides with the church on the thorny issue of contraceptives. For one, large populations of people globally are damned in slums, strangled in all forms of life threatening conditions and humiliated by the tragedy of global warming. Overlooking such gross human travesties is indicative of spiritual degeneracy. Essence of religion is to nurture spiritual growth and this is achievable if man’s well-being is taken as a priority.

On a lighter note, the church should instead change tack and advocate for contraception, not only to protect a few from AIDS/HIV scourge, but to protect all humanity and life from the devastating effects of global warming. Such a time I would sing and dance hallelujah and prove to the world that I ain't a critic of the church.

On one part that the population growth menace will be tackled adequately, then the future life trajectory will be optimistic. On the contrary, the gods will decide as the global warming mitigation task requires actions, not sympathies. The world cannot afford to take chances or hesitate with billions of lives of people at risk, time is now to plan and procreate. Time is now to plan together or perish together. Global warming is real!

THE COBBLER GRADUATE

The cobbler graduate

                “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the graves where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”                        Ecclesiastes 9:10

Being a good protégé is indisputably a humbling experience. You get free advice on various issues that people face in their daily lives. It is a pro-bono activity that only requires trust. People share their insights and wealth of experiences objectively to inspire, warn or prepare others against uncertainties and misfortunes they may encounter.

I recently had a conversation with a friend of a friend at my favorite barber’s shop in town. His name is Jackson. Our discussion had no defined topic and we generally talked about politics, county development prospects, infidelity and the plight of job seekers in this nation.

Hopeless, disillusioned, demoralized are the words Jackson used to describe the state of internal anguish present graduates painfully endure. Dozens of tertiary educational institutions churn out hundreds fold of professionals annually. They are bestowed with the power to read and write as is the common mantra shouted out loud to them whenever they graduate. They walk out anticipating a rather good job that would sustain in their charging new environments. And of course they should, courtesy of their tutors’ daily musings back in school, of waiting jobs.

Reality sinks in months later, after unsuccessively traversing the town streets looking for jobs that no longer exist. Potential employers earnestly advertise for vacancies, and comprehensively outline prerequisite conditions. Scores of applicants virtually qualify, with one limiting requirement that calls for work experience. This is the punch line! Practice makes perfect, and it would have been the corporate interest of any employer to offer this management training, supposedly, and mould them into personnel befitting their technical standards.

The greatest reason prospective employers shun these beautiful brains is not lack of positions, but a malicious, strategic indoor policy of ignorance to their bids. Fresh graduates tick. And perhaps a sizeable chunk of them would outdo their contemporaries in similar capacities at the corporate world. I dare the devil for that! Practically, this joblessness predicament in Kenya is generational. An Act of parliament a few years back extended civil retirement age from comfortable fifty five years to rusty sixty years. In my opinion, this was a misinformed and inconsiderate move especially in a baby-fed economy like ours that boldly espouses the virtues of youth empowerment through job creation. I respect skills of the old, yes, but I doubly respect the updated, essential skills of the youth.

The wisdom of one’s mentors now sneaks in and cools down what many call the `tarmacking’ pressures. “Let your dreams be bigger than your fears. Live by choice, not by chance. Work to excel, not to compete. Choose to listen to your inner voice,” a speaker would tell their audience.

Despite mentors’ therapeutic wisdom, many graduates still succumb to the job hunting heat and revert to other ways in making ends meet. The trend is worrying and may spell doom to the nation’s future specialists in specific careers. Worse still, it is a bad precedent to the thousands of aspiring learners whose dreams are anchored on success of current professionals.

Education is an expensive affair and relevant academic oversight authorities should ensure professional training is in sync with the market demand for workforce. It’s derogating for tertiary institutions to produce multiple thousands of skilled individuals, with no concrete assurances for any meaningful employment. Integrating entrepreneurship courses in almost all curriculum subjects may be the waited redeemer as most graduate ‘sufferers’ are realizing that business enterprise is the sacred tree that offers the lasting olive branch.

The teacher who becomes a farmer; the lawyer who becomes a businessman; the forester who becomes a banker; the cobbler graduate who merchandises shoes soles; the political scientist who becomes a taxi driver; the environmentalist who becomes a …..The cluster is in-exhaustive and the truth must be told to all upcoming graduates on what tomorrow brings - The truth that a smart degree or diploma is not guarantee to a dream job. The truth that the phrase “jobs are waiting for you” is the only honest false an equally despaired last result teacher would painstakingly impart to his students. The truth that initiatives like `kazi kwa vijana’ and the maiden `Uwezo fund’ are only created to hoodwink the youth in a dangerously capitalist nation.

It is an embarrassment to examine all scathing facts about graduate miseries but the government must plan to embark on a critical reform agenda and tackle youth unemployment. There is more hope in the future if proper mechanisms are instituted and managed to place youth abilities where they rightfully belong. We want to work, and we want to work on God’s chosen careers. We want to work!