Risk Drivers and Safety Improvement Strategies in Gas Power Operations

Abstract

     Gas power facilities are among the more hazardous settings in modern industry. Workers, contractors, and site visitors face serious physical risks daily, from mechanical energy release to fall hazards and line-of-fire exposures. Controlling those risks requires a Health and Safety, Environmental system that works in the field—one that coordinates engineering controls, administrative procedures, and personal protective equipment (PPE) rather than treating them as independent layers.

This paper examines the safety framework applied in gas power operations across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. It pays particular attention to Life-Saving Rules (LSRs), which were drawn from historical incident data and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) to target the activities most often linked to fatal and life-altering injuries. The study draws on 202 occupational records, of which 38 were operational incidents relevant to causal analysis. It identifies the principal drivers of Class A (fatal) and Class B (life-threatening or permanently disabling) events and evaluates how engineering barriers, administrative controls, and PPE held up in each case. Three activities—uncontrolled mechanical energy release, working at heights, and mechanical lifting—account for the majority of severe outcomes. Administrative controls failed more often than any other layer, at 55.3% of incidents, despite documented procedures and established LSRs being in place. The data points to a persistent gap between what is written in the safety system and what supervisors enforce on site.