We believe safety and health are indivisible. Protecting, promoting, and enhancing the health and wellbeing of our people is as vital as protecting their safety.
Managing Occupational Health
We comply with the Rio Tinto Group wide occupational health standards and Mongolian occupational health regulations to improve identification and management of health risks. Rio Tinto performance standards are integrated with our HSE management systems to ensure consistent application across our operation.
Managing Occupational Illnesses
Our approach in managing occupational illnesses is focused on taking proactive measures and implementing strong occupational surveillance programmes coupled with controls to minimise occurrences of illnesses that may develop as a result of conditions and exposures in our workplaces.
This is demonstrated through:
- Understanding and assessing employee’s workplace exposure hazards
- Identifying individuals and work tasks with highest occupational illness risks
- Implementing occupational hygiene surveillance programmes such as monitoring of occupational dust, noise, vibration, manual handling, and other exposures
- Using surveillance data as foundation for implementing best prevention and mitigation strategies
These control procedures may include the substitution of harmful or toxic materials with less dangerous ones, changing of work processes to minimise work exposure, installation of exhaust ventilation systems, good housekeeping, and the provision of proper personal protective equipment.
Health Awareness and Wellbeing Programmes
We strongly believe that health awareness provides a foundation for our employees to live a healthy life.
In collaboration with our health service provider International SOS, we conduct awareness programmes and run campaigns addressing health risks such as mental health, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, and infectious diseases. These programmes are developed reflecting public health risks in Mongolia and results of our studies of Oyu Tolgoi population.
Health and wellbeing initiatives include:
- Coordinating health improvement programmes with food services and seasonal wellness campaigns
- Reducing oil and salt in kitchen meals and introducing a colour-coded labelling system that provides information on nutritional values
- The health passport wellness campaign, which is a three-step process reviewed every month for four months, including:
- Medical assessment with results entered a “health passport”, and any risks explained
- Optional referral to a nutritionist
- Access to personal trainers helping with weight modification goals.
These initiatives greatly increase knowledge of health issues at Oyu Tolgoi. Many individuals with hypertension and diabetes have been identified and provided with help. Health topics share the spotlight in the monthly HSE themes, and healthy meal choices are a clear staple on site.
Medical Preparedness and Response
Due to the remoteness of our site, it is important for Oyu Tolgoi to ensure our workforce have access to timely emergency medical services. Oyu Tolgoi maintains an onsite medical clinic managed by International SOS. The clinic provides services including:
- 24/7 ambulance services
- Internationally trained expatriate and local doctors
- Fully equipped emergency room with resuscitation and monitoring areas
- Adherence to Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) standards
- In house diagnostics
- Medical evacuation service.
We also have a dedicated Emergency Response Team trained to deal with a range of emergency situations.