IDENTIFY HAZARDS AND BARRIERS IN A PETROLEUM COMPANY FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OHSAS 18001 OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Abstract

Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has exploration, drilling, production and well completion, natural gas storage, oil and natural gas pipeline project activities in the oil sector. There are critical hazards in the petroleum industry. Identifying the hazards and implementing the Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) to minimize the risks and prevent the accidents/injuries are effective methods to control hazards. This research was focused on the hazard identification, risk assessment and employee awareness and competence following the voluntary standard, OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Standard. These risk assessments were related especially to working at height and emergency preparedness on the processes.

The purpose of this study was to identify the improvements and/or changes and measure the employee's perception of their current safety and health system with surveys to identify the barriers which would prevent the changes in the safety management system.

Through interpretation of the hazards and surveys, the researcher gives recommendations to the TPAO to implement the OHSAS 18001 OHSMS effectively.