Health Risk Assessment (HRA): A Case Study—Implementing HRA Into the Shell Petroleum Development Company Ltd., Nigeria

Abstract

Abstract Health Risk Assessment (HRA) is The Shell Group of Companies' tool ‘for a healthier workplace’ through identification, assessment and control of health risks within each and every work environment. Implementing Health Risk Assessment throughout Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), an oil exploration and production company, has not been a straightforward task. This is a society where distant-risk perception is at a basic level, and immediate risks outside the workplace, malaria, violence, HIV etc, are far more of an everyday reality than any existing or perceived occupational risk… A society where today is what counts, and tomorrow is dealt with when it arrives. This case study will describe the stages of HRA implementation within SPDC, from initial identification of the need for HRA, through competency based development, the training of teams, development of corporate documentation, undertaking the assessments, dealing with the resulting actions and information management (through people, paper and electronic technology). The challenges encountered at each stage of the implementation will be presented, along with the solutions that the OH Team used to overcome them. Some of the real-life health benefits of undertaking HRA will be explored, using examples of situations (in some cases life-threatening) that have been identified within during the HRA process, and the actions taken to control these risks will be detailed. This paper will share SPDC's experiences of implementing HRA with others… The challenges of implementing a standard initiated within a developed society into a developing society, the solutions to these challenges, and the route to making HRA a live and useful tool in the control of health risks within SPDC.