Features
HSE or Occupational Health in MAPNA Group
HSE (health, safety and environment) is a field of study and practice focusing on the practical aspects of protecting the environment and maintaining health and safety at occupation.
With regard to safety, HSE involves creating organized efforts and procedures for identifying workplace hazards and reducing accidents and exposure to harmful situations and substances.
In terms of health, it is about the development of safe, high quality, and environmentally friendly processes, working practices and systemic activities that prevent or reduce the risk of harm to people in general, operators, or patients.
From an environmental standpoint, HSE involves creating a systematic approach to complying with environmental regulations, such as managing waste or air emissions all the way to helping to reduce the company’s carbon footprint.
The principles of HSE in MAPNA Group have been developed in such a way to meet the demands and requirements of ISO 14001, HSE-MS, and OHSAS 18001 standards and guidelines. These principles can be used as a reference for employees, employers, and auditors who evaluate the HSE management system.
HSE Background in MAPNA Group
Since the late 1990s when MAPNA Group began operations, the idea of forming an occupational safety department gained traction among the conglomerate’s authorities and finally, an HSE group was established in 2002.
Organizers of MAPNA’s major projects formed a committee to streamline HSE human resources. Later on, enforcing relevant rules in workshops and ongoing projects was prioritized.
The HSE unit’s activities took on a new chapter in 2006 when MAPNA was commissioned by Iranian Gas Engineering and Development to develop Pars LNG project in Assaluyeh in collaboration with Total at the time. The French company evaluated MAPNA in 11 managerial disciplines, including HSE. A French audit delegation exclusively investigated MAPNA’s HSE sector due to the importance of occupational health, whereas the assessment of the other fields was outsourced to an Iranian contractor.
Total Company rated MAPNA Group high in auditing categories such as project management and quality control. Furthermore, thanks to a thorough and rigorous review by a very powerful and multinational staff, MAPNA was able to fill the gaps that could have taken years to be found. Later, HSE approach shifted from exclusively operational tasks towards a systematic HSE execution. The Group developed an integrated approach, as well as HSE standards, regulations, and declarations.
HSE assessment systems were formed to monitor the performance of the personnel and project managers. The Group also established a unique HSE integrated data system, which now covers all MAPNA Group’s major sections.
MAPNA’s initial guideline was established and implemented in 2008 after multiple optimization initiatives for a systematic HSE approach. The Group has remained committed to working in an integrated HSE structure in accordance with the guideline.
HSE’s Areas of Activity
The essence of HSE is to keep track of other units’ performance in order to be effective in the field, so the major areas of HSE activity are the fulfillment of legal obligations and requirements, protecting the health and safety of employees, also observing the safety protocols in cooperation with contractors.
Legal obligations
Law enforcement is an integral aspect of HSE activities. For instance, all equipment and machinery used in workshops must be HSE-certified and have a safety certificate from a licensed company, according to the legislation.
All MAPNA factories’ equipment are safety-certified. A certificate is only provided to machinery and devices that are perfectly safe; even the tiniest flaw can preclude the acquisition of the certificate.
Personnel health
Periodic health examinations and check-ups of the personnel have been developed as a scheme by the HSE department, and is implemented by the Group’s Deputy of Human Resources in all MAPNA’s subsections.
Contracts
A group of contractors handles the majority of MAPNA’s executive functions. By developing accurate, powerful, and enforceable regulations, as well as crafting rigorous contracts, MAPNA’s HSE Department has been able to gather all contractors in the HSE framework.
MAPNA has been able to train and promote the country’s leading HSE contractors in addition to assuring their accurate application of HSE. This has done a lot to promote workplace health throughout the country, such as upgrading contractors in terms of HSE, sharing MAPNA’s experiences with other businesses, and creating an HSE culture across the country.
HSE Guideline in MAPNA
The most essential function of MAPNA’s HSE unit is to foster a common understanding of HSE, which is achieved through a comprehensive education system, along with regulations and an integrated guideline.
The HSE guideline is a paradigm that organizes the relation between the organization’s managers, job risks and ways to prevent such hazards. This means that by adhering to the rules, each unit will be able to face a variety of potential risks, guide the organization in the event of a crisis, assign responsibilities to individuals in an emergency, evaluate the organization’s risk performance, and organize the staff according to their functions.
It is much easier to avoid problems, fix flaws, and handle a variety of system changes this way. The guideline is used to illustrate the relation between the components through a paradigm. These ties begin with the company’s leader and extend to the lowest levels of the organization.
Education and Culture Promotion
In MAPNA, HSE training began with senior management and continued with monthly training for HSE workers and periodic examinations. The training was then provided for the workshop crew, which eventually led to the formation of a course called the HSE Comprehensive Training System.
MAPNA personnel (managers and staff) were divided into six groups, for which different styles of training were designed. MAPNA’s internal capability to provide training sessions was increased by several university academics. Risk assessment classes were held with instructors from outside the organization. The graduates of the HSE courses were entrees of the HSE program in larger groups. This process took on a new form with the transformation of HSE tours into training tours.
The purpose of training tours has always been to introduce HSE staff to one another in order to share weaknesses and requirements, culminating in the advancement of HSE within the MAPNA Group.
MAPNA’s HSE in the Face of COVID-19
With the breakout of the novel coronavirus in Iran in February 2020, MAPNA’s HSE Department jumped into action, providing employees with basic knowledge about the disease, its signs and symptoms, and the know-how of self-protection against it.
Simultaneously, all the required health care amenities, including face masks and sanitizers, were provided for the staff. Lunch time at the restaurant was removed and working hours were modified. MAPNA was one of the first companies in the country to develop a COVID-19 protocol and communicate it to its employees, to the point where the National Coronavirus Headquarters praised the company as a model for developing health protocols against the virus and advised other businesses and institutions to follow the example.
MAPNA also hired an inspector accredited by the Tehran Corona Headquarters as a consultant with the HSE team. In order to produce a clear report of the COVID-19 situation in the organization, all suspected cases among the personnel were tested for the virus in two rounds.
In the face of COVID-19, MAPNA’s most crucial activity was an active diagnosis. When a COVID-confirmed case was discovered, all individuals who had contact with him/her over a period of time were identified and monitored; as soon as they showed a symptom, necessary healthcare actions were taken. The company’s general operations were not disrupted due to staff illness, thanks to MAPNA’s proactive measures to ward off the disease and the cooperation of all employees.
This is despite MAPNA’s intensvie engagement with internal and external enterprises. The MAPNA Group’s HSE Department has been able to put its major motto into action: “HSE is everyone’s responsibility.” A majority of MAPNA employees at all levels have acknowledged that they are directly responsible for workplace safety and occupational health.