Bapco pursues no-compromise approach to health and

safety.
INTERNATIONAL demand for refined products may remain subdued butBapco takes a nocompromise approach to protecting its employees,contractors, the community, the environment and
other company assetsfrom major incidents.
Cutting costs at the expense of Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) initiatives is, therefore, not
an option for a company which prides itself on its proactive and preventive approach to the issue.
Bapco's commitment to embedding the EHS philosophy into the mindset of the organisation -- from
employees to contactors -- has led to an array of prestigious international accolades. This includes
Five Star Rating from the British Safety Council with Bapco being only the second company of any
kind in the Gulf to receive the award.
Bapco instills EHS into the psyche of the organisation through its EHS policy, which serves as a
reference point for all staff. Strong support from executive management ensures that EHS becomes
part of the culture of an organisation with diverse operations and business interests.
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EHS TOOLS
To facilitate the delivery of the EHS policy concept, Bapco has a series of EHS 'tools' -- some unique
to the company, others of international standard. It is through these tools that the core objectives
of Bapco's EHS policy are translated from theory to practice.
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PROCESS SAFETY MANAGEMENT
In the 1990s, Bapco was the first company outside the US to adopt and comply with process saferty
management (PSM), often considered the ultimate health and safety (H&S) awareness tool and
today an international standard tool.Aa
Defined as the proactive identification, evaluation and preventionof hazardous material releases that
could occur as a result of failuresin processes, procedures or equipment, the Bapco PSM model
evaluates 12elements of the whole refinery process. This includes process design,process
technology, operational and maintenance activities, non-routineactivities, emergency preparedness
plans and procedures, trainingprogrammes and any other elements that affect the process.
Ahmed Khalil, manager Fire, H&S at Bapco, views PSM as a 'cradle to grave concept', incorporating
EHS from unit conception through design, construction, commissioning to operations, maintenance
and shutdown and equipment retirement. At Bapco, PSM was initially introduced to the refining
business and has since been expanded to include all parts of the company.
The value of PSM to Bapco is vast. In 2003, PSM was instrumental in the company being only the
second refinery in the Middle East to receive OHSAS18001 certification from Det Norske Veritas
(DNV), reflecting its compliance with internationally-recognised standards. A 2008 external audit of

Bapco's OHSAS18001 Management System confirmed that it is operating well.

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BBS PROGRAMME
Initiated at Bapco in 2007, Behavioural-based Safety (BBS) is described by Khalil as a 'cultural'
initiative. At its heart is Behavioural Observations Obtain Safe Trends (Boost), a concept of nonconfrontational employee observation.
Leveraging a mixture of supervisor-level observation of employees as well as behavioural science
technology, last year, more than 1,500 observations were submitted, more than 340 observers
trained, a Boost Sustainability review conducted, and 12 Boost-related papers presented at national
and international conferences and forums.
"A true safety culture is the way things are done when no one is watching," says Khalil.
"In Boost, we ask the employee if we can observe how they conduct a task, looking at critical
behaviours and then make recommendations on improvements," says Khalil, who is quick
to emphasise that the BBS is not a way of apportioning blame.
"The perception of supervisors and safety officers as 'policemen' has changed," explains Khalil.
Today, there is a collective responsibility for H&S in the organisation, and empowerment of the
employee in taking ownership of H&S issues in their work environment, he adds.
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Bapco's RDGP plant emphasises the firm's commitment to the environment
SAFETY PERCEPTION SURVEY
Bapco also relies on anonymous surveys to validate and assess safety systems. The last major survey
in 2005, the Safety Perception Survey, involved more than 460 employees from refinery and finance
and administration business units.
The same questions on accident investigation, attitudes towards safety, involvement of employees,
recognition for performance, safety concerns, supervisor training, management credibility and
stress were put to managers, supervisors and employees, and divergence in the responses was
gauged.
If a question garnered a positive response in less than 70 per cent of respondents, it was considered
an 'area of concern'. Positive responses under 60 per cent were red-flagged for immediate action.
For any difference of perception between employees and management, a more than 10 to 12 per
cent difference was an indication of the need to look more closely as to how well supervisors
and/or managers are in touch with the workforce. As a result of significant divergence in
manager/supervisor/employee perceptions, the survey resulted in the introduction of the BBS and
additional supervisor training.
The success of Bapco's EHS tools are reflected in its 2008 safety record, particularly with regards to
contractors, who registered almost four million hours without lost time injury (WLTI) on
the refinery gas desulphurisation plant (RGDP).

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CONTRACTOR H&S
Bapco's contractor H&S programme, launched nine years ago, seeks to ensure that contractor H&S
policies and standards are aligned to those of Bapco. Using strict criteria, Bapco visit a contractor's
site at prequalification stages of a contract. It is a prerequisite that every contractor working for
Bapco employ a full-time H&S officer who is interviewed by the company. Even
contractor equipment is tested and tagged before being permitted into the Bapco operating
environment.
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INVESTMENT IN TRAINING
H&S training is an integral part of any Bapco employee's career development. Each of the 3,000plus company employees undergoes an average of 3 to 5 training courses a year across EHS.
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LEADERSHIP POSITION
Bapco's leadership position in EHS is reflected in the prestigious accolades it has received. Last
year, it achieved the British Safety Council's (BSC) five star rating in health and safety
management, becoming the first company in Bahrain and only the second in the Gulf to do so.Aa
It also clinched the BSC International Safety Award 2008, an acknowledgement of its role as a
powerful motivator for safety standards excellence, as well as its role of better managing workplace
risks to health and safety and reduces accidents and ill-health, reflected in its holding of the first
Ergonomics Week for employees in December 2009.
In 2007, Bapco was also the first company outside the US to receive the prestigious Robert
Campbell Award for Safety, highlighting Bapco's philosophy of wanting to share its EHS
experiences with organisations around the world.
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