DES PLAINES – Azerbaijan leaders faced with a rapidly developing oil and gas industry are turning to occupational safety and health professionals and organizations such as the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) for workplace safety guidance

as illustrated by the inaugural ‘International Safety Leadership Conference’ held in Baku last December 14.
ASSE officials not only presented at the conference, but also visited and spoke with many employees at a major oil and gas facility in the region.

“The need is great,” ASSE President Richard A. Pollock, CSP, said. “The country has a rapidly growing oil and gas industry and they are working to meet the demands of this industry growth. Hence, we are helping by providing them with information, resources and guidance needed on developing and implementing workplace safety and health programs now.”
At the conference, Pollock talked about the ‘Changing Chemistry of Safety: The Myths and Dilemmas’ to an audience of more than 140 international business, safety and Azerbaijan officials. The Baku-based Rovshan Oguz Group sponsored and organized the conference to provide residents and businesses with the latest knowledge, insights and educational information on workplace safety.

For instance, massive projects in the region include the development of the Turkmenistan Nabucco gas pipeline being built to transport gas to Central and Western Europe; the Sangachal Terminal, one of the largest oil and gas facilities in the world; and the Baku-Tibilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

“To organize in an atmosphere of trust and confidence, provide a safe work environment, provide an open and honest relationship, to ensure the full involvement of employees of various trades, and to provide knowledge, skills and opportunities to improve the quality of work and beneficial relations with suppliers are roles of leadership in our company,” Rovshan Oguz Group Founder and President Hafiz Mustafayev said as he opened the conference.

Pollock’s conference presentation focused on human error and error in the context of work systems noting, “All too often when an incident occurs the focus is placed upon the individual worker; what they did or failed to do that contributed to the incident. This is a common mistake that leads to a culture of blame, which diminishes learning and leaves little room for improvement. Breaking the blame cycle and creating a culture able to learn from mistakes has worked well to enhance quality and safety in other industries, such as aerospace, nuclear and healthcare. This approach is now being applied to the oil and gas industry.”

A popular quote of Azerbaijan’s former president Heydar Aliyev who once noted, “It is much easier to prevent an incident than to deal with its outcome after it happens” was echoed by Azerbaijan’s Member of Parliament Rauf Aliyev and State Supervision of Construction, Ministry of Emergency Situations Team Leader Karim Agayev who also participated in the conference.

Business executives, occupational safety, health and environmental professionals, construction engineers, labor inspectors, loss control managers, business service managers, infrastructure managers, operations supervisors, training center managers, field service managers, aviation safety engineers, insurance professionals and much more attended the conference. Companies represented included Schlumberger, Silkway Business Aviation, Standard Insurance, Waterman, SOCAR, Rolls-Royce, BP, Rigmarine Azerbaijan, Bureau Veritas, Gulf Drilling, Halliburton, ASSE, Atlantic Waste Solution, ProAct Safety, Inc., and the Azerbaijan Ministry of Labour and Social Protection.

“In our tour of the oil and gas facility in Baku I was impressed with their commitment to protecting people, property and the environment,” Pollock said. “The international safety leadership conference also demonstrates this commitment. Being part of the Baku event was a historic moment for ASSE, the occupational safety, health and environmental profession and the countries represented at the meeting. They are embracing workplace safety at a rapid pace and we continue to help them.”

In his conference presentation, Shawn M. Galloway, of Spring, Texas, a member of ASSE’s International, Management and Military Practice Specialties and the Gulf Coast Chapter, discussed how in this age of transformation, safety professionals can establish cultural excellence.

“It pleases me to see ASSE and the occupational safety, health and environmental profession moving forward as our participation in these landmark events illustrate,” Pollock said. “We need to continue to meet the demands of a worldwide marketplace by providing the resources our members and the SH&E profession need to meet and be ahead of the ongoing global challenges of workplace risks and hazards.”

In addition to the U.S., ASSE has members and chapters in 80 other countries including Canada, Egypt, India, Kuwait and Nigeria.

Founded in 1911, the Des Plaines, IL-based ASSE is the oldest professional global safety society. Its more than 34,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members are committed to protecting people, property and the environment. For more ASSE global information please go to http://www.asse.org/membership/international.php or www.asse.org.