By Our Reporter
MC Mariachi is a great comedian. He knows how to work his audience, and how to adapt his jokes to the function at hand.
On Friday, he was invited to Uganda Breweries Limited as the two sites celebrated 10 years of no LTA at the Distillery and 5 years at the Brewery.
For starters, an LTA is defined as a Lost Time Accident. It is an “OSHA recordable incident in which an employee is not able to return to work or is assigned restricted work on the day or shift following the incident.”
Thus an LTA would imply that for example Benjamin sustains an injury while at work that sees him unable to report for work the next day.
That’s why the 10 and 5 years are a big thing. It is a very rare record that many Safety managers never get to see in their lifetime. That means for 5 years at the brewery and 10 years at the distillery, no single employee has had to miss work due to an injury or accident sustained while at work.
I was really impressed that MC Mariachi was very fast at using his jokes to send out different messages about the historical moment. If I am not wrong, UBL becomes the first site in Africa to hit a decade of zero LTA.
So Mariachi cracked jokes about the reflectors, the eye glasses, the ear plugs and even the engineering gloves. He also had his moment with the Supply Director whose ribs he cracked until he got into his wallet and handed him a note. Everyone was left in stitches.
He is a super chatterbox. And very funny at what he does.
Of course the laughter was a huge reminder that without working safe, we would not be there to have a smile. Employee productivity starts with safety.
The MD cautioned all the employees to even be more alert. Because the more years a site goes without an LTA, the more the chances of getting one. Good can breed complacency. Good can be the enemy of great. To the next 10 years of Zero harm, congratulations UBL.