Assessing the health, safety, and environment culture in the United Arab Emirates oil and gas industry
Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology
ISSN: 1726-0531
Article publication date: 3 October 2019
Issue publication date: 9 March 2020
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to assess the ways through which the concept of health, safety and environment (HSE) is perceived by workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) oil and gas industry. The study focused on different aspects of the HSE culture and how employees with and without leadership responsibilities differed in their conceptualization of HSE culture.
Design/methodology/approach
Semi-structured interviews were conducted for 30 staff of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in the UAE. The interviewees were purposively selected which included both those in leadership and non-leadership roles.
Findings
The findings revealed that the interviewees viewed HSE culture as a descriptive term, a causal phenomenon, a systemic approach or a legal requirement/obligation. Interviewees in the production and maintenance units mentioned safety most often. Employees and managers exhibited negligible differences in their usage of the HSE culture concept. Managers predominantly featured in the narratives as important drivers of HSE culture. Physical conditions, behavior and procedures, management, competence and collaboration emerged as important components of a sound HSE culture.
Originality/value
To enable better communication and subsequent improvement of the HSE culture, an analogical HSE culture “vehicle” was developed in the study. The vehicle is a novel illustration based on the key roles of managers and employees, as well as the main components of a sound HSE culture.
Keywords
Citation
Almazrouei, M., Khalid, K., Abdallah, S. and Davidson, R. (2020), "Assessing the health, safety, and environment culture in the United Arab Emirates oil and gas industry", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 18 No. 2, pp. 495-512. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-07-2019-0188
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited