Objectives

The primary objectives of this tender are to establish a framework for the maintenance and repair of Eskom's Energised Fences, ensuring safety, operational integrity, and compliance with occupational health and safety standards. The incident management procedures outlined aim to promote prompt investigation, learning from incidents (including near-misses), sharing incident information, trend analysis, and stakeholder communication. The overarching goal is to support Eskom’s commitment to Zero Harm by effectively managing incidents that could result in injuries, property damage, or fatalities, thereby reducing future risks and ensuring a safe working environment.

Scope

This procedure applies across all Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd entities, including its divisions, subsidiaries, and controlled entities. It covers:

• All incidents occurring during Eskom’s business activities that result in or could result in human injury, illness, death, property damage, or occupational diseases.
• Incidents involving Eskom employees, contractors (unless explicitly excluded), and members of the public affected by Eskom activities.
• All occupational health and safety incidents, including near-misses, first-aid injuries, medical injuries, lost-time injuries, occupational diseases, and fatalities.
• Incident reporting, investigation, corrective action management, and communication processes.
• Incidents related to electrical, environmental, or natural hazards, including criminal activities such as theft or sabotage involving electrical infrastructure.

The procedure also addresses incident classification, prioritization, investigation, root cause analysis, corrective actions, and reporting requirements, including compliance with relevant legislation and standards.

Technical Requirements

The technical requirements for the tender include:

• Incident Identification and Recognition: Establishing mechanisms for direct and indirect incident detection, including assessment by medical professionals and observation.
• Incident Classification and Prioritization: Using consequence and likelihood tables to assign priority ratings (low, moderate, high, extreme) based on severity, potential for recurrence, and impact.
• Investigation Process: Conducting timely investigations (within 30 days), root cause analysis, and documenting findings using Eskom’s investigation templates. Investigations must involve qualified personnel, including committee members with no conflicts of interest.
• Evidence Management: Preserving physical and digital evidence, ensuring integrity and chain of custody, and collecting evidence in accordance with safety and legal standards.
• Reporting and Communication: Immediate notification to relevant stakeholders, including legal, safety, and management teams. Incident reports must be accurate, complete, and timely, with updates as new information emerges.
• Corrective Actions: Developing, implementing, verifying, and monitoring corrective measures to prevent recurrence. Actions must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART).
• Record Keeping and Documentation: Maintaining investigation records for at least 25 years, including root cause analysis, corrective actions, and incident reports, stored securely and accessible for audits.
• Compliance and Dispute Resolution: Ensuring adherence to legislation, standards, and Eskom policies. Disputes or classification disagreements are to be referred to the Safety Data Integrity Committee (SDIC) for resolution.
• Incident Closure and Feedback: Confirming completion of corrective actions, sharing lessons learned through case studies, and publishing relevant incident summaries to promote organizational learning.
• Special Considerations: Handling of serious incidents, fatalities, contractor-related incidents, and incidents involving criminal activities, with appropriate independent investigations and legal involvement where necessary.

Overall, the technical requirements emphasize a systematic, compliant, and transparent approach to incident management, ensuring Eskom’s safety standards and legal obligations are met effectively.