EQUATE EH&S department
Environmental Protection: Environmental protection is among EQUATE's top priorities in all aspects of the company's business.

It is important to address environmental issues from all angles and understand the cycle of the product from "cradle to grave." To do this, EQUATE has many standards aimed at preventing adverse effects on the environment both now and in the future. Such programs allow the company to monitor its products even after they have left the site.
EQUATE adheres to strict, self-imposed environmental standards. There are a number of policies and procedures in place to meet the standards and audits are conducted to monitor the company's compliance to these policies. The three general areas covered by such policies include air pollution prevention, waste management procedures, and water resource protection
In addition to being built to the highest standards of environment, health and safety performance, EQUATE has implemented numerous policies and programmes to ensure it maintains world-class  EH&S standards.
The Environment, Health and Safety Department, manages all  the programs, work in unison with all other departments within the company to maintain the goal of 100 per cent compliance to all environment, health and safety standards.
Safety is the primary job of all EQUATE employees & contractors and each employee is held accountable for his or her own commitment to this goal. The Department Leaders responsibilities are to ensure 100 percent compliance within their organisation.
Compliance Assurance Program: EQUATE's EH&S Audit Program is a critical part of how the company verifies compliance with internal standards and regulatory requirements, while fostering  EH&S  awareness at the individual and group levels.
The audits involve a rigorous compliance check performed by trained  auditors, who use best-practice auditing procedures. The scheduling of audits focuses attention on departments based on potential  EH&S risks.
Individual units are also required to develop action plans to correct deficiencies identified during audits. The department leaders  approve these action plans, and quarterly status reports are  presented to the VP operations. All actions are tracked until completed.
Based on the knowledge gained from EQUATE's  EH&S  Audit Programme, EQUATE programmes have been designed and are being conducted in a manner that is consistent with leading practices in the chemical industry. It is these programmes, together with other EQUATE  EH&S management activities, that provide a sound approach for excellence in assuring that the risks associated with operations (including risks of non-compliance with internal requirements and governmental regulations) are being appropriately managed.
Personal Safety Program: The purpose of EQUATE's  Personal Safety Program  is to enable employees & contractors to safely perform their work-related responsibilities. This is done through the selection of appropriate personnel protective equipment, Isolation of Energy Sources program, Safe Work Permitting, Confined Space Entry program, Electrical safety program, Safe Job plans, Safety Task Analysis cards (STAC) etc.
Investigations are conducted and follow-up actions taken to find the root causes and corrective actions for  accidents and incidents. Thereafter programmes or preventive measures are recommended to keep accidents and incidents from  reoccurring.
The company maintains records of work-related injuries of all employees and contractors. By understanding what happens in an accident, the company can look at what can be done to prevent incidents from happening again. Compiling records and reports of accidents, incidents and conditions helps in improving safety performance.
The company also tracks all Off-The-Job injuries. These injuries are defined as any injury suffered by employees who are not on EQUATE property or are not engaged in company business. The company tracks those injuries that result in one or more lost work days. The Off-The-Job safety programme is an extension of an On-The-Job safety programme.
This integration of our On-The-Job and Off-The-Job programmes is an essential part of EQUATE's safety programme.
Operational Safety: Operational safety is an important and vital discipline that ensures the well-being and safety of all EQUATE's employees & contractors and neighbours.
EQUATE implements its Operational Safety Program by means of policies, procedures and systems. The Operational Safety Committee's role is to develop and review policies, programmes and systems that will enable plant personnel to meet their responsibilities towards Operational Safety.
Industrial Hygiene Program: EQUATE's Industrial Hygiene Program is designed to protect the health and safety of its employees, contractors and visitors from health hazards that arise as a result of, or during work.
Once a hazard is recognised, evaluation measures are taken, which include monitoring and sampling. One example of personal monitoring is to use a personal air-sampling devise, which monitors a worker's exposure to air contamination. After the evaluation, the company then controls the health hazard to prevent any possible injuries.
This is done through three different options.
1. Engineering controls are used as the first line of defense against workplace hazards wherever feasible. Silencers are good examples of engineering controls and they can be installed on things such as steam vents to tremendously reduce noise levels to acceptable limits.
2. Administrative controls are used to control employees & contractors' exposures by scheduling reduced work times in an area.
3. Personal protective equipment is used when it is not feasible to control health hazards by applying engineering controls or administrative controls.
Through the combination of these efforts, the company is able to ensure the safety of its workers, visitors and the community.
The Fire Protection and Emergency Response Program: The Fire Protection and Emergency Response Program is designed to deal with fire & emergency situations. The Fire Protection and Emergency Response Coordinator develops and maintains two programs.
The Fire Protection Programme provides technical expertise on fire fighting equipment and fire fighting techniques and equipment in compliance with EQUATE, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and Kuwait Fire Prevention Department (KFPD) requirements for fire protection. It develops, maintains and reviews the fire protection testing and inspection program to ensure all fire protection equipment is reliable and 100 per cent functional at all times.
The Emergency Response Program provides technical expertise on emergency response and establishes a training programme for the Emergency Response Team members.
ER coordinator reviews the training packages, supports and coordinates the training activities, and develops the emergency response off-site training activities, conducts quarterly audits and reports deficiencies, reviews and updates all the documents in the Emergency React Centre.
Access Control: The security and gate-passes teams are the first contact with visitors coming to EQUATE. For the safety of everyone, the company ensures all visitors are familiar with its safety rules and regulations before entering the plant site.
These visitors and company employees & contractors must complete a safety orientation prior to entering for the first time. Additionally,  the  Access Control Section issues all required passes (Personnel, Vehicle and Material) for visitors and employees & contractors to enter the Shuaiba Industrial Area and Port Authority. This vital first line is an essential component of our comprehensive  EH&S strategy.

Summary
• EQUATE has comprehensive documented and effective EH&S programs.
• Compliance is ensured through the compliance assurance program.
• Continual improvement is going on under the leadership of the EH&S department leader and the VP-Operations.