In 2014, gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant Oryx GTL reported a total recordable injury rate of zero for the third year in a row, making it the first company in Qatar to do so.

Marlene Janse van Huuren, head of environment at Oryx GTL, told delegates at MEED’s Qatar Projects conference that the region’s first GTL plant had achieved this through a “Road to Zero Harm” programme that it has run since 2009.

Although it has many aspects including regular safety meetings, inspections, safety campaigns and training, at the heart of the plan is behaviour-based observations, said Van Huuren.

“Every near miss is thoroughly investigated by all parties,” she said. This runs to an average of 1,000 observations a month, and so far 5,000 “at-risk behaviours” have been identified and rectified on the spot.

This year, to keep its safety record up, Oryx GTL will be running workshops on how workers can approach others to persuade them to work more safely.