Torex Gold has built a strong safety and workplace culture based on genuine care and personal relationships with each other, people's families, and local communities surrounding its operations in Guerrero, Mexico.
The Company believes that when health and safety performance is excellent, excellence in production and other operational aspects follow suit. ‘No lives lost and no lives changed' because of a workplace injury is how Torex defines the goal day in and day out. The Company has focused on building robust and integrated safety systems focused on effectively identifying and managing risk, such as strong incident reporting, ongoing field level risk assessments and hazard elimination inspections.
Torex also focuses on having the right leaders inthe right roles to support strong safety performance, along with a set of rules and procedures that are easy to understand and enforceable. At the same time, Torex has worked hard to build a culture of care by connecting the head and the heart and inspiring people to get home safely - recognizing that people need a reason to work safely apart from compliance to rules.
The Company's CEO Jody Kuzenko points to the Company's strong culture and disciplined use of systems as two key drivers for its safety performance. "I credit our excellence in safety to the strong workplace culture that, over time, our team has built together," said Kuzenko. "This kind of performance doesn't ‘just happen' - it's achieved through a culture of effective leadership, interconnected systems, disciplined adherence to clear rules, and lived values that inspire everyone to willingly give their best every day."
This approach has translated into some impressive results. In 2020, Torex surpassed 10 million hours without a single lost-time injury (LTI). And with only one contractor LTI in 2021, Torex ended the year approaching another 6million hours LTI free, with a combined employee and contractor LTI frequency of only 0.14 per million hours worked - while at the same time achieving record production results. "True to Torex form, our safety performance was remarkable again in2021," said Kuzenko.
"With a new annual production record set despite the ongoing challenges associated with COVID-19, our team continues to demonstrate the consistent results that people have come to expect of Torex, and I am confident that 2022 will bring more of the same." Commitment to a health and safety culture includes management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Company has implemented comprehensive COVID-19 controls, including a 3-stage COVID screening approach for anyone entering site; rapid response to any identified symptoms together with contact tracing; isolation procedures; clearance testing for those returning to work; and ongoing transparent communications with employees, the union and local communities. In addition, extensive COVID-19 education campaigns were implemented in local communities, and the Company refurbished a new local Health Centre representing an investment of MEX $2.2 million.
Medical equipment and supplies continue to be donated, and the Company has partnered with local health authorities to transport employees, contractors and community members to a nearby vaccination clinic.
For its efforts, Torex was recognized by the national Mexican Institute of Social Security for its work in mitigating contagion risks. Apart from a steadfast focus on basic rules and systems, there are two new initiatives currently underway to continuously improve safety performance. For example, the Company is implementing SafeStart, which focuses on raising awareness about the psychological states that are most likely to be present when incidents happen both at home and at work.
The Company has also recently piloted a solution for fatigue management called SmartCap, a headband device that uses EEG technology to monitor levels of alertness and fatigue. Given that the company is transitioning into a heavy construction year with its new mine - Media Luna - there is also an enhanced focus on contractor health and safety management and cultural integration. "As we look toward the future, we will continue to focus on no lives lost and no lives changed in our operations, as we generate significant value by delivering safe ounces of gold - the only ones that count," said Kuzenko.
