A comparative study on adoption of human resource management practices for health and safety management system in oil and gas construction industries, Nestoil and Aveon Offshore, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

This study aimed to undertake a comparative study of HR practices adopted for occupational health and safety management on oil and gas construction projects in Nestoil and Aveon Offshore Nigeria and to investigate the relationship between HR practices and construction safety management outcomes (severity and frequency of accidents). The research method included exploratory interviews and industry surveys of Nestoil and Aveon Offshore Nigeria by email and post. Data were collected using structured questionnaire. Compared to Aveon Offshore Nigeria project, the results show that Nestoil project management practices place significantly more emphasis on highlighting occupational health and safety culture during induction processes to new workers and taking working experience into account during the selection process. On the other hand, Aveon Offshore Nigeria places more emphasis on providing appropriate personal protective equipment for workers. Many HR practices are significantly correlated with safety management outcomes. These include: taking age into consideration during selection process and giving feedback to workers about their unsafe behaviour. It is recommended that project managers adopt relevant HR practices that lead to more effective health and safety management system (HSE MS) on construction projects.

Keywords: Oil and gas construction; Health, safety and environment; HR practices HSE MS; HSE outcomes