Effect of ISO certification on the safety performance level of petrochemical industries in Arabian Gulf countires

Safety in the work place is a critical management issue and has serious dimensions in a petrochemical industry. Safety performance is closely linked with quality management. Quality being a competitive weapon has been the motivation for ISO 9001 certification. The primary objective of this research was to study and analyse the effect of ISO certification on the safety performance level of petrochemical industries in the Arabian Gulf region. The literature review revealed the gaps that exist in the research efforts until now relating to the effects of ISO 9001 certification on the safety performance in petrochemical companies. It also helped in identifying the 'instruments' for assessing safety performance more objectively. The reactive safety performance data before and after ISO certification was collected from 10 ISO certified Petrochemical companies. Proactive safety performance data was collected from the same 10 ISO certified companies as well as from another 10 non-ISO certified companies. The safety culture data was collected through questionnaire surveys conducted in these companies. Qualitative safety data obtained were quantified using conventional scaling techniques. Statistical analysis of the data showed significant improvement in safety performance level after the ISO certification. Results endorsed the view that positive safety culture is predominant in ISO certified companies. The research demonstrated the expediency of applying statistical models in analysing safety culture in Petrochemical industries. It is concluded that implementation of ISO 9001 significantly improved the safety performance in petrochemical industries in Arabian Gulf countries, and it can be assessed objectively through statistical techniques. Based on the findings of the research a revised ISO/TS29001 process model with 'safety at the centre' is suggested.