International safety award for DEG customer

Changes in behaviour and increased awareness of safety and environmental matters have helped the Kenyan railway company Rift Valley Railways to significantly reduce the number of workplace accidents. As a result, the company has now scooped the "IOSH International Railway Group Award" presented by the international Institution of Occupational Safety and Health – IOSH. The prize, awarded for the first time, honours companies that have measurably improved the health and safety of their staff.

Rift Valley Railways proved to be a strong contender for winning, with an initiative scheduled to run for two years, aimed at changing the way employees work. Previously, accidents were a frequent occurrence in the workshops due to unregulated work procedures and negligence. Rift Valley Railways thus revised all its existing processes, introduced new workflows and trained workshop staff as safety coordinators. And successfully too: In 2014 there were just four accidents in the workplace, compared to 37 in 2011. DEG supported Rift Valley Railways in improving its safety record and also offered advice to the railway company for introducing energy efficiency measures. The measures implemented helped the company to make savings that far exceeded the amount originally invested for improving safety.

The company has operated the Eastern African railway line which connects the port of Mombasa in Kenya to Lake Victoria via Nairobi and the Ugandan capital Kampala since 2006.