10 million man-hours of safety

As the King Salman Energy Park (SPARK) nears the 60% completion mark on its first phase of construction, crews are celebrating the achievement of 10 million safe man-hours worked without any lost-time injuries (LTIs).

Achieving the milestone required closed monitoring of field activities in which more than 6,000 safety behavior observations and focus inspections were conducted by the team since May 18. It also required close coordination between 15 “work packages” across the 15 km² site involving separate contractors, third-party contractors, and multiple external agencies, as well as new SPARK plot developers.

Murad A. Al Sayed, general manager of Maritime, Building and Infrastructure Project Management, attended the celebration and praised this remarkable achievement involving a significant number of multinational workers. He encouraged everyone to maintain the momentum to reach the 20 million safe man-hour milestone, and to complete the project with zero LTIs.  Al Sayed also conveyed the appreciation message from Abdulkarim A. Al Ghamdi, vice president of Project Management, who congratulated the SPARK and contractors’ management on this great achievement.

Continual focus on safety is the key

An ingredient in the safety success story is the continuous safety training emphasized by management. The SPARK Project Management Team (PMT) Division’s senior project manager has initiated focused safety training involving certified instructors. This initiative has intensely benefited safety awareness of contractors and PMT personnel. 

Moreover, weekly safety walkthrough inspections by the SPARK PMT and contractor management demonstrate their commitment to achieve the zero-accident objective and address any safety concerns with a plan of action to mitigate any potential safety issues.

Teams review work permits constantly, especially on high risk activities. For instance, more than 15,000 tons of concrete girders have been successfully lifted and erected at SPARK entrances, i.e., Qurrayah Road and the Abqaiq Highway interchanges, while safely maintaining the usual heavy traffic movement.

Apart from site development, Phase 1 includes a huge geographical area with 23 km of Eastern Peripheral Road connecting SPARK to the Abqaiq-Dammam highway, 59 km of electrical overhead transmission lines and towers from the Shedgum Bulk Substation, and 63 km of water supply pipeline from the Aziziah Reverse Osmosis plant. 

Enforcement of strict safety procedures continuously ensures that work on this massive project with over 3,000 workers continues nonstop, especially throughout the peak of COVID-19 restrictions by adhering to the precautionary measures set by the Ministry of Health. 

Managing safety is never an easy task, but with the full commitment of SPARK management, it is possible to achieve these exceptional results.