Get Guardian on GoogleSafety is a measure of operational discipline as well as a moral obligation in high-hazard sectors. Complex oil, gas, power, and construction projects become more expensive with each postponed permit, repeated briefing, needless printing, outsourced training expenditure, and inadequately documented oversight. The pressing concern now is how safety systems can become faster, more intelligent, and leaner without sacrificing compliance, rather than whether HSE needs to be evaluated, documented, and taught.
Oghenepawon David Obriki has used practical systems thinking to tackle this problem. Using his background in construction, shutdown, pipeline, pre-commissioning, power, and energy infrastructure operations, he contributed to a reduction in paper printing costs using media-enabled reporting tools and a substantial reduction in external training expenses by providing internal HSE training.
Industrial safety is often treated as a compliance function. How do you see it differently?
Compliance is the minimum standard. It informs an organization about what cannot be disregarded. However, the true value of HSE lies in how it influences behavior, workflow, decision-making, and responsibility. In a high-risk project setting, safety is inextricably linked to production; it is one of the prerequisites that ensures production sustainability. When I inspect a site, I don’t only inquire if the paperwork has been completed or if a worker attended a briefing. I want to see if the system helps people make better judgments before a hazard turns into an incident. This includes streamlining hazard reporting, improving instructional communication, and ensuring supervisors can act fast on leading indicators. A strong HSE system should eliminate uncertainty, not increase bureaucracy.
You reduced paper printing costs through media tools and reporting systems. What problem were you trying to solve?
The immediate problem was waste, but the deeper problem was speed and visibility. HSE records inspection sheets, toolbox attendance, audit results, observation reports, training registers, remedial actions, and management summaries can quickly become paper-heavy systems that meet filing requirements but do not improve reaction speed or trend visibility. I worked to make safety information faster to collect, easier to distribute, and more helpful for leadership evaluation. By using media tools, photographic evidence, electronic summaries, and structured reporting templates, we relocated important communication from printed files to more accessible digital formats. This cut printing expenses by 50%, but the most significant result was operational: improved traceability, faster reporting, better information availability, and more disciplined follow-up on safety activities.
Why does that matter beyond one organization’s administrative budget?
In project-driven sectors, tiny inefficiencies can quickly accumulate. Excessive printing, poorly coordinated training, and delayed corrective actions due to fragmented information all result in avoidable costs and risks. Reducing paper use demonstrates a more disciplined, logical approach to maintaining safety information, in addition to cost savings and environmental responsibility. It also has a social influence. When vital HSE data is delivered to the proper people on time, workers are better protected, supervisors make better decisions, and management can better direct resources. Reporting becomes part of the safety culture.
During the lockdown period, you conducted in-house HSE training and saved external training costs. What drove that decision?
The lockdown compelled many organizations to reassess their reliance on external training providers, yet high-risk work still demanded uninterrupted competence. Confined space entry, working at height, and Job Safety Analysis are practical safeguards, not abstract procedures, they determine whether workers can identify hazards before tasks begin. Conducting the training in-house ensured continuity while making the instruction directly relevant to site conditions. The sessions emphasized hazard recognition, permit discipline, emergency readiness, and supervisory verification. While this reduced external training costs by about 20%, its greater value was preserving workforce capability under constrained conditions.
How did you ensure that in-house training did not become a lower standard substitute?
It was critical that in-house training be considered as formal and of high quality at all times. I designed it with specific objectives, practical scenarios, attendance records, interactive discussion, and field-based follow-up. Confined space training focused on atmospheric dangers, isolation, rescue preparation, standby responsibilities, and permit discipline. Working at heights included access, fall prevention, equipment inspection, anchorage, and rescue preparation. Prior to execution, the JSA focused on job breakdown, hazard detection, control measures, and worker knowledge. I also consulted with supervisors, because training is more successful when reinforced with toolbox meetings and field verification before high-risk work begins.
Your background includes safety leadership on major energy and infrastructure projects. How has that shaped your approach?
Across project phases, risk never stays static. Construction, shutdown, and pre-commissioning each present distinct hazards, from stored energy and pressure testing to simultaneous operations and complex interfaces. That experience has taught me to read the work environment as a system, not a checklist. I pay great attention to the relationships between contractors, supervisors, permit holders, field teams, and management since failures frequently occur when communication breaks down. When reporting is delayed, weak signals are missed, when training is generic, controls are not properly implemented. My work improves the link between documentation, behavior, supervision, and feedback to increase safety effectiveness.
What role does data play in modern HSE management?
Data has value only when it drives informed action. Recording observations, incidents, audits, and training hours is not enough; what matters is whether the information exposes recurring risks, delayed corrective actions, or gaps in reporting culture. Near-miss trends, for example, may show growing worker confidence or fear-driven silence. Effective HSE leadership requires interpreting data through field realities. Reports may suggest compliance, while site conditions reveal weak control implementation. My focus has always been converting reporting into learning that improves supervision, training priorities, and safety systems.
How do you mentor workers and junior HSE personnel without making safety feel punitive?
People respond best when they understand the aim of a safety control. My strategy is to move discussions from blame to consequence awareness. When a worker violates a control, correction is required, but so is education: what hazard was introduced, who might be harmed, and what should be changed the next time? For junior HSE personnel, I emphasize observation, listening, documentation, and solid judgment. They must engage workers respectfully while remaining tough, because good safety leadership is based on emotional intelligence as well as technical expertise.
What makes your work scalable across the industry?
Because the ideas are not site-specific, they are scalable. It is possible to reduce paper in a variety of project situations by boosting JSA quality, developing internal training capacity, improving reporting systems, and using data for decision-making. The logic is the same regardless of the tools: make safety performance quantifiable, enhance competence, reinforce supervision, and streamline information flow. Professionals that can integrate systems thinking with field expertise will be needed in the future of HSE. Knowing the rules is insufficient. We need to create procedures that enable businesses to learn more quickly, make better financial decisions, and consistently safeguard employees.
What do you consider the broader significance of these achievements?
Safety’s larger importance stems from its capacity to improve operational excellence. When an HSE system reduces costs, maintains training, promotes environmental responsibility, and protects workers, it indicates that safety is not distinct from performance, but rather integral to it. My goal is to create systems that can withstand instant difficulties. Cost savings are important, but it is even more important to have a culture that understands and supports such savings. Training is crucial, but the ultimate goal is a workforce that can recognize hazards and actively prevent catastrophes.
