Safety

At Geogrid, safety of both employees and contractors at work sites, projects and offices is of prime importance and integral to our business activities. The organisation has adopted global standards and systems to provide a safe work environment.

Geogrid has initiated a performance bound HSE policy that functions at two levels — corporate and business unit. The corporate safety committee has oversight of organization-wide management of safety improvements while the business unit safety committee focuses on specific business groups. Site specific safety committees have also been constituted with representation from the management and workmen.

Geogrid has fostered best-in-class safety systems to focus on:

• Delivery of regular, safety training to both employees and contractors
• Hazard identification and risk assessment of its activities from inception to operation
• Identification and incorporation of indispensable safety measures at the design stage of the projects
• Compliance with applicable safety legislative requirements
• Development and implementations of effective, preventive systems such as work permits, emergency management plan, incidents reporting systems, incident investigation and root cause analysis
• Implementation of an effective fire fighting system comprising alarms, manual call points, sprinkler systems, a pressurised fire hydrant system, fire tenders and a well trained human resources to handle emergencies
• Implementation on an ‘on site emergency’ plan with stringent emphasis on training of employees and mock drills which can be fine-tuned to meet the needs of specific site operations
• Adoption of a methodology to handle safety such as Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) and Hazard Identification (HAZID) studies, hazardous area classification, development of safety data sheets and standard operating procedures, selection of safe material of construction, etc.
• Cross entity auditing of systems to ensure their effective implementation and practice
• Review of safety performance and application of suitable feedback to ensure achievement of objectives
• Communication of relevant safety information through e-journals, the HSE portal, handbooks, etc.
• Institutionalization of an award system for employees and contractors to foster motivation

These guiding principles form the basis on which Geogrid has adopted these safety standards. These overarching standards can be adapted to address the unique challenges and requirements of the work sites environments, and they serve as the basis of each business’ individual Safety Management System.

Health

Geogrid has a strong focus on primary prevention of hazards, and is directed towards protecting the health of its employees and contractors working within its facilities. Deterrent and remedial health is promoted through programs and initiatives compliant within regulatory requirements. Each facility has a dedicated Occupational Health Centre (OHC) aimed to:

• Ensure that the health of the employees and contractors remains sound.
• Expand the healthcare services to community around as required.
• Ensure guaranteed focus on Preventive Measures in occupational health.
• Monitor health status to determine and advise concerned for adopting preventive measures
• Monitor health status to determine and advise concerned for adopting preventive measures
• Mandating Pre-employment check-up for new employees, periodic medical examination etc.

Major activities of our OHC are:

• Thorough physical examination of the contractors ensuring that child labor does not reach to our facility.
• Ensure emergency response in case of any eventuality.
• Extend Health education – First aid, Ergonomics, Health alerts etc to the employees, their family and community around the facility.
• Workplace, canteen hygiene monitoring.
• Assessing Occupational Health related risks to employees and contractors.
• Counseling and advising.

Environment

Environmental stewardship and leadership are a key part of our business, and we strive to improve the environmental performance of every business we own. We also go beyond simply meeting environmental standards, and we work to develop the right energy solutions for the markets in which we operate.

Geogrid believes that it has a social responsibility to mitigate the impact of its business on the environment and local communities. The organisation, therefore, places great significance on using naturally available resources efficiently, responsibly and safely, and undertaking protection of the environment through conservation and reuse of resources. Continuous improvement of its business processes is sought to recycle and reuse waste and wastewater streams, and reduce specific energy expenditure.

Geogrid’s Environmental Management System is integrated into its business and fiduciary decisions, which are only implemented after the HSE team’s review. During the operational phase of every project, environment and safety management is established as a line function and unit heads are responsible for meeting all environmental and safety requirements at site.

The Environmental Management System, EMS encompasses:

Water

We utilize water for our requirements from both surface and subsurface sources. Water is treated and used in different processes, utilities and for domestic purposes at sites.

Water conservation measures implemented include rainwater harvesting to recharge the groundwater, and recycling of condensate from the process wherever practical. We equally strive to reduce water consumption, and deploy innovation in modifying processes to do so.

Effluent Treatment and Management

State-of-the-art effluent management systems and equipment are deployed or contracted at sites. Effluent management includes:

• Primary and secondary treatment of biodegradable effluents, which includes two stage activated sludge treatment and Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants
• Treatment of non-biodegradable effluents which are concentrated in evaporators; organic streams are incinerated while inorganic streams are spray dried
• Physico-chemical treatment of utility effluents, followed by RO, if required
• Biological treatment of sewage through packaged type and conventional treatment systems; treated sewage is used for horticulture.

At some work sites, the treated effluents would be reused within the facility for gardening, road cleaning, etc., in compliance with statutory requirements.

Air Emissions and Controls

To control air emissions, stacks of adequate height are designed for effective dispersion, while regular monitoring of gaseous emission is carried out to ensure regulatory compliance.

Waste Management

We endeavour to implement waste minimization through systematic ‘reducing waste at source’ measures such as:

• Prevention and reduction of waste generation
• Efficient use of raw materials and packaging materials
• Encouragement of reuse, recycling and recovery