‘Relentless in our safety focus’ good for you, good for business

An uncompromising culture of safety is good for business, according to Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani, senior vice president of Downstream.

“Safety, of course, is a corporate value that is embedded in everything we do at Aramco,” Al-Qahtani said. “We aspire to be the safety leaders in the Kingdom and in the industry, ensuring that our activities, every day, in our facilities, in our homes, on- and off-the-job, are conducted in the safest way possible.”

Safety, of course, is a corporate value that is embedded in everything we do at Aramco.
— Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani

“Being relentless in our safety focus is not only good for business, creating value for the company, but it also keeps our people and the company’s assets safe for generations to come,” he said.

Safety boot camp by the beach

Al Qahtani made his comments while on a second consecutive weekly visit to the Downstream Safety Boot Camp held at the White Sand Lounge in Najmah, Ras Tanura, reinforcing the importance of the program on the business line’s health, safety, and environment (HSE) record, which he said had improved significantly compared with previous years.

“I have full confidence in our people to continuously improve the HSE performance,” he said, highlighting the challenges related to H₂S, flammable products, temperature, high-pressure, and aging equipment, while reinforcing the importance of remaining vigilant.

Distractions cause accidents

Al-Qahtani also emphasized the importance of traffic safety, expressing his deep sorrow for the employees who had lost their lives in road accidents and highlighting the risks of driving in the Kingdom. He said the main causes of road accidents were related to distractions, which he said were mostly caused by mobile phones, speeding that was often encouraged by peers, and stress. 

He also stated the importance of maintaining safety when off-duty. “Safety is a way of life,” he said. “Aramco cares about workers and their families.”

Importance of knowledge transfer 

Al-Qahtani told his audience that he expected all employees and contractors to return home from work happy and in good health at the end of each day. He also said he trusted every worker was well trained to fulfill his or her duties, highlighting the importance of more experienced professionals transferring their knowledge to younger generations.

The five-day safety camps, which typically include Downstream professionals with between six to 32 years of experience, have seen more than 1,000 front-line supervisors complete the program in 77 iterations since 2009.

In closing, he said, “We are in a tough environment, but we are a committed team, and our responsibility is to properly manage risks every day and prevent accidents on- and off-the-job. And together, we can do it.”

CAPTION:

“Safety is a corporate value that is embedded in everything we do,” says Mohammed Y. Al-Qahtani as he speaks at the Downstream Safety Boot Camp in Ras Tanura.