The inaugural edition of DROPS — Dropped Object Prevention Forum was held at Sheraton Oman Hotel yesterday under the auspices of Shaikh Khalid bin Omar al Marhoon, Minister of Civil Services.
Dropped objects refer to any items or objects that have the potential or capability to cause harm or damage due its fall from height. Among the various hazards in a work environment, dropped objects from a height are critical aspects, causing risks to human workforce and process efficiency. These dropped objects are caused due to corrosion, vibrations, collisions, snagging, dislodging and various other factors that lead to serious injuries and equipment damages in day-to-day processes.
The objects that commonly fall, range from drilling equipment, structural items, ancillary fixtures and fittings, tools and hardware.
Even in developed economies, dropped objects are still one of the top causes of fatality. With the probability of an incident so high, the risks must be controlled and managed.
Melwin D’Cunha, CEO — White Paper Summits said: “This Forum was a prime opportunity to network and learn from other companies in the industry — in particular how some of the top operators, drilling contractors and service companies in the industry are working together to create a collaborative vision in global DROPS practices. The aim of the Forum was to bring awareness on the prevention of dropped object incidents at work place.”
Speakers with varying degrees of expertise and knowledge, discussed a range of technical topics and shared best practices in implementing a robust DROPS programme
Expert speakers and panelists, who shared their expertise and insights included: Dr John Malcolm — Executive Managing Director of Oman Oil Company Exploration and Production LLC (OOCEP), Dr Ramesh Sivathanu of Oman Society of Petroleum Services (OPAL), Arun Abraham and Sulaiman al Sulaimi from the DROPS Oman Chapter, Ahtisham Iftikhar and Peter Hemingway from Baker Hughes — GE, Biju Koyad from Bureau Veritas, and Nasser Qassabi from PDO.
The forum also featured regional and international experts, such as Fahad al Mulaik and Mohammad al Qahtani of Saudi Aramco, Muslim al Heleimi of SANAD, Martin Peters of BAPCO, Jason Woods from IPAF, Joachim van der Meulen, DROPS Asia Chapter, Klaus Myklebust, NorthQ and BLH-DOM Safety Solutions, Lukasz Szadkowski from National Oilwell Varco, Shaikh Musallam al Khaifi from Duqm Refinery and Tejas Vishwanathan from 3M Gulf.
DROPS Oman Forum was organized by White Paper Summits and the DROPS Oman Chapter.
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