Prime Minister James Marape yesterday joined Puma Energy PNG staff and contractors in celebrating a milestone in its safety record, clocking 14 million hours of ‘working safely’.
Puma Energy PNG staff and contractors have passed an astonishing safety landmark of 14 million working hours without an injury requiring time off at their 28 operational sites around the country.
That adds up to almost seven years of safe working by about 1000 Puma and contractor staff keeping the country supplied with the refined products and services to keep the country’s economy moving.
Prime Minister Marape attended a celebration yesterday to mark the milestone at the company’s Napa Napa refinery outside of Port Moresby.
He said: “I am proud to be here to honour more than 1000 Puma Energy staff and contractor workers who have demonstrated world class performance in achieving almost seven years’ of safe working.
“It highlights the skills, expertise and professionalism of our Papua New Guinean workforce.
High standards of safety are so important to support economic recovery and attract investment to our country.”
A proud Puma Country General Manager Hulala Tokome said it was an amazing feat by all staff and contractor staff and the result of continuous and sustained focus, putting safety first in everything they do every day, every hour and every minute so that everybody goes home safe to their families at the end of the day.
The record covers all operations within the boundaries of the company’s refinery, 12 terminals, 12 aviation sites, head office and two commercial centres throughout the country as well as the 1.6 million kilometres clocked up annually, the company’s owned fleet of 100 light vehicles and 15 trucks.
“It means that no staff or contractor staff have taken any time off work due to injury from an unsafe incident at work for that period of time. This record is only possible with the dedication of all our staff and contractor staff who have put safety first.
“The commitment starts with the leadership team and runs through the whole company. We have five safety rules: to follow all safety procedures, look after each other, challenge unsafe behaviour, wear the right protective equipment and report all incidents,” Mr Hulala said.
He added that the staff routinely stop work when they see an unsafe situation and use these incidents and other reported near misses or minor accidents to learn from in regular safety briefing that all operational staff hold daily before they start work. Recognizing staff for good safety behaviours is also important.
“We invest time on our safety systems every day and this includes leaders being visible in the field, keeping operational procedures clear and current, ensuring our staff and contractors are competent for the task undertaken and working hard on critical safety barriers such as Management of Change and Permit to Work.
“We are looking to constantly improve and we know it takes only one small lapse in concentration to put somebody at risk.”