This Day in History (1994): Saudi Aramco Achieves Best-Ever Safety Record

From the Feb. 9, 1994, edition of The Arabian Sun

Saudi Aramco achieved one of its best-ever safety records in 1993 with the lowest Industrial Disabling Injury (IDI) frequency and Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) frequency rates in its 60-year history.

The IDI frequency of .16 incidents per 200,000 man-hours worked was the lowest since 1938, when company statistics were first recorded.

The motor vehicle accident frequency rate of 1.6 per million kilometers driven was also the lowest on record and equal to the Upper Control Limit (UCL).

Fire losses li8kewise were contained to one of the lowest recorded by the company. Of the 37 fires that occurred, 10 were industrial, and 27 were in the community areas. Although fire caused only minor damage or injury, the company remains committed to having no fires at all.

Despite these commendable statistics, the one area that remains a chief concern is driving safety. The remarkably low accident frequency rate noted above belies the tragedy of the 34 lives lost in major vehicle accidents that did occur. Of those, all but one happened off the job, indicating the greatest risk to vehicle operators and their passengers exists during non-work related driving.

Extreme caution should be exercised by all drivers on streets, roads, and highways, with defensive driving techniques practice each time a vehicle is used.

Common-sense reminders to use seat belts, observe traffic laws, adjust to road and weather conditions, control speed and watch carefully for other vehicles continue to be the keys to safe trips.

Caption for top photo: Ali I. Naimi, Saudi Aramco president and chief executive officer, and other company officials participate in an Executive Management Safety Review in Tanjaib.

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