Health Safety & Environment (HSE)

PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR ELECTRICITY AND WATER

DIFFICULTIES OF HSE IN THE UTILITY SECTOR

HSE Manager Micheal Huggins DipSM, NEBOSH, AIMGT.MIIRSM,MIOSH

 Co-Management Contract

Veolia and the Public Authority for Electricity

and Water in Oman

“Of all God’s great gifts
water is the most
important to sustain life,
the environment and
our future we must
therefore protect it at all
cost” His Majesty Qaboos bin Said Al Said
 PAEW PRINCIPLES

Our Vision
We will have a culture in which we are successful only if everything we do is achieved
without harm to people, the environment or property.
Our Value
Safe and Healthy in all we do.
Success is
Zero harm to anyone as a result of our activities.
Zero injuries or incidents of occupational ill health reported.
Zero days lost as a result of workplace incidents.
 OMAN

The Sultanate of Oman borders the

Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian
Gulf and shares borders with Yemen, the
United Arab Emi-rates and Saudi Arabia.
Oman has an area of 212,460 square
kilometres (82,030 square miles) and a
coastline that totals 2,092 kilometres
(1,299 miles). Comparatively, Oman
occupies an area slightly smaller than the
UK and Ireland. Muscat, Oman's capital, is
located on the country's north-eastern
coastline. The population of Oman was
estimated at 4,100,389, of whom
2,006,311 were Omani and 2.100,078 were
non-Omani. Large expatriate

Large Country Small Population

 OMAN REGIONAL BREAKDOWN

The Sultanate is divided in to ten regional areas of operation

covering down to Dhofar. Regions vary in size and population
for example Al Wusta, large region small population mainly
bedewing and the land is predominately desert, one of the
regions is located at the top of the peninsula through the
United Arab Emirates and is logistically difficult to supply
“Musandham”. Customers are fed by a mismatch of pipe line,
Boat and tankard water. Owned by PAEW and privately.

Oman's position in a semi-arid climatic zone results in the

serious problem of water scarcity. The government is pursuing
programs of improved water efficiency and water resource
development including but not limited to, 48 dams for
rainwater collection, new resources from desalination, as well
as the use of water-saving devices on taps.
 PAEW BUSINESS INFORMATION

The Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) is a state owned business which it is believed in time will become private.
It covers the whole of Oman.

The following statistics give an overview of the business Assets:

 There’s is 15,000 km of buried network consisting of 5000 km of transmission and 10,000 km of distribution network.
 There are 25 PAEW owned Desalination plants and approximately 30 more contractor owned and run, all feed PAEW
Distribution Network.
 There are 737 wells owned and run by PAEW.
 There may be up to 3000 private use wells feeding of our well fields with private tanker filling points. ( unchecked sources)
 There are 116 pumping station including boosters.
 There are 686 Reservoirs.
 There are 428 tanker filling points owned by PAEW.
 There are 1400 PAEW owned and contractor tankers (checked) and possibly another 3000 private or illegal( unchecked)
tankers.
 There are 1800 PAEW employees and an average of 12,000 contractors per month.
 PAEW NETWORK

The bulk of the buried network is in and around Muscat which has the largest population some 700,000
persons. All areas have some degree of live mains what we consider “complex and simple”. Muscat is
Complexes over 3500km of Main, Al Wusta Simple less than 30km of main. This is maintained and repaired by
both PAEW and Contractors but the majority of repairs and new mains are laid by contractors.
Each Region has its own Store all are stocked and re-
stocked via the Central Store in Muscat.
Piping Ranges from:
• MDPE,
• Ductile Iron
• HDPE
• PVC
• Asbestos Cement
Although the latter two are not used anymore at least
half the network is made up of them.
 DESALINATION

Desalination contributes to more than 90% the water supplied to the Sultanate of Oman and is normally a bi-product of power
generation. Most of the desalination is by RO and is combined power and water treatment, predominantly disinfected by
chlorination.
Desalination plants are situated along the whole of the Oman
coastline with over 35 sites but Muscat and Musandam have the
highest concentration.

Most desalination plants, whilst still producing, are out dated

and due re-build/refurbishment but some new privately owned
are already built providing water support to PAEW. Sur
Desalination being one and the largest at 80 million cubic metres
squared per day new plants are normally independent of the old
electricity generated sites.

Most of the desalination comes from beach wells buried along

the coast line but some is direct from the ocean. Most have the
capacity of both should the need arise.
 WELLS

A quarter of the water supplied is provided by deep and shallow wells the deepest recorded in the Musandham
Mountains is 400 metres. These wells and well fields supply and back up the local communities not all wells are in
use and/or running some are now emergencies supply as we moved towards more desalination.

Beach Wells are normally located just short of the water line but on higher ground
to ensure no tide entry as per picture 1. reducing the filtering process of the salt.
There is normally between 1 & 2 on a small site up to 26 on the largest.

Secondary wells are found through inland aquifer well fields and normally pump
back to one main booster and treatment works these can be as many as 40 or as
little as 1 see picture 2 this is well 1 of 10 in Musandham.

Several of the areas have small well fields which pump, treat and store in both
below and above ground reservoirs. These storage areas normally only hold up to 3
days supply before refill is necessary.
 PUMPING AND BOOSTER STATIONS

Pumping and booster stations are used on the transmission main to get the water to the storage areas,
distribution points and tanker filling points they are crucial in regulating the flow pressure and disinfection delivery
. Turbine Pumps, are used to transfer the water supply to the reservoirs via
disinfection in most cases.

Most pumping stations have a set of working pumps and a minimum of one
duty stand by.

Secondary Chlorination may be added from booster station to ensure the

quality of the water. All disinfection currently work on volume as apposed to
turbidity so chlorine tasting water is usual.

The main gas used is Chlorine for disinfection and in some areas this can be a
volume of from 1 to 14 ton in and around major cities. This is currently under
review to try and find an alternative for all areas. Sodium Hypo etc.
 PAEW RESERVOIRS

The Sultanate has a network of storage reservoirs of varying shapes and sizes over 686 from ground based
storage cubed facilities to concrete or steel towers all have the same purpose supplying treated water to
customers they are normally co-located with pumping stations or treatment works or both.

Several key issues are:

 No training for Staff  Working at Height  Hatches left unlocked,

 Poor signage
 Poor alarm facilities
 Poor or little Emergency Equipment
 Irregular Servicing
 Poor Maintenance
 Shared facilities
 No Lock off Procedures
 No cleaning regime
 Pollution around or on site
 Open Dip Tubes
 No Security
 Animal Faeces on roof
 Rabbits and Birds Nests
 Confined Spaces
 TANKER FILLING POINTS

Tanker deliveries are used for most of the population outside of the cities and towns and equates for probably a
quarter of the delivered water “25 million cubic litres last year “ from a total delivery of 105 million litres by all
delivery means.

 Vehicles no training for Staff
 Poor Signage
 Poor Hygiene on Vehicles
 No Emergency Equipment
 Irregular Servicing
 Poor vehicle maintenance
 Ships no Training for Staff
 Poor Signage
 Poor Hygiene on Ships
 No Emergency Equipment
 Irregular Servicing
 Risk of Chemical Pollution
 No Spill Equipment
 Risk of Ground or Sea pollution.
 Regular Water Wastage
 Unsuitable Delivery Pipes
 Working at Height
 No PPE
 TANKER’S

Tankers vary in size from 500 litre to 25,000 litre’s and designs but all are top filled bottom distributers the majority of the tankers are
private and independently operated and although they are issued permits by the ROP they are seldom checked. This is currently being
tackled on three levels via, PAEW staff ( New Design Criteria). Ministerial backing and ROP Guidance. However as you can see what they all
fall short on completely is Water Hygiene and Safety, “all pictures below are taken from tankers operating in our regions”. ( All water is for
human consumption)
 HSE PROBLEMS Cont

Pollution at Sea Deadly Gases Fire Hazard Ground Pollution Mixed Flammable Storage

Poor Emergency Equipment Untrained Staff Poor Chemical Storage Poor Housekeeping Poor Heavy Item Storage

Poor Lifting Operation Dangerous Excavations Inadequate PPE Confined Spaces Working at Heights

No Hygiene Awareness
Poor Signing and Guarding No Chemical Controls No Vehicle Maintenance
 HURDLES HSE FACED ON THE CONTRACT
HSE Department
We had no HSE staff or department

We had no funding or support service

There were no HSE records in the business

There were no inspection and maintenance records

We had no support from Management

Departments didn’t follow HSE in their core business areas

Contractors didn’t apply the required standards and abide by the Law

Accident, incident and near miss reporting was not being reported well enough

PAEW did no HSE training or specialist HSE Training

 WHAT WE DID TO OVERCOME THIS

Veolia HSE insisted that the HSE Snr Manager must report direct to the Chairman and the BOD with a full
support system in place in PAEW including, but not limited, to the following:
We wrote a Five Year HSE Strategy Plan
We designed, launched and implemented a HSE IMS.
Policy
Chemical Guidance Documents COSHH
Risk Assessments and DSE Assessments
Guidance Notes
HSE Induction Manuals
Newsletters
Posters
Safety Alerts and Sheets
All Legislation
HSE Videos
Site Inspection Reports
PDF Approved Codes of Practice
PowerPoint Presentations
 WHAT WE DID TO OVERCOME THIS
HSE Department
We have carried out over 1100 full site inspections.

We are on path to complete our HSE Strategy and have increased our manpower to 9 HSE Engineers.

We have issued over 250,000 OMR of PPE since Jan 2013. We have already equipped over 1800 staff with PPE and
Emergency PPE.

We have investigated several serious incidents from PAEW and our contractors.

Designed, printed and issued a Health, Safety and Environment Handbook.

We are providing Tender contracts for several key areas:

Oil and Chemical Spill Kits

Fire Plans, Inspection and Maintenance

Various Bilingual Signage

Chemical removal and inspection etc.

 IMPLEMENTATION OF HSE IN PAEW

HSE Department
We are implementing sanctions against staff and/or contractors who fail to obey the Law and Company
Policy ( eight improvement notices issued and enforced already).
Knowledge transfer is being carried out at local and consultancy levels with new and future staff.
We are applying procedures under the co-management contract on the QMS porthole in line with the
HSE IMS System over 500 Documents in HSE Alone already provided and in use.
We are continuing our training and knowledge including:
Fire and First Aid Training
All IOSH Course
Driver Training
Diver Training and Emergency response
Induction all Levels
Chemical Awareness
All training is certified and meets international guidance
CONTRACTORS
 PAEW VS CONSULTANTS AND CONTRACTORS

PAEW PAEW

PAEW Contractors HSE Committee

O&M and Project Depts. HSE Department

O&M Contractors Consultants

Construction & Other

Contractors
 PAEW HSE CONTRACTORS SUPPORT

PAEW HSE Contractor Support

Allowed contractors part access to the HSE IMS and support as necessary.
Help contractors facilitating a HSE Plan “with a HSE pledge”
Work with third parties/contractors, better understand and help mitigate risks in our areas.
Help design and implement extensive HSE training like:
HSE Management IOSH, NEBOSH, IEMA
High Risks, Confined Spaces, Working at Height, Driving, Machine Operation
Electrical and Mechanical Isolation and Permits to Work
Site Safety CSCS, Water Hygiene etc.
Internationally recognised accreditation which best suits and supports our organisations.
Auditing all aspects of our HSE and advising on critical changes and/or industry best practices.
Implementing changes and legislative undertaken as required.
Added all contractors to the mailing list for monthly newsletters, safety alerts, safety sheets.
Manage all contractors on the competent contractor scheme.
 PAEW CONTRACTORS HSE COMMITTEE

 Formed after the HSE Forum in April 2014

 Representation from 12 principle contractors Al Ansari, Al Habib, Al Matar,

Amioman, Galfar, Global, GPS, ONEIC,Towell etc.

 Committee meetings on a bi-monthly basis.

 Elected Chairman and Vice Chairman during Jul ’14 for 2014-2015
 PAEW CONTRACTORS HSE COMMITTEE

Action areas (proposed) for HSE Committee:

1. Act as link between HSE in PAEW and Contractor organizations.

2. Promote dissemination of PAEW HSE learning/circulars across its workforce.

3. Drive specific improvement actions (e.g. Environmental Awareness, Chemical Handling, Manual
Handling, Confined Spaces, Working at Height , PPE, etc.).

4. Coordinate inter-site visits by committee members in rotation.

5. Support PAEW in promoting HSE implementation.

6. Follow-up improvements.

7. Share good practices.

 CONSULTANTS & CONTRACTORS WORKING UNILATERALLY WITH PAEW

PAEW PAEW
OPERATIONS PROJECTS
DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT

HSE DEPARTMENT

HSE DEPARTMENT
CONTRACTORS
THIRD PARTIES
HSE CONSULTANTS
i.e. where necessary
general public COMMITTEE

CONSTRUCTION
O&M CONTRACTORS
CONTRACTORS and Sub
Contractors
 ACHEVMENTS SO FAR
What have we done so far:

 Designed and Implemented an Integrated Management System to ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 containing over 1000
documents in 5 key stages
 Stage 1 Policies and Manuals
 Stage 2 Procedures and processes
 Stage 3 Working Instruction
 Stage 4 Forms
 Stage 5 HSE Library and Support System PP, Posters, Safety Awareness etc.
 Set Up a HSE Awareness Campaign and Scheme internally to PAEW
 Set up a Young Users Water conservation and HSE Scheme in Schools in Oman
 Trained all of our Directors in IOSH Directing's Safety (refresher every 3 years)
 Trained all managers in IOSH Managing Safety (refresher every 3 years)
 Trained 900 staff so far in IOSH Working Safety on going to 1800 over 24 months (refresher every 3 years)
 Trained all Drivers and training all other staff in RoSPA Safe Driving Graded and Ungraded Roads
 Training in Confined Spaces Water Industry 6150
 Carried out over 1100 Site Inspections since January 2011
 Set up a Near Miss and Accident Data Log and reporting System
 ACHEVMENTS SO FAR Cont

 Set up a Contractor HSE Forum every 6 Monthly

 Set up HSE Contractor Committee Monthly including:
 Instigate a Pledge from the Contractors to improve
 Set up an Near miss and accident reporting system to aid contractors
 Set up an IMS System bespoke for contractors through a drop box account
 Contractor Policy and Pledge
 Contractor Rules
 Contractor Undertaken
 Contractor Safety Evaluation Form
 Contractor Monthly Health and Safety return
 Contractor Monthly Environmental Return
 Set up a contractor award system
 Set up a contractor improvement system including, Improvement notices
and closure notices as required
 Implemented Contractor Site Inspections and Safety Schemes
 Implemented PAEW Contractor Site Inspections
 HSE STATISTICS

HSE Department have vigorously, since the start of the co-management contract in 2011, stayed on
course to reduce:
Fatalities
Catastrophic events
Major Incidents/Accidents
Minor Incidents/Accidents
Dangerous Occurrences
HSE Department have also increase:
Near Miss reporting
Awareness
HSE Training
PAEW Contractor Trend Analysis - using the trend analysis we can focus our actions, documents,
training and resources annually and set the corporate HSE KPI to help the business develop a safer
working environment.
 SUMMARY OBJECTIVES

We have so far:

 Trained all staff and contractors in Water Hygiene

 Trained Staff and Contractors in Site Safety Using SHE Water as the Template
 Trained, Train the Trainers in Water Hygiene Here in Oman
 Instigate Specialist Training at all levels Confined Spaces etc
 Prepare Robust Safe Systems of Work
 Develop sites and distribution means in line with best international practice.
 Source and train staff in the use of adequate PPE for Chemical Handling and normal HSE
and set a bench mark for the business and all contractors for this.
 Sign and Guard all sites, areas and responsibilities correctly
 Produce an emergency response program.
 Improve contractor awarness through mandatory training in line with government guidance
and best practice
 HSE PRINCIPPLES

PAEW HSE Principles :

All injuries and occupational illnesses are preventable.

Preventing accidents and ill health is everyone’s responsibility.

Everyone is accountable for their, their teams and their businesses Health and Safety performance.

All accidents and near misses must be reported; a near miss is a free lesson.

No job is so important that you cannot take time to think carefully about doing it safely.

Unsafe conditions and unsafe acts will be corrected promptly.

Health and Safety is a condition of employment.

Standards, procedures and rules are there to prevent accidents; everyone must follow them.

Safety goes home with you.

COMMUNICATION
SHUKRAN

ANY QUESTIONS