| 
The American Society of Safety Engineers-Middle East Chapter (ASSE-MEC) held its January 2009 Safety Exchange Meeting at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Bahrain. Over 150 chapter members and other safety professionals, and senior management from major oil, gas, petrochemical, and construction companies attended this event.
The meeting started with a welcoming introduction by Mr. Tariq Al Ghamdi, president of ASSE-MEC, followed by three presentations.
A STANDARD OF SAFETY IN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION
Mr. GARY FADLEY
Loss Prevention Specialist
Loss Prevention Department, Saudi Aramco
During his presentation, Mr. Fadley talked about Saudi Aramco’s application of internal company engineering standards in an effort to adopt and clarify the many hundreds of internationally recognized recommended practices, codes, and standards that prescribe how to design oil and gas industry facilities. The presentation gave a general orientation to Saudi Aramco’s engineering standards and provided some insight into the fire prevention philosophies that they are based upon.
WHAT EVERY SAFETY PROFESSIONAL NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT SPRINKLERS
Mr. JAMES G. GALLUP, P.E., CSP
Fire Protection Consultant
Rolf Jensen & Associates
During his presentation, Mr. Gallup reiterated that every safety professional often needs to evaluate the general capabilities of an automatic sprinkler system to control fires. The evaluation requires a determination of the level of hazard and an evaluation of the sprinkler system hardware as well as the water supply to meet the hazard. During his presentation, Mr. Gallup also introduced the NFPA Sprinkler Standard, NFPA 13, and addressed expected changes in the 2009 Edition.
ELECTRICAL ARC FLASH MITIGATION
Mr. TURKI M. Al-SHEHRI
Engineer
Power Distribution Department, Saudi Aramco
During his presentation, Mr. Al Shehri highlighted the potential dangers behind electrical arc flashes. Arc Flashes have already caused several injuries and fatalities around the world. The presenter also discussed technological and administrative solutions in eliminating such incidents.
Following the presentations, Mr. Abdullah Al Ghamdi, Executive Director of Safety & Industrial Security, Saudi Aramco, presented a token of appreciation to the speakers and a special memento to Mr. Robert Slaughter for his continuous support to the society and for completing 40 years of membership with the American Society of Safety Engineers. The meeting was sponsored by Sea Water Injection Department, which in the meeting was represented by Mr. Bahjat Zayed, the department manager (seen below on the bottom row, second on the right). Mr. Hameed Kassem, manager of Loss Prevention Department, a strong advocate of the society’s mission in the region and many times sponsored of these meetings was also present (seen on the top row, first on the right).
|