Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) and Schneider Electric started a three day workshop on June 28 on Contemporary Standards of Process Safety for SOCAR management, engineers and technical employees.

During the three separate workshop sessions, the presentations will be made for the specialists representing diverse categories in process automation engineering, meteorology, safety techniques, occupational and environmental protection, standardization, design and related research.

At the opening ceremony, BHOS Rector Elmar Gasimov welcomed the representatives of Schneider Electric, SOCAR and its production units and briefed on the development history of the higher school, its achievements and perspective plans. The Rector particularly underlined the significance of ensuring process safety at the organizations engaged in production, as well as the constant improvement of the standards applied there, and the main reason why special importance is attached to the dissemination of the contemporary knowledge on safety standards in the work plan of BHOS Lifelong Learning Department. The Rector wished the participants and Schneider Electric experts every success.

Asif Shafaggatov, the SOCAR Deputy Vice-President for Human Resources, Regulations and IT, underlined the significance of safety issues and wished success to the workshop attendees. Later Steve Ellliot, Senior Director, Offer Marketing – Process Automation from Schneider Electric extended his gratitude to the BHOS management for organizing the workshop.

During the first day of the workshop, Dr. Farshad Hendi, a Schneider Electric expert in safety service invited from the USA, made presentations on contemporary safety standards as part of the Process Safety Management and Technological Process Management session programmes for the managerial and technical employees of SOCAR, its production units, as well as ‘Azerikimya’ Production Union, SOCAR-POLYMER Limited Liability Company, Oil and Gas Research and Design Institute, Refinery named after Haydar Aliyev and Carbamide Plant. Around 50 representatives of the mentioned companies joined the workshop. The participants were focused on the risk assessment and management, leadership, expediency, commitment, legislation, compliance with industrial standards, employee screening, health and competence, workforce involvement and functional interface in the field of the leadership in production; and hazard identification, risk assessment, documentation, records and knowledge management, operational training and procedures, process and operations control, beneficial process delegation, functional interface management, standard and practices, alternation and project management, audit, maintenance, control and operative measures in technology process management.

The second session to be held on June 29 will be on Exploitation and Maintenance. More than 25 specialists are expected to join the event. The session will spotlight the topics such as operational readiness, emergency response, inspection and maintenance, safety critical devices management, administrative supervision, work permit, diverse risk management, contractor and supplier, screening and personnel management, incident reporting and investigation, and operations and management.

The third session to be held on June 30 will be dedicated to functional safety. Some 30 second and third year BHOS students studying Process Automation Engineering will join 20 experts taking part in the event. During this session, the following topics will be highlighted: operational and maintenance competence management, functional safety trainings, applied international standards, functional safety design, implementation and management.

Organization of systematic events on operational safety standards is envisaged in the perspective plans of BHOS Lifelong Learning Department.