Cameco's health and safety management program is based on the British Standard Institute's occupational health and safety management system guidelines. This ensures that the framework and philosophies of the Cameco HSMS are comparable to safety systems used elsewhere in the world.
This program encompasses all Cameco's activities, from exploration, design and construction through operation and decommissioning of all operations.
As health and safety goes hand in hand with good environmental performance, the HSMS follows the same format as Cameco's environmental management system program.
Common elements of both programs include:
- Environment and safety auditing
- Emergency preparedness and response
- Employee training and awareness
The goal of HSMS is to involve employees in the ongoing development and refinement of the health and safety plans and procedures within their workplaces.
A key element of HSMS is a priority assessment of workplace and activity hazards at each site. This assessment is carried out by supervisors and employees. Input from these individuals will make sure that existing controls and procedures are adequate to manage risk and where necessary, that new controls and procedures are implemented.
Systematically assessing hazards and encouraging employee input helps Cameco to evaluate both what it does and how it does it. The result will be new solutions to ever-changing health and safety issues.
The key to the success of the program is Cameco employees. The development of a safety culture through Cameco's HSMS depends on every person being responsible and accountable at every level of the organization.