QPSS concludes, calling for joint efforts to enhance and strengthen safety systems

The 10th Qatar Process Safety Symposium (QPSS), hosted by Texas A&M University at Qatar, ConocoPhillips, and Qatargas, concluded yesterday, calling for joint efforts by academia and industry in enhancing and strengthening the systems.More than 300 industry experts and researchers gathered in Doha to tackle this year’s theme of “Human error happens. How do we overcome the inevitable?” This year’s speakers called on a continued dialogue between industry and academia to bring about lasting advances in process safety.“Year after year, QPSS attracts a growing leadership community who collectively advance our process safety capabilities in line with the national development framework,” said Dr Ali al-Mulla, assistant secretary general for Industrial Projects Sector at the Gulf Organisation of Industrial Consulting (GOIC) and a keynote speaker at QPSS.Dr Tomasz Olewski, interim managing director of the Mary Kay O’Connor Process Safety Center-Qatar, said over the past decade, QPSS has set a new standard for intersectional dialogue and developing the competencies of engineers in Qatar.“We want to continue building on the past ten years as we look towards the future and enhance our understanding of process safety; responding to Qatar’s diversifying economic requirements in safe and effective ways,” he said.Todd Conklin, an internationally renowned expert in organisational safety and human performance, said the size of Qatar and its agility make it ahead of many other leading countries on the global scale.“I believe that with risks come greater responsibilities and it is rewarding to see the investment in a culture of process safety being reinforced and practised,” he said.