Workplace health & safety becomes a top priority in the Middle East

Ranging from the dangers of asbestos and industrial accident response to the reduction of work-related stress and the establishment of a successful ergonomics programme, this conference is designed to enable executives to create a relevant and effective occupational health and safety strategy to suit the specific requirements of their own organisations. In addition to supporting delegates in their efforts to devise a comprehensive health and safety management system, the conference highlights the significance of ergonomics to the health of the office-based workforce by giving all conference attendees the opportunity to win an ergonomically designed chair from Kinnarps of Sweden.

Occupational health and safety has traditionally been linked to those industries that involve high risk tasks - industries such as oil and gas or construction - but there is increasing evidence to suggest that occupational health and safety has considerable significance for all industry sectors.

Participants in The 1st Annual GCC Occupational Health and Safety Conference believe that failure to acknowledge the impact of health and safety can cause wide ranging problems for organisations across the Middle East. "Due to the nature of their work, oil and gas companies are among the most aware when it comes to work-related health and safety," comments Dr Jalees Razavi, Chief of Preventive Medicine, Saudi Aramco. "However, all sectors need to understand that an investment in occupational health really is an investment in the future. Without a proactive approach to developing a healthy workforce, corporations are jeopardising their ability to maintain a competitive edge in tomorrow's global economy."

The rapid pace of industrial development in the Middle East has created a unique business culture with specific corporate challenges. One of the major requirements that has emerged is for constructive dialogue around work-related health and safety. With a view to providing regional organisations with the information they need in order to develop and implement an effective health management system, the conference draws on expertise from international and regional health and safety professionals, including physicians, occupational hygienists, ergonomics experts, psychologists, industrial audiologists, and management systems specialists. "The diverse interests of our participants is an accurate reflection of the breadth of issues covered by occupational health and safety, and the pressing need for every organisation in the Middle East to identify and manage those health risks that are relevant to its workforce," states Nicholas Burke, Consultant Occupational and Public Health Physician, currently advising Shell in the Gulf.

On an international level, occupational health and safety is increasingly important to businesses and organisations. The development of the international health and safety management system OHSAS 1800, has highlighted the importance of adopting an effective health and safety strategy. Due to the pace of the Middle East's development as a business centre, health and safety systems have only been adopted by those industries most obviously effected by occupational hazards, however, as the region's businesses begin to mature, health and safety will become increasingly relevant to profit performance. "On a global scale, millions of dollars are lost each year due to work-related illness and to absentee costs. Identifying and addressing occupational health requirements will create healthy and motivated employees, and will increase the productivity of the corporation as a whole," claims Dr Raymond Hamden, Clinical & Forensic Psychologist at the Comprehensive Medical Centre, UAE.

A major factor that is forcing GCC-based organisations to review their health and safety policies is impending changes in healthcare legislation, which will result in companies becoming responsible for their employees' healthcare costs. This significant development means that corporations will have to adopt a responsible and proactive approach to employee health. Additional developments are likely to be brought about by the establishment of the Gulf Occupational and Environmental Medicine (GOEM) Group, which seeks to develop and standardise occupational and environmental policies throughout the GCC.