MATERIAL ESG TOPICS / HEALTH & SAFETY

Health & Safety of Employees, Contractors & Third Parties

  • >7 mil.
    PPE items (masks, gloves, safety spectacles & disposable overalls) have been distributed to personnel for COVID-19 protection

  • 43,584
    total tests of personnel for COVID-19 detection

  • €13 mil.
    on safety improvements in all Group facilities in Greece and abroad

  • 58,300
    man-hours of training
    in H&S, in all Group
    facilities and subsidiaries

  • 14%
    reduction in the process
    safety event rate index
    compared to last year

Health & Safety

Safeguarding Occupational Health,
Safety & Wellness
of Employees, Contractors & Third Parties

Why is it material?

Employee Health, Safety and Wellness constitute the Group’s top priority and a fundamental business value for all of the Group’s activities, because they are interconnected to business success.

Proactive assessment and management of Health & Safety risks and opportunities can improve working conditions and workforce performance, thereby leading to an improvement of the performance of the Group. By extending the scope of the Health and Safety programs / actions to all partners (e.g. local communities), we promote and sustain the long-term benefits of the Health and Safety Management System.

Constant improvement and the achievement of excellent results in matters of Process Safety and Personnel Safety are the cornerstone of our day-to-day operations and motivate us to meet our goals.
Our four main pillars of action are:

  1. Leadership and commitment,
  2. Consolidation of a safety culture,
  3. Improvement of performance – safety indicators,
  4. Lessons learned from incidents, implementation of corrective actions

Our approach

The Group promotes Health, Safety and Wellness in the workplace by:

  • Strengthening risk prevention and mitigation measures. In particular, 2020 was a demanding year for all our activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and all relevant risks were addressed through collective and individual actions, safeguarding the health of our employees – our top priority – without interrupting our business continuity.
  • Being committed to providing the resources needed to meet the Health and Safety goals and to continually improving the Health and Safety Management System.
  • Ensuring consultation with all stakeholders and meeting the needs of society.

These three principles are clearly stated in the company’s Policy and constitute a commitment of the company realized through strong Leadership (leading by example). “Risk Assessment”, which lies at the core of the Health and Safety Management System, is supported and reinforced through procedures, inspections and safety training.

The Group upholds that ‘Safety concerns everyone’; it urges employees to report and investigate incidents, near misses and unsafe situations, and rewards the employees’ successful intervention on safety issues.

Our new 2020 approach, which shall continue in 2021, focuses on the fact that employees must be “open” to learning from incidents and their mistakes. This strengthens the reporting and investigation of incidents, but also the immediate adoption of protective measures.

Our ambition

Our ambition is to be amongst the best in the energy industry and create a working environment with zero accidents and occupational diseases in all activities. Through strong leadership and the involvement of all employees, we seek to prevent and protect Health and enhance the Safety of employees and contractors from potential effects that could arise during the operation of the facilities.

All Group facilities set objectives in order to review and improve their performance on Health and Safety issues, with reporting and appraisal carried out periodically. Objectives on specific safety indicators are set and monitored based on, among others, the proposals by the scientific division of the European Petroleum Refiners Association (CONCAWE).

At the same time, we extend the application of our Holistic Safety Management System to the rest of our activities, apart from Refining, in order to consolidate our safety culture and improve our performance.

Occupational Risk Management

In the field of occupational risk management, the prevention principle is applied so that potential health & safety risks can be anticipated and mitigated.

Specifically, potential risks are identified and mitigated according to the criteria set under Greek legislation (Law 3850/2010), as well as European and international codes and best practices. All facilities have written occupational risk assessment studies, which also include the measures that are taken in order to eliminate or mitigate hazards and maintain them at low and acceptable levels.

Occupational Health

Assuring employees’ health is an integral part of the company’s policy and the Health Monitoring Procedure. Periodic employee medical checkups are carried out depending on job description, age group and gender.

Employees’ health monitoring is supplemented with additional medical tests conducted by Occupational Physicians.

Prevention & Response
to COVID-19 pandemic

2020 was an especially demanding year for all of the Group’s units and companies, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In parallel with the key actions regarding Health and Safety, the Group effectively managed the pandemic crisis, with immediate and coordinated actions, in all activities and at all levels of the organization.

The Group’s Policy for the prevention and management of issues arising from the pandemic was immediately drafted, in accordance with the instructions of the National Public Health Organization (NPHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and is revised according to the needs and the new scientific data. This Policy concerns all the employees employed in the premises and facilities of the HELPE Group, in Greece and abroad, but also the employees in third companies, in projects, services or supplies providers and marketing associates who come to the Group’s facilities to perform their work.

The ultimate goal of the Policy was to establish a common and uniform framework to deal with COVID-19, in order to protect the Group’s staff and secure the unimpeded operation of the Group.

Key immediate actions taken:

  • Establishment of Group Coordinating Committee, responsible for the management of crises that may arise in cases of existence of confirmed cases and for the recommendation of proposed measures and actions, and setting up of individual Crisis Management Committees at local level, per organizational structure.
  • Revision of all Occupational Risk Assessment Studies regarding the activities of the Group,
    including measures to prevent and tackle the corovirus.
  • Enhanced organizational and technical prevention measures (increased number of
    occupational physicians at the facilities, fit for purpose PPE, teleworking of employees, regular or emergency diagnostic testing of employees, etc.).

An important role in the prompt prevention and management of the crisis was played by the correct and regular information of employees regarding prevention and protection measures, as well as the immediate implementation of the actions – decisions of the Group. Finally, the COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention Measures Management System was certified by an independent third party, confirming that the COVID-19 Pandemic Prevention Measures Management System in all Group facilities has adequate resources and appropriate infrastructure according to current epidemiological guidelines (Covid Shield of Excellent level).

In the midst of pandemic, the five year General
Planned Shutdown of Aspropyrgos Refinery
and the implementation of planned investement
projects were safely completed.

Occupational Safety

In 2020, more than €13 million were invested in safety improvement projects at all of the Group’s facilities in Greece and abroad. These fixed investments do not include the supply of personal protective equipment for work but also for protection against COVID-19 the supply and maintenance of safety instruments and equipment, and the supply of firefighting materials and other consumables.

Groups safety investments

2020 2021-2025
(approved program)
Facility INVESTMENT
(in €mil.)
INVESTMENT
(in €mil.)
Aspropyrgos, Elefsina and Thessaloniki refineries 8.83 94,59
ΕΚΟ 3.26 10.44
DIAXON 0 0.54
HP CYPRUS 0.7 3.58
OKTA 0.1 1.61
JUGOPETROL 0.1 4.57
EKO SERBIA 0.01 3.61
EKO BULGARIA 0.03 5.67
ASPROFOS 0 0
TOTAL 13.03 124.61

Holistic Safety
Management

HELLENIC PETROLEUM Group, with the aim of continuously improving performance and achieving excellence in Safety, is committed to applying a Holistic Safety Management program across all Group activities, based on the standards of other large international groups in the oil & gas industry.

The Holistic Safety Management program consists of 21 Systems-Pillars that are already being implemented in all industrial facilities and cover every aspect of the facilities’ operation.In order to achieve excellence in Safety, the requirements that must be met, the roles and responsibilities regarding their implementation, and the methodology for evaluating and measuring performance are described in the framework of each System.

In 2020, the Holistic Safety program for the refineries was continued and completed, and new and improved safety procedures for the three refineries and individual facilities, as well as critical best practices, were issued, based on the evaluation of the Systems.

Health & Safety Indicators –
Performance of Facilities

Each of the Group’s activities (industrial facilities, fuel storage facilities, hyrocarbon E&P activities, and headquarters) sets annual measurable Key Performance Indicators regarding the improvement of its performance in Health & Safety. The performance, against the set targets, is reviewed on both a monthly and an annual basis, and the relevant report is presented to the Management.

Furthermore, the Group participates in the annual benchmarking survey for accidents/ incidents that is conducted every year by CONCAWE, and collaborates with this organisation.

During 2020, out of a total of 10,763,788 man-hours worked, there were 32 lost workday injuries for both own staff and contractors, implementing the project of the largest General Planned Shutdown at Aspropyrgos refinery, lasting for 2.5 months and involving the participation of 3,000 employees at the peak of the works.

More than 500,000 man-hours without any lost workday injuries at the Elefsina and Thessaloniki industrial facilities and 1,000,000 man-hours without any lost workday injuries for Domestic Marketing Division (own staff)

Group accidents/incidents based on the definitions provided by CONCAWE

SCROLL to the right to view all data

FACILITIES (M/F) AIC,
EIC,
TIC
Headquarters ΕΚΟ DIAXON ASPROFOS HP CYPRUS OKTA EKO SERBIA EKO BULGARIA JUGOPETROL
(Lost Workday Injuries or LWIs)
(M/F)
25
(25/0)
2
(0/2)
5
(4/1)
2
(1/1)
0 0 1 (1/0) 0 1 (0/1) 0
Lost Workday
Injuries
(HELPE
employees /
contractors)
12/13 0/2 0/5 2/0 0 0 1/0 0 0/1 0
Fatalities
(M/F)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1Medical
Treatment Cases
or MTC
(M/F)
3
(3/0)
0 2
(2/0)
0 0 0 0 1 (1/0) 0 0
Restricted
Workday Injuries
or RWI
(M/F)
7
(7/0)
0 0 2
(2/0)
0 0 0 0 0 0
LWIF Index
(M/F)
3.62
(3.62/0)
3.68
(0/3.68)
1.51 (1.21/0.3) 8.35 (4.17/4.17) 0 0 2.11 (2.11/0) 0 0.51 (0/0.51) 0
LWIS Index
(M/F)
51.20
(51.20/0)
8.50
(0/8.50)
15.40 (12.25/28.0) 27.0 (21.0/33.0) 0 0 30.0 (30.0/0) 0 121.0 (0/121.0) 0
LIF (All Injury
Frequency) Index
(M/F)
5.06
(5.06/0)
3.68
(0/3.68)
2.12 (1.82/0.3) 16.69 (12.52/4.17) 0 0 2,11 (2.11/0) 0.75 (0.75/0) 0.51 (0/0.51) 0
Occupational
diseases rate
(/106 hours)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2Absentee Rate (%)
(M/F)
* 0.69/1.37 0.86/ 4.09 2.2/3.98 0.46/0.41 0.3/2.58 1.85/5.62 1.56/ 1.93 1.36/ 1.65 1.1/ 0.6
1.First aid injuries are not included
2.Absences due to incapacities of any kind (illness, accident) are included
*For detailed information by region and gender, see indicator 403-2.

The following diagrams show the evolution of the Group’s key indicators, in comparison with the relevant CONCAWE indicators over the last six years.

The AIF index (HELPE & EKO)
increased by 30% compared to 2019.

 

The LWIF index (HELPE & EKO)
increased by 37% compared to 2019.

 

The PSER index (HELPE & EKO)
decreased by 14% compared to 2019.

Health & Safety Training

In the context of establishing a common safety culture in all of the Group’s industrial facilities, a common basic training procedure (fire safety, rescue techniques, first aid, etc.) and leadership seminars are applied (from managers to coordinators and supervisors), in order to reinforce and consolidate a Safety Culture.

Training extends to contractors, customers, tank truck drivers, petrol station owners, and university students. Visitors are informed about onsite safety instructions through printed material.

As far as contractor training is concerned, it is based on oral presentations by Safety Engineers along with written examinations at accredited training centers. Only successful candidates are given an entry card to work in the facilities.

It is important to highlight that in 2020, the training time of own staff and contractors increased by 17% compared to the previous year (approximately 58,300 man-hours of training).

Man-hours of Health & Safety training by facility and gender

AIC,
EIC,
TIC
ΕΚΟ ΟΚΤΑ DIAXON HP CYPRUS EKO SUBSIDIARIES* ASPROFOS
No. of employees (M/F) 1,977
(1,810/167)
464
(299/165)
273
(212/61)
103
(90/13)
64
(43/21)
214
(109/105)
162
(106/56)
No. of trained employees (M/F) 1.530
(1,443/87)
110
(97/13)
132
(122/10)
23
(18/5)
62
(43/19)
175
(104/71)
22
(20/2)
Training man- hours (M/F) 17,911.25
(16,891.25/ 1,020)
1,473.75
(1,405.5/ 68.25)
245
(236/9)
85
(73.5/11.5)
233
(155/78)
310,5
(252.5/58)
182
(173.5/8.5)
No. of trained contractors &
others (M/F)
4,527
(4,404/123)
465
(437/28)
878
(857/21)
5
(5/0)
9
(9/0)
664
(498/166)
0
(0/0)
Man-hours of training of
contractors and others (M/F)
31,897.5
(31,338.5/ 559)
3,731.25
(3,638.75/ 92.5)
324.5
(317.5/7)
7
(7/0)
38
(38/0)
1,857
(1,501/356)
0
(0/0)

*BULGARIΑ, SERBIA, JUGOPETROL

KPIs of Group’s Health & Safety Training

Year 2018 2019 2020 2021-2022
Target
Percentage
of employees
trained

75%

53%

63%

At least the same
percentage of
employee training
Total average of
training man-hours
per trainee per year
in H&S matters
14 14.3 10 The average number of
training hours at the
same level as last year.
The estimation was
made while taking into
account the prevailing
conditions due to
COVID-19
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