Case Studies

When did you decide you wanted to work in health and safety and how did you make it a reality?
My journey into health and safety was quite unexpected. As a child, I was passionate about information technology and software development and planned to study IT at university. However, during the university orientation process, I was encouraged to study Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) at the University of Batna, which at the time was the only institute in Africa offering this specialised field.

That unexpected turn marked the beginning of my HSE journey. As I progressed through my studies and later my professional career, I gradually discovered the true value and importance of health and safety. I developed a genuine passion for understanding risks, preventing incidents, and protecting people in high-risk industries.

Today, after more than 11 years working in the oil and gas and power generation sectors, I can confidently say that choosing HSE was one of the best decisions I have made. It is a profession that allows me to make a meaningful difference by helping people stay safe, while ensuring organisations operate responsibly and sustainably.

You passed your first NEBOSH qualification, the NEBOSH International General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, in 2022

• Why did you choose it?

I chose the NEBOSH International General Certificate because it is one of the most widely recognised health and safety qualifications globally, valued across a range of industries, including oil and gas. It is often specified by employers for HSE roles, particularly in international markets, making it an important qualification for me to achieve if I wanted to work abroad in the future. I felt that achieving this qualification provided an excellent opportunity to strengthen my technical knowledge and benchmark my competence against international standards.

• How did achieving this qualification help your career?

This qualification helped me connect and align my practical experience with internationally recognised best practices. It shaped my approach to conducting risk assessments, investigations and audits, while also enhancing my credibility with employers and colleagues. It also motivated me to continue studying at a higher level.

You completed two further NEBOSH qualifications in 2025. For each, can you tell us why you chose it and how did your studies have helped your career?

• NEBOSH Level 6 International Diploma for Occupational Health and Safety Management Professionals

After completing my NEBOSH International General Certificate, I wanted to continue my journey towards excellence and take my understanding of health and safety to the next level. I was about to secure a Senior HSE Operations Engineer role, so I needed to develop a deeper, more strategic understanding of health and safety beyond day-to-day operational control. I felt my best option to support better leadership decision-making in my work was to pursue the NEBOSH Diploma.

• NEBOSH HSE Certificate in Process Safety Management

With a long-standing passion for process safety, the NEBOSH HSE Certificate in Process Safety Management was a natural choice for me. In the oil and gas industry, process safety is critical, and I wanted to deepen my understanding of major accident hazards, barrier management and human factors. This qualification strengthened my understanding of how operational controls support major accident prevention and enhanced my approach to process risk management.

What has been the best thing you have learned through your NEBOSH studies so far?
Health and safety excellence is not driven by procedures alone, but is built through effective leadership, a positive culture, and active workforce consultation and engagement.

You have 10 years’ health and safety experience, gained in oil and gas sector. What are the key health and safety issues that need to be considered in this industry?
The oil and gas industry presents a wide range of significant risks that must be carefully managed. These include process safety hazards such as fires, explosions and the release of hazardous energy. There are also risks associated with confined space entry, critical lifting activities and exposure to hazardous substances. Contractor management is also critical, particularly during turnaround activities and major projects when many contractors are working simultaneously on essential tasks.

In my experience, maintaining operational excellence while ensuring safety remains a core value at every level of the organisation is essential. I believe that strong leadership, effective risk management and a proactive safety culture are key to achieving this and ensuring safe, reliable operations.

After 10 years working at home in Algeria, you secured a role in Saudi Energy in August 2025. Can you tell us about the company?
Joining Saudi Energy was an important milestone in my career. As a leading company in the energy sector, it offered me the opportunity to work in a highly professional, performance-driven environment.

It was also an exciting new challenge. After more than 10 years in the oil and gas industry in Algeria, I transitioned into the power generation sector in Saudi Arabia. While both industries operate in high-risk environments and share many health and safety principles, power generation introduced new operational challenges and learning opportunities that have further broadened my professional experience.

What impressed me most was the company’s strong commitment to safety. Safety is treated as a core value rather than a compliance requirement. This is reinforced through leadership engagement, effective risk management, workforce involvement, and a culture of continuous improvement.

What does your role as a Senior Safety and Loss Prevention Engineer entail?
In my role, I support the company in identifying, assessing, and controlling health, safety, and loss prevention risks across day-to-day operations and projects.

My responsibilities include supporting risk assessments, participating in incident investigations, reviewing management of change (MOC) processes, supporting pre-start-up safety reviews (PSSRs), conducting audits and inspections, managing contractors, monitoring HSE performance, ensuring compliance with safety requirements during operational activities, addressing non-conformities, and advising management on risk reduction strategies.

A key part of my role is supporting the implementation of the company’s integrated safety management system (ISMS). I also ensure that safety considerations are integrated into operational and engineering decisions, while promoting a culture of continuous improvement. By working closely with all departments, I help ensure that risks are effectively managed throughout the lifecycle of projects and operational activities.

In your opinion what qualities do you believe a health and safety professional needs to be successful?
A strong technical foundation is essential for any health and safety professional, but it is only one part of the role. To be successful, professionals also require strong communication skills, integrity, leadership, resilience, and the ability to influence people at all organisational levels.

They must be able to build trust, understand operational realities, and work collaboratively to develop practical, sustainable solutions. In my opinion, the most effective practitioners are those who can balance safety requirements with business objectives, while maintaining a commitment to protecting people, assets, and the environment, and safeguarding the organisation’s reputation.

What do you enjoy most about being a health and safety professional?
What I enjoy most about being a health and safety professional is the sense of purpose it gives me. Helping people protect themselves and ensuring they return home safely means a great deal to me. At the same time, the role is never repetitive. There are always new challenges, whether related to operations, projects, or human factors, and this continually creates opportunities to learn and develop my skills. This combination of purpose and continuous learning is what makes being part of this profession so rewarding for me.

How do you see the role of health and safety evolving?
Based on my experience, the role of health and safety has evolved significantly over the years. When I started my career, the focus was mainly on compliance, inspections, and ensuring procedures were followed. While these aspects remain important, today’s HSE professionals are expected to play a much broader role.

Rather than relying solely on rules and procedures, there is a greater emphasis on human factors and building a positive safety culture, and health and safety is now more integrated into business decision-making.

HSE professionals are involved in risk management, process safety, leadership engagement, contractor management, and the implementation and continual improvement of management systems such as ISO 45001.

Looking ahead, I believe data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital technologies will play an increasingly important role in the profession, helping organisations identify trends, predict risks, and make more informed decisions. However, human judgement, leadership, and workforce engagement will remain essential.

In my view, these changes mean the modern HSE professional is no longer just an inspector or adviser, but a business partner who helps organisations achieve their objectives safely while protecting people, the environment, assets, and reputation.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out in health and safety today?
I would recommend approaching the profession with passion, commitment, and a genuine desire to help others. Health and safety, in my opinion, is a noble profession because its ultimate purpose is to protect people from harm and contribute to safer workplaces and communities. If you choose this career, give it the dedication it deserves.

Health and safety is also a very broad field, covering areas such as occupational safety, process safety, fire safety, auditing, occupational health, risk management, and many others. While every HSE professional should develop a strong foundation in key competencies such as communication, leadership, risk assessment, and problem-solving, it is equally important to identify the areas that interest you most and work towards mastering them.

Finally, never stop learning. Seek practical experience, learn from experienced professionals, and remain open to new ideas and challenges. The most successful health and safety professionals are those who continuously develop their knowledge while staying connected to the people they are there to protect.