HSE International ISSUE 97 | Page 49

“Although I have not held a specific job in health and safety, in over 30 years of working in the oil and gas industry, I have gathered significant experience where one’s wellbeing and that of one’s coworkers is a significant part of everyday life. This experience has been achieved through numerous offshore positions as a member of the drilling team, a service hand, in onshore engineering roles and in management roles (in business development, operations and executive account management positions).” T he fundamentals of the health and safety policy at S.O.S. are to give health and safety issues equal status within the business’ priorities. When there is conflict between these, health and safety is treated as the first priority. “We must be sure that people understand their individual role and responsibilities and are trained to carry them out effectively. Working in a safe and controlled manner is ensured by the use of competent people including external specialists, correct procedures, engineering practices and correct equipment. We ensure full compliance with current legislative requirements and identify health and safety hazards and the controls required to reduce risk. We implement and communicate these to all relevant people and investigate all incidents and accidents to learn lessons and prevent re-occurrence. We manage our performance and conformity through a continuous improvement process of planning, monitoring, auditing and review, and communicate with our employees, encouraging an active participation in health, safety and environmental matters.” “In terms of staff health and wellbeing, to encourage personal health, we have provided loans for employees to purchase bicycles. We also have food initiatives where fresh fruit is available in the office for our colleagues to enjoy, avoiding less healthy temptations such as chocolate!” “One of the advantages for S.O.S. is the niche area business we operate within. As a result, we are able to build excellent relationships with each of our main suppliers. We specifically look for partners that project a proactive HSE culture and promote people and a positive life style in the workplace. Providing a happy and healthy working environment in turn provides a workforce with high morale and a general good feeling. This is translated into excellent products that are both fit for purpose and that provide high reliability.” “We specifically look for partners that project a proactive HSE culture and promote people and a positive life style in the workplace” HSE INTERNATIONAL 49