For the 11th consecutive year, APM Terminals Bahrain, the operator of Khalifa Bin Salman Port (KBSP), joined 72 other operating ports across 69 countries to commemorate the annual ‘Global Safety Day’ program under the theme, ‘24/7 Safe’.

This year, across the global network of APM Terminals, the aim was to increase awareness of operational and workforce safety during shift work, with an emphasis on night shifts given the nature of the industry that works around the clock.

Safety is a living value at APM Terminals and every year on ‘Global Safety Day’ APM Terminals takes the time to reflect on the past; and focus on one particular safety theme for the future. As part of the campaign, several workshops and activities rooted in continuing to cultivate APM Terminal’s commitment to promote safety awareness took place under this year’s theme ‘24/7 safe’. Subjects such as ensuring sufficient visibility while working at night, the potential hazards of shift work were addressed to ensure safety in a proactive manner.

Special emphasis was placed on the well-being of port employees through one of the interactive workshops led by the resident Medical Services Manager of the in-house clinic that operates around the clock at APM Terminals Bahrain. The sessions focused on how to achieve a healthy lifestyle while working in shifts by maintaining a balanced diet, regular exercise, and a healthy sleep cycle to avoid detrimental side effects associated with sleep deprivation and stress.  

Other key workshops and sessions that were held across the terminal include an awareness session on transportation safety, a demonstration that included ‘good and bad safety practices’ that took place during the night shift, a ‘rescue-from-height’ demonstration and the distribution of safety cards to all drivers entering the port. Health inspections of port workers’ accommodation were carried out, and a certificate was given in the form of a friendly in-house competition to promote general awareness of hygiene and healthy living.    
All the employees, along with both internal and external stakeholders of APM Terminals Bahrain including the Senior Management Team and representatives from the Ministry of Labour, Customs Affairs, the General Directorate of Traffic Services and the Ministry of Interior participated in this event by attending ‘Global Safety Day’ awareness activities and learning about health and safety risks associated with port operations.

Commenting on the campaign, Mark Hardiman, CEO/managing director of APM Terminals Bahrain said: “Our goal is simple: safety means no compromise, and safety is our license to operate – we will never stop ensuring all our people return home safe at the end of the day. Therefore, we constantly work towards improving our safety performance with regular awareness sessions and training; along with a continually implementing best practices and industry standards to improve the Health, Safety, and Environment performance of the terminal.”

Since the inception of the Global Safety Program in 2005, APM Terminals Bahrain has achieved significant success in promoting safety awareness at Khalifa Bin Salman Port, guided by several programs such as the “Fatal 5 Rules to Live By”, which aims to identify and eliminate potential risks and injuries during operations, to assist in continuing to improve our standards of safety by implementing minimum controls for the management of critical risks that have been identified within relevant areas of operation, namely  transportation, suspended loads and lifting, working at heights, stored energy, and finally control of contractors. - TradeArabia News Service