Case Studies

At university you studied Chemical Engineering. When did you decide you wanted your career to be in health and safety?
Whilst studying chemical engineering at university, we were taught about several industrial incidents which demonstrated the importance of considering health and safety throughout the engineering process. We learnt that failing to do this at the design stage or when controls are being specified can lead to accidents, which can have a huge impact on a business, the community and ultimately can cause a loss of human life.

I trace my interest in health and safety back to this time. I wanted to play a part in stopping tragedies from occurring by improving HSE practices in the engineering profession. I also became a huge supporter of promoting the “prevention through design process” which advocates that OHS&E subject matter specialists get involved at the design stage of any project.

I had a strong feeling as a university student that health and safety would be a very rewarding career for me to pursue. This hunch has been proved right over time and I am thankful of the decision I made at the start of my career.

You secured your first HSE role in 2016. How did this come about?
I secured my first HSE Engineer position after my graduation in 2016. My technical engineering degree meant I met the criteria for the role, which was with an oil and gas company operating in Pakistan.

Why did you choose to take the NEBOSH International General Certificate?
After being in my HSE Engineer post for a year, I was keen to strengthen my health and safety knowledge and skills. After considering the options, I decided that working towards a recognised International OHS certification was the best way to go about this. Not only would it improve my knowledge, but I also felt it would demonstrate my commitment to the profession and support my career progression.

I reviewed the certification routes available and chose to take the NEBOSH International General Certificate, finding a learning partner based close to me on the NEBOSH website.

How has gaining the NEBOSH International General Certificate helped you?
Attaining the NEBOSH International General Certificate brought huge benefits for me.

As I had hoped, it improved my skills and knowledge, but it also reignited my passion for learning. Since completing my NEBOSH certificate, I have gone on to complete a Diploma in OHS and passed the ISO 45001:2018 OHS MS Lead Auditor course.

The qualification also encouraged me to proceed on to the Associate Safety Professional (ASP) and then Certified Safety Professional (CSP) Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) examinations.

I found that holding the NEBOSH International General Certificate also helped me progress in my career as after completing this qualification, I secured a new position in Saudi Arabia.

Since 2023, you have been employed as a Drilling HSE Coordinator for Sinopec International Petroleum Services – can you tell us a little about the company and your role and responsibilities?
SINOPEC is an international energy and chemical company that has achieved upstream, midstream and downstream integration. Currently, its overseas oil and gas business has operations in 26 countries with a total of 49 oil and gas exploration and development projects.

I am currently working as a Rig HSE Coordinator in Saudi Arabia. My role and responsibilities include:

• managing the OHS&E related matters at the drilling site
• implementing the company's HSE Management System
• identifying any gaps and improving the safety culture on the rig

What do you enjoy most about being a health and safety professional?
I like that this profession is so varied and allows you to have a positive impact in your workplace. A project that I am particularly proud of saw me be part of a team that coordinated the digitization of my then employer’s HSE management systems. We had been targeted to be a paperless department and this led to the development of a digital health and safety portal (HSP). It was a real time platform where training, incidents and near misses could be recorded. The system produced safety statistics from the inputs that were made.

This was an enjoyable and rewarding project, which delivered real benefits to the HSE department and wider business. The health and safety management system went from conception to implementation within 6 months. It was great to help give real time visibility of HSE performance and to see the HSE management system align with operational activities.

When you look back at your career so far, what are you most proud of?
I am most proud to have achieved my NEBOSH International General Certificate. When I look back, I can see that this is the qualification that set me on the right path to excel in the field of HSE.

What would your advice be to anyone who aspires to make health and safety their career?
I always advise others who aspire to work in HSE to start by doing NEBOSH International General Certificate. It is a great qualification, which provides the foundation knowledge and skills necessary to work as HSE Professional.