Qatar Shell is serving as the platinum sponsor of the 2nd Qatar Petroleum Occupational Health Conference, which is taking place under the patronage of HE the Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada.
The conference, promoting the theme of “Innovations for a healthy workplace”, presents an important platform and valuable opportunity for participants to exchange innovative ideas and share knowledge and best practices for improving occupational health.
Sheikh Thani al-Thani, Qatar Shell deputy general manager, said: “Shell is proud to be the platinum sponsor for this conference in partnership with Qatar Petroleum and the Supreme Council of Health. In line with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and Qatar Shell’s strategy, we aim to look after the physical, mental and social well-being of our workforce by developing a culture where everyone can be at their best. In our experience, a mentally and physically healthy population is a more capable and motivated workforce.”
Qatar Shell supports a number of initiatives to encourage employees to embrace a safe, healthy and active lifestyle, referred to as a ‘Culture of Health’. Initiatives include a ‘Be Well’ campaign, a health promotion programme that encourages employees to enhance their health through better understanding of personal health risks and adopting ways to actively reduce them. The programme emphasizes behavioural change and healthy lifestyle choices.
Shell vice president (Health), Dr Alistair Fraser, delivered a keynote speech at the event.
Dr Fraser said: “We are building on a solid foundation of health risk management to move towards a ‘Culture of Health’. This huge opportunity has two components: healthy high performance with a goal of thriving people, and the value of health as a business enabler. To achieve this, we are focusing on enhancing human performance and creating a corporate ecosystem that makes it easier to make healthy choices. In an increasingly rapid and complex world, we firmly believe that we can add value for both the individual and company. We already have solid evidence of the benefit”.
Qatar Shell’s efforts in the area of workforce welfare were recently recognised at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition & Conference (ADIPEC) held earlier this month.
Sheikh Thani al-Thani received the prestigious ‘Best oil and gas HSE Project’ award on behalf of Qatar Shell. The award, considered to be the top energy award in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), was given to Qatar Shell for its success in dramatically reducing non-accidental deaths during the construction of the Pearl gas-to-liquids plant located in Ras Laffan.
Non-accidental deaths are due to non-work related factors such as poor physical or mental health. As a result of numerous pro-active mitigation measures, the number of non-accidental deaths by the end of the Pearl’s construction was reduced by 70% compared to the predicted estimate based upon World Health Organisation data averages.