Entering a new era

Mental, physical and emotional adjustment have become more of a necessity in our lives during 2020. This unpredictable time has built resilience and reminded us to be grateful for every day we have to be alive and productive.

Our President has shown great trust in our country and its residents in that he and his cabinet have announced further relief in moving the country to Level 2 status beginning this coming week. While many of us may believe that this is a license to drop our guard, I want to encourage and urge each and every person to not become complacent as we move into a new era with more freedom. We have the most important responsibility to still acknowledge that we remain under siege from a pandemic with no known cure. Stay alert and stay safe. Do not drop your guard.

Our work environment calls for the same committed and dedicated approach, not only in terms of health and hygiene, but equally important is the focus and emphasis on personal safety.

I cannot stress enough how important each and every team member is in our organisation and how vital it is for us all to ensure that in addition to staying safe from the Coronavirus, we have an obligation to our families and loved ones, our colleagues and friends and also our customers and stakeholders to undertake every single task we do each day with utter care and caution. Regardless of how many years’ experience exists or what level of skill we have, we cannot afford any instance of loss of attention to detail and safety in everything we do.

We continue to place great emphasis on our work conditions, and we are moving closer to our annual quality and safety awards. I wish for this period to be a celebration of our risk management and not a momentary period of focus on such a critical aspect of business. I go so far as to term the safe working environment a license to operate at Berry Astrapak. Without SAFETY we cannot operate.

Thank you to all who continue to look beyond your immediate environment of responsibility and to report near misses and potential hazards. I wish to encourage everyone to continue vigilantly placing safety at the head of our priorities as we enter a new and exciting social and work era.

Craig Matthews
Managing Director