Octal ushers in a new era for health and safety as employees embrace ‘Annual Safety Week’

OCTAL, the world’s largest producer of PET resin and sheet on a single site, held its first ‘Annual Safety Week’ to raise awareness on safety in the workplace and encourage all employees to spread the message of safety across all levels of the organization. Organized by OCTAL’s Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Department, the inaugural ‘Safety Week’ challenged all employees to consider safe practices at home, on the road and at work, and was supported with industry insight and advice from OCTAL’s HSE team and guest speakers from the Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Health, Royal Oman Police, Civil Defense, Port of Salalah and the Salalah Free Zone Company.

To reinforce the importance of staying safe, interactive activities gave all employees the chance to suggest new workplace procedures and demonstrate their originality by creating safety slogans and posters. Guest speakers guided OCTAL technicians, supervisors, managers and contractor employees through various topics which was reinforced by the screening of a series of short films highlighting industrial safety, road traffic safety, home safety, office safety and general safety awareness. The week-long activities concluded with an awards ceremony under the auspices of Eng. Awadh Salim Al-Shanfari, CEO of Salalah Free Zone Company, to recognize the commitment of OCTAL employees and announce the competition winners. Guests from various governmental bodies commended OCTAL’s initiative and encouraged other organizations to undertake similar initiatives to imbibe the culture of safety across the industry.

Mohammed Al Aamri, Health & Safety Manager at OCTAL, said, “Our employees are our most valuable asset and we take pride in operating to the highest global standards of health and safety to safeguard their welfare. This week put into perspective the intensive and focused efforts needed by each and every one of us to ensure that our operations continue to lead the industry by example and remain injury-free.”

He added, “We are extremely happy to announce that our first ever ‘Annual Safety Week’ was a tremendous success and marks a new chapter in safety standards at OCTAL that will further strengthen our safety program. We will carry this enthusiasm further by using the knowledge gained through this week to uphold safety in all areas of our lives, be it at home, work, or on the road.”

Driven by innovation and technology, OCTAL has emerged as the largest PET resin manufacturer in the Middle East, setting new global benchmarks in production, environmental excellence and HSE practices. OCTAL is one of the largest employers in Salalah and the number one exporter from the Port of Salalah, serving local, regional and multi-national companies in more than 75 countries around the world.