Yerevan /Mediamax/. Lydian Armenia announced the achievement of an important safety milestone, namely 2 million man-hours without a Lost Time Injury (LTI).

“It is noteworthy that this indicator was registered during the most intense construction phase that included winter months. This is an international standard for assessing occupational health and safety performance.

In simple terms it means that company employees cumulatively worked for two million hours without an injury that would result in an employee’s having to be absent from work or not being able to return to his/her customary work duties. Industrial and construction companies usually celebrate one million man-hours without an LTI as a big achievement in health and safety.  2 million man-hours achieved during the construction phase at Amulsar reflect a significant safety record even for experienced international companies,” the statement reads.

Project construction is well over 80% complete. Several million cubic meters of earthworks were completed, 90,000 cubic meters of barren rock have been excavated, approximately 20-km of roads were built and 9,000 cubic meters of concrete were poured. A significant part of the work on water management system and other environmental management controls have been completed.

“The fact that no serious incident was suffered during construction activities in a difficult mountainous terrain and in adverse weather conditions highlights the company’s commitment to compliance with strict health and safety regulations,” the statement reads.

“One of our difficult tasks was to introduce a health and safety culture not only to Lydian’s own employees but also to those of our contractors,” says Armen Stepanyan, VP Sustainability.

“Sometimes we had our contractors suspend construction activities to reinforce safety standards, whether for unsafe construction practices or for not having their employees wear personal protective equipment. Construction risks are many and the introduction of a strong safety culture promoting employee safety, reduces risks and encourages employees to be proactive in working safely both as individuals and collectively. The achievement of working 2 million man-hours without a lost time injury is indicative of Lydian Armenia commitment to introduce and maintain safe industrial practices as per accepted international standards and to continue advancing a safe work culture in Armenia,” Armen Stepanyan concluded.