Francois Smith
Francois Smith was born in the small town of Upington and attended school and military service there. Francois believes that a new era has dawned for occupational health and safety (OHS) in South Africa and that it is the responsibility of each OHS professional to prepare himself for the challenges of this era.
Qualifications
B.Admin (University of South Africa)
M.Sc Industrial Safety (Central Missouri State University)
Risk Management Diploma (Chamber of Mines of South Africa)
He is presently undertaking a Ph.D. at the University of Delft in the Netherlands in safety and health management.
Experience
He joined Iscor Ltd as an Accommodation Manager in 1988 and was transferred to the Safety Department at Durnacol mine in the second half of 1989. He became the mine’s Chief Safety Officer in 1990 from where he was promoted to Iscor Head Office in June 1996 as Group Safety Advisor. From January 2000 he held the position of Group Manager Safety responsible for all the business units within the company.
Professional Affiliations
INSTITUTE OF SAFETY MANAGEMENT (SOUTH AFRICA)
Full membership of National Body
Member of Accreditation Board for Safety Professionals
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF SAFETY ENGINEERS (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)
Professional member of the International Chapter
NEDLAC WOKING GROUP ON HEALTH AND SAFETY
Represents employers on the working group
NATIONAL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY
Founder member of the Board of Sponsors
Publications and Conferences
He has published numerous articles on a variety of subjects in the health and safety field and addressed audiences as far a field as Perth Australia and Warrensburg, Missouri in the United States of America.
Publications include:
The mining disaster at Tshikondeni mine. The Lantern Issue 4/96. (April 1996)
Educational needs of safety professionals. Safety Management Volume 98/Is02 (Feb 1998)
Exploration in Africa. Australian Mining Journal (November 2000)
SHE challenges in African exploration. Safety Management (April 2001)
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