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Lessons Learned in Managing Contractor Safety
By Mr. Michael Snakard
Session# 7
Monday February 22, 2010

16:10 - 16:50

Contractor Safety for Process Safety Management can be one of the more challenging elements of PSM. In particular, it was recognized as a contributing factor in many of the world’s largest PSM accidents, in particular the Phillips 66 Polyethylene explosion in 1989 and therefore added to the US OSHA PSM requirements. This paper will examine the critical issues of contractor safety management including training, safety performance evaluation, and communicating hazard information. In the Middle East, contractor safety management is compounded by the diverse workforce and the backgrounds of the labor force. Special activities, such as simultaneous operations, turnarounds, and very large workforce expansions place an additional risk on the facility operator and the contract workforce. The purpose of the paper is to relay advice and guidance on developing an effective contractor safety element and to effectively implement it within the organization.


Presenter – Mr. Michael Snakard

Mr. Snakard is a Sr. Principal Engineer & Director of Middle East Services with AcuTech. He has over 20 years of experience in the permitting, design, start-up, troubleshooting and safe operation of industrial facilities. He has been working on engineering, environmental and health & safety projects for clients in the Middle East for the past 10 years and has lived in Qatar since 2004. He is very knowledgeable in the areas of OSHA Process Safety Management (PSM), loss prevention, risk assessment and completing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) in accordance with local (Middle East) and international (World Bank) requirements. He has led numerous HAZOP studies, Conceptual Design Risk Assessments (CDRAs), Health Risk Assessments (HRAs), COMAH Assessments, conducted OSHA PSM Compliance audits and has lead Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Assessments. In addition, he has completed projects for LNG liquefaction and Receiving terminals in the US, Qatar and Australia.

Mr. Snakard has worked as the Country Manager in Qatar where he focused on Safety, Health, Environment and Security type projects. Prior to that he was the Pocess Safety Management coordinator at a major refinery in California (US) where (among other tasks) he was involved in the training of contract personnel in line with OSHA PSM requirements for contractors. He is also an approved Risk Assessment Specialist under the Malaysian Department of Environment (DoE) EIA Consultant Registration Process.

Presenter – Mr. Michael Hazzan

AcuTech Consulting Group
1600 Tyson’s Boulevard, Suite 800
McLean, VA 22102
United States of America

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