GHANA EXTRACTIVES INDUSTRY SAFETY CONFERENCE 2016

Conformity to Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) Systems through the implementation of OHS management systems by local businesses in Ghana has been identified as one key barrier to entry to the extractive industries supply chain. The Sekondi-Takoradi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (STCCI), in its quest to ensure that local businesses build the required capacities in this very important aspect of their businesses, is organizing the second Ghana Extractive Industry Safety Conference (GEISCon) 2016. The theme of this edition is “DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE PREVENTION CULTURE TO SAFEGUARD LIVES AND PROPERTIES”

Safety culture refers to the ways that safety issues are addressed in a workplace. It often reflects “the attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and values that employees share in relation to safety”. In other words, “the way we do safety around here”.

 A PREVENTIVE SAFETY AND HEALTH CULTURE refers to a culture in which the right to a safe and healthy working environment is respected at all levels, where government, employers and workers actively participate in securing a safe and healthy working environment through a system of defined rights, responsibilities and duties, and where the principle of prevention is accorded the highest priority (Art. 1(d) of Convention No. 187, ILO-OSHA 2001).

With every major disaster, considerable resources are allocated to identify factors that might have contributed to the outcome of the event. Consideration of the detail revealed by inquiries into such disasters is invaluable in identifying generic factors that “make organizations vulnerable to failures” From such inquiries, a pattern emerges; organizational accidents are not a result of randomly coinciding ‘operator error’, chance environmental or technical failures alone.

The Ghana Extractive Industry Safety Conference – GEISCon 2016 will provide practical solutions to these challenges and will provide opportunities for all players in the industry to share experiences, challenges and plans in an effort to improve HSE performance and ensure the sustainable development of extractive industry in Ghana.

THEMATIC AREAS:

Policy & Regulatory Environment

• National regulatory framwork in Ghana
• Developing and implementing occupational health and safety management systems, programmes and policies in Ghana
• Strengthening national occupational strategies and systems
• Improving safety and health governance in Ghana, the role of stakeholders

Standards & Best Practices

• HSE Best Practices of multi-national companies and their experiences with local suppliers
• Occupational Health & Safety for Contractors and Sub-Contractors
• Best Practices versus Framework/ Standards
• Culture of Safety
• Challenges and Strategies for promoting occupational health and safety
• Training and strengthening worker involvement in safety and health.
• Strategies for companies pursuing the goal “Zero Accidents”
• Prevention Culture – Preventions Strategies on OH

Dr. Kwame Boakye-Agyei, Director for Health, Safety, Environment and Security at Kosmos Energy is the Keynote Speaker for GEISCon 2016. The Health & Safety Professional worked with the Environmental Protection Agency and the World Bank.

In conclusion, with the exploration and production of oil and gas in commercial quantities in Ghana, it is advisable for that the safety of the workers and the environment is given the much needed attention to prevent frequent accidents which can lead to loss of lives and properties. It therefore calls for some these safety conferences on how to secure the safety of lives and properties in these emerging sector of our economy.

By: DAVID ADUHENE TANOH-www.reportingoilandgas.com