Labuan Shipyard Engineering Sdn Bhd (LSE) health, safety and environment manager (HSE) Spencer James in an exclusive interview with Bernama said one of the major challenges facing oil and gas companies right now is being able to assure the competence of their staff, particularly those in safety-critical roles.
“With the demand for energy rising all the time, the pressure to increase safety awareness is very challenging, and a workforce of a very diverse cultural mix and behaviours working with complex chemicals and machinery, the industry is challenged in managing very complex risks each day.
“The growing multi-cultural workforce due to the rate of expansion remains the biggest challenge. There is a need to keep technical education programmes fresh and interesting, in addition to assuring that training on behavioural safety is appropriately embedded,” he said.
He was commenting on the recent statement from the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) which called on the government to make the safety and health regulations compulsory for all industries to achieve a zero rate of industrial accidents in the country.
MTUC vice-president A Balasubramniam was quoted as saying the safety and health laws were currently self-regulated and as such, many companies did not bother to pay much attention to them.Workers were also not educated on the precautionary measures to be taken when working in dangerous situations, resulting in unwanted accidents, he said.
Statistics released by the Social Security Organisation (Socso) showed that a total of 56,339 accidents were reported in 2007, he said, adding that this was a high rate considering the number of workers in the country.
Meanwhile, James said the LSE has continuously worked to promote HSE policy and regulation for its sub-contractors and employees.
“Certainly our company and our associate companies aspire to have a health and safety performance exemplary in the country,” he said.
He said the industry, as a whole, is very high-profile and has very high-profile stakeholders. HSE, therefore, has been put very high up on the corporate agenda. HSE was also the main priority when winning contracts and looking to expand projects or working with international partners, and the trend has now shifted to HSE being the responsibility of every manager and employee, from top to bottom, although at varying levels, he said.
“A golden rule for a successful HSE programme is the personal commitment of those at the top of the organisation. We set the standard and determine the priorities and where resources are directed in times of austerity,” he said.
He said with a stringent safety regime it is possible to bring the risk of such an accident down to the absolute minimum.
Damage done to the environment and coastal economies can be significantly reduced if an effective emergency response plan is put in place beforehand. — Bernama