Concor’s safety culture was in the spotlight at the recent Master Builders Association (MBA) North regional safety competition, with the company winning five coveted awards.

Margaret Dube, Concor’s Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Manager, was crowned the Construction HSE Manager of the Year, while the company’s Safety Representative, Mduduzi Mamba received the award for the Construction HSE Representative of the Year. Concor’s projects were also honoured in the ceremony: it earned first place in category F (projects valued at R100 to R250 million) for its Fourways Mall New Roof and Solar Project; second place in category G (R250 to R450 million) for the Oxford Parks Block 2A Phase 1 Project and third place in category E (R40 to R100 million) for its Ga-Rankuwa City Centre Project.

Concor Contracts Manager Martin Muller highlights the significance of this recognition in a sector where fast tracking of building projects has become the norm. The considerable deadline pressure on such projects has the potential to compromise safe working practices.

“This is why safety needs to remain at the centre of our working culture every day, and why we prioritise the training and support that is given to our safety officers and representatives, our on-site team and our subcontractors,” Muller says. “It is a real honour to see our safety team being recognised for their contribution - as their approach and commitment is critical to the success of our projects.”

Dube says her award has been a boost not only to her personal motivation as a safety manager, but a collective achievement for Concor’s entire safety team.

“An award like this really motivates everyone and reinforces our commitment towards further improving our safety and project execution,” she says. “It also affirms the valuable contribution we are making to the construction sector as a whole.”

She emphasises that safety is not just about policies, systems and discipline - but equally about a shared culture of safety among colleagues who are concerned for each other’s well-being. While acknowledging that a safety officer needs to have a strong character to perform their duties, Dube says their role is to empower and educate the team.

Mamba concurs, saying that he joined the Concor safety team in 2016 to help build an approach to safety where site safety personnel are not just viewed as ‘traffic officers’ to be feared and obeyed. He notes that one of his main areas of focus is to ensure that colleagues do not confuse work experience with safety awareness.

“Even though a person has many years of experience on a construction site, they can still make mistakes if they do not embrace our safety culture,” he explains. “Our approach is to encourage everyone in our team to point out potential hazards and to help find and apply solutions.”