For the second consecutive year, Qatargas’ Shipping Department has won two prestigious awards from the British Safety Council for its commitment to achieving excellent standards of health, safety and environmental management.
At a special ceremony held at Drapers’ Hall in London on Friday 27 November 2015 Qatargas was presented with the Sword of Honour, for excellence in the management of health and safety risks at work, and the Globe of Honour, for excellence in environmental management. The company was one of only seven organisations worldwide who were successful in winning both the Sword of Honour and Globe of Honour in 2015. This builds on its achievement in 2014, when the company became the first Qatari organisation involved in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) shipping operations to win these prestigious awards. In 2015, as many as 61 organisations worldwide won a Sword of Honour and eight achieved a Globe of Honour.
Qatargas Chief Executive Officer, HE Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, received the awards from Lynda Armstrong, Chair of Trustees for the British Safety Council.
On the occasion, HE Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatargas Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are deeply honoured to receive this prestigious recognition for the second consecutive year. It serves as an evidence of our continued efforts to promote and maintain world class standards and integrate best practices into our business performance. Through the hard work and dedication of the Qatargas Shipping Department, this is yet another milestone in our commitment to being the world’s premier LNG Company. Today, we are proud to be one of only seven organisations worldwide and the only Qatari organisation to have achieved both of these highly significant global recognitions in 2015. We are committed to maintaining and enhancing our performance to ensure we continue to meet the highest global standards through the years to come and strongly encourage others to join us on this journey towards health, safety and environmental excellence.”
On his part, Chief Executive of the British Safety Council, Mike Robinson, said: “Our warmest congratulations to Qatargas’ Shipping Department upon winning both the Sword of Honour and the Globe of Honour for 2015. These awards recognise and celebrate the excellence of the winning organisation and their employees in managing health, safety and environmental risks.
“All of the Sword and Globe winning organisations share a commitment and resolve to achieving the highest standards of health, safety and/or environmental management. We are delighted that they are partners in helping achieve our vision that no one should be injured or made ill at work.” In order to compete for the Sword of Honour and Globe of Honour, Qatargas Operating Company – Commercial & Shipping Group – Shipping Department first had to achieve the maximum five stars in both the British Safety Council’s occupational health and safety and environmental management audit schemes in the period August 2014 – July 2015.
The company also had to demonstrate to an independent panel of experts that they have a proven track record and a culture of best practice for excellence in health, safety and environmental management that runs throughout the Shipping business. This audit consists of an intensive 4 day examination of the processes, procedures and practices used to ensure the safety and well-being of all members of the team. All aspects of the Shipping Department safety and occupational health practices are examined and sampled to ensure compliance.
Also during the audit process, the strategic role of senior management in leading occupational health and safety and environmental governance was explained. It was then necessary to describe the robustness of the systems and procedures that underpin this, along with how effectively these are deployed and rigorously implemented by the work-force. The final stage in this process was to articulate the importance the management places on effective communication with all stakeholders and how, through a clear and common understanding, we ensure that everyone is aligned with our core values, goals and objectives.
Source: Qatar news agency
