Occupational health
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Business principle:
HSE
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We have a systematic approach to health, safety, security management in order to achieve continuous performance improvement. |
Three main principles form the basis of the Health Department’s activities: Access, Protect and Promote as shown on pic. 9:
Fig. 9.
The results of the implemented targets that were set to minimize certain risks and the impact of workplace factors on the occupational health of employees are given below.
Tab. 14.Out targets in health protection
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Our 2023 targets |
Progress status |
Actions taken in 2023 |
Targets for 2024 |
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ACCESS |
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Conduct audits of Medical Emergency Response (MER) systems in main KPO contractor companies |
Completed |
Two comprehensive audits (Sicim and KMG Parker) were performed to assess the preparedness of contractors in meeting minimum Medical Emergency Response (MER) standards. The audits evaluated contractors’ compliance with MER guidelines and identified areas for improvement. |
In connection with the expansion of the KEP 1, to conduct an audit of the contractor’s medical sickbays on this project |
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Medical Emergency Response (MER) Team Onboarding Pack and Program |
New target Completed |
The MER Team Onboarding Pack and Program has been successfully implemented. The relevant teams have undergone training sessions outlined in the onboarding pack, ensuring they are equipped with the necessary knowledge and resources to fulfil their roles effectively. |
– |
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Automated External Defibrillators (AED) Procurement & Installation |
Completed |
10 additional AEDs have been acquired which have been strategically installed across KPO sites to ensure accessibility in case of emergencies. |
Conduct AED Refresher Training for First Aiders |
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Develop a new medical insurance program |
In progress |
The scope of work was developed with consideration of the lessons learned from the previous insurance contract management, employee feedback and benchmarking against peer companies. Tender was started. |
Organise transition to a new medical insurance program, facilitating smooth communication and minimal disruption |
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New targets |
Improve First Aid level by training enough First Aiders amongst employees and by ensuring enough First Aid boxes and AED (Tier 1) Conduct assessment and prepare a plan to digitalize Doctors’ Medical Aid (Tier 2) |
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PROTECT |
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Carry on contractor welfare facility inspections |
Completed |
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Continue participation in contractors’ welfare and HSE audits |
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Update the Fatigue Risk Management (FRM) guideline such that it applies not only to the safety critical positions, but also to all Company and Contractors employees |
Completed |
The Fatigue Risk Management Procedure was revised. Now it applies not only to the safety critical positions, but also to all Company and сontractors employees. More departments conducted their FR assessments and developed FRM plans. |
Further implement the Fatigue Risk Management Procedure to ensure it is applied both by the Company and contractors for managing fatigue risks |
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Conduct an audit of the legionellosis risk reduction plan implementation |
Not completed |
Awareness training was delivered to Infrastructure and Services contractor personnel. |
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Certify eight operational facilities with regard to labour conditions |
Completed |
Ten units within KPO underwent thorough workplace attestation. Corrective action plans were developed based on the findings of the assessments. |
Implement the Workplace Attestation corrective action plans |
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Modify the Random Alcohol Testing Program for the Company employees in order to include testing of contractors’ personnel at KPO production facilities |
In progress |
The potential alcohol testing process for KPO contractors was designed. Randomization tools were shortlisted and IT application was developed. Alcohol coordinators are nominated. |
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Ionising Radiation Exposure Monitoring |
New target Completed |
Comprehensive monitoring of ionising radiation exposure was conducted across KPO facilities. Data regarding naturally radioactive nuclide levels and personnel exposure were collected and analysed for compliance with regulatory standards. |
Provide “by request” radiation survey services |
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Implement the Sanitary Compliance Monitoring Plan |
New target Completed |
Sanitary Compliance inspections were conducted to assess compliance with sanitary regulations and standards and any non-compliances were addressed through the implementation of corrective measures. |
Sanitary Compliance & Risk Based Monitoring Plan: to prioritize areas with higher sanitation risks and mitigate potential health hazards |
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New targets |
Сonduct six Health Risk Assessments as per the updated HRA Improvement Plan Implement ‘Fitness To Work’ assurance measures for business partners (contractors) engaged KPO projects or activities. |
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PROMOTE |
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Completed |
50 % of Program Facilitators have successfully delivered at least 4 Resilience modules in their teams. |
Continue supporting facilitators who run sessions, provide training to new volunteers |
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Carry out an interest assessment within the work teams to identify their interest for webinars and group sessions on various psychological aspects. Based on the assessment findings, draft a plan for holding such sessions. |
Completed |
The service provider EAP Lotus MHH conducted 7 webinars covering various mental health topics, with 404 KPO employees participating. |
Consider alternative ways to provide mental health support to employees |
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Implement Employee Wellness Program in 2023, including a pilot program for the reduction of heart disease risks |
Completed |
After 6 months of pilot enrolment, 40 % of the target group have shown improved Cardiovascular Risk Scores. |
Implement 2024 Health Promotion Plan, including:
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Improving the quality of Emergency care
Medical Support Section provide round-the-clock medical emergency response in the Karachaganak field and in Aksai offices. Apart from emergency calls, doctors and feldshers of the five sick bays provide outpatient care to patients, carry out pre-shift, pre-trip and post-trip medical examination, undertake health communication activities at industrial facilities, conduct regular sessions and exercises with personnel involved in the general emergency response process.
Tab. 15.Healthcare deliverables in 2023
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Medical support indicators |
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Number patients who admitted to clinics |
1,814 |
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Number of emergency calls |
102 |
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Number of patients delivered to medical facilities |
83 |
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Number of sessions and exercises |
311 |
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Number of first-aid trained employees |
364 |
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Pre-shift medical examination (drivers / operators / electricians) |
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Examinations |
178,923 |
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Number of “unfitness to work” cases |
162 |
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Random alcohol tests SDG 3.5 |
1,105 |
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Positive random alcohol test results |
1 |
Digitalization program in Health Department
The Electronic System of Medical Examination (ESME) is designed to streamline the pre-shift medical examination process by facilitating automated assessments required by the RoK regulations, covering pre-shift, pre-trip, and post-trip medical checks. This software-hardware complex efficiently measures blood pressure, pulse, body temperature, alcohol levels in exhaled air, and detects signs of substance use within 2-3 minutes, significantly reducing the time compared to conventional manual examinations, which typically take 5-6 minutes or longer. All collected data, along with photo and video records, are securely stored in an electronic logbook.
Currently, there are 7 ESME units installed across all KPO clinics. In 2023 alone, a total of 178,923 medical examinations were conducted, resulting in 162 employees being declared unfit for work due to medical reasons. The system’s high accuracy has encouraged many workers to prioritize their health, leading to initiatives such as weight loss and improved blood pressure management.
CURRENTLY ALL KPO CLINICS ARE EQUIPPED WITH ESME UNITS.
Emergency Capability Upgrade Project in Aksai Hospital
The 5-year Aksai Hospital Upgrade Project, initiated in January 2020, has significantly bolstered the hospital’s capabilities in medical emergency and intensive care. This progress is evident through improvements in key performance indicators within the hospital.
Acknowledging the substantial advancements made in emergency and intensive care capabilities from 2020 to present, and in response to requests from the WKO Akimat, regional health authority, and the Aksai district hospital, in 2023 the project was temporarily halted to refocus efforts on enhancing obstetrics, gynaecology, and paediatric neonatology services—a critical priority for stakeholders.
Preparatory activities for resuming the project in 2024 are underway, with the aim of delivering the Aksai Hospital Upgrade Project in time and within the approved budget.
Disease control amongst employees
Sick leave absence monitoring
In 2023, sickness absence among KPO employees decreased by 13.5 % compared with 2022. Starting from 2020, the data in Graph 6 was updated in connection with the launch of the e-system of accounting sick leaves. Earlier, some data was accounted in the following reporting periods as some sick leaves were submitted by employees after formalizing timesheets. Accordingly, the data from 2020 was re-calculated.
Graph 5.KPO sick leave absence rate, 2019–2023
Note.: KPO uses the following method to calculate the sick leave absence rate:
- Sick leave absence rate = actual number of days lost due to absence from work (due to illness) x 100 / total number of employees. There is no information about the days of absence from the workplace for other reasons.
- KPO has adopted a methodology for calculating employees’ absence from workplace by the number of employees (not man-hours), since this methodology is a regulatory requirement.
Medical insurance
KPO employees and their families are provided with medical insurance that covers medical services in addition to those available through guaranteed free health care and mandatory RoK social medical insurance.
In 2023, a tender was launched for a new medical insurance contract for the national employees and their family members. The strategy is to get two providers so that the insured have a choice. The new scope was developed with the consideration of the employees’ opinion and suggestions and offers significant improvements compared with the current package. For example, limits for dental care and medicines have been increased substantially, and employees now have a greater choice of clinics.
Occupational diseases
Health protection is one of the key Company’s priorities and plays an essential role in the professional life field. A work activity must not lead to a health damage under any circumstances, i.e. Health protection is above the work efficiency.
The Company provides employees with such working conditions so they could adequately perform their job tasks without compromising their health.
In 2023, no occupational diseases were registered among KPO employees.
Fitness for work
In 2023, a greater focus was given to fitness to work (FTW) of contractors and agencies’ personnel. A Contractor Fitness To Work Guideline was developed for the contract owners with the aim to improve control over contractors’ compliance with the regulatory FTW requirements. Continuous monitoring of employees’ health condition allows diagnosing illnesses at an early stage, undertake respective prevention measures, avert their progress and provide medical treatment as needed. It is a good opportunity to maintain and care for occupational health.
There were gaps in KPO’s managing the fitness for work process of recruitment agencies staff. Identified by an internal audit, the gaps necessitated corrective actions which have been included in the 2024 Health Plan.
Fatigue risk management
The oil and gas industry has a number of characteristics, which can contribute to fatigue8. KPO has a Fatigue Risk Management Procedure that outlines the management processes that minimise the risks of work-related injury or incidents due to fatigue. In pursuit of continuous improvement, the Procedure was revised in 2023. Now it applies not only to the safety critical positions, but also to all Company and сontractors’ employees. More departments conducted their fatigue risk assessments and developed fatigue risk management plans.
8 Fatigue is a lack of mental alertness arising from lack of sleep.
Operational control of industrial facilities
KPO regularly monitors the Occupational Health and Hygiene at units and facilities. The below table shows the monitoring data for the last three years.
Tab. 16.Monitoring of workplace factors, 2020–2023
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Workplace factors |
2023 |
2022 |
2021 |
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No. of measurements |
No. of non-conformances |
No. of measurements |
No. of non-conformances |
No. of measurements |
No. of non-conformances |
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Noise |
492 |
122 |
420 |
91 |
368 |
83 |
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Vibration |
84 |
29 |
75 |
16 |
63 |
12 |
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Electromagnetic fields |
3,964 |
63 |
3,968 |
27 |
3,676 |
50 |
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Electrostatic fields |
2,419 |
0 |
2,342 |
0 |
2,048 |
0 |
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Lighting |
3,581 |
589 |
3,045 |
27 |
2,743 |
730 |
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Microclimate |
6,474 |
790 |
6,258 |
575 |
5,250 |
360 |
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Workplace air |
12,612 |
0 |
13,965 |
0 |
12,342 |
0 |
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Total |
29,626 |
1,593 |
30,073 |
736 |
26,490 |
1,235 |
Non-compliance is reported to a respective unit management and corrective actions are developed, which are then tracked for closure by Synergi.
Workplace Attestation
Statutory attestation of production facilities, which is conducted every five years, is aimed at evaluating working conditions.
In 2023, the scheduled mandatory attestation with regard to labour conditions was conducted at 10 facilities, namely, KPC, Unit 2, Unit 3, Main Workshop, Main Warehouse, Chemical Laboratory, Bolshoi Chagan Pumping Station, Atyrau Terminal, Gathering Department and Transport Department.
The significance of the workplace attestation results cannot be overestimated: not only it evaluates working conditions against the regulatory standards, but also provides the grounds for compensatory worker entitlements such as additional 5 % pension allowances for work in hazardous environments.
Promotion of healthy lifestyle
In 2023, the Health Promotion Program was re-structured to make it more interactive and engaging. One part was based on the World Health Organisation’s World Health Day calendar:
Addressed hearing impairment’s impact on workforce and community. Included Best HSE Card for Noise/hearing protection.
Highlighted modifiable risk: high blood pressure. Included Toolbox talks on Hypertension and blood pressure checks in KPO Clinics.
Focused on significance of blood donation for community. Included communication on becoming a donor, eligibility, benefits and KPO donors’ interview in KPO newsletter.
Promoted vaccinations with a webinar and Free Influenza Vaccine offer for KPO and Parent Companies’ employees.
Raised heart health awareness with toolbox talks and linking to more information sources.
Raised awareness and drives actions that promote and protect everyone’s mental health. Includes a webinar with participation of Employee Assistance Programme provider.
Tab. 17.Outcomes of Healthy lifestyle programmes, 2020–2023
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Programme Name |
Description |
Outcome |
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Cardiovascular Programme |
Pilot Cardiovascular Risk Management Program, launched in 2023, serves to get insights for a company-wide replication. A European Society of Cardiology “HeartScore” risk calculator was used to evaluate a 10-year risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular disease among a selected group of high-risk employees. The participants were given individual health improvement plans and follow-up visits in the KPO Filed clinics were arranged to monitor progress. |
11 out of 18 participants (61 %) had their risk reduced. The vast majority of them positively assessed the program in an opinion survey. |
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Smoking Cessation Course |
In 2023, Health Department organized 2 offline courses of a renowned smoking cessation method (Allen Carr’s “Easyway to Stop Smoking”) for employees with highest CVS risk. |
27 employees participated. The number of those who quit smoking is to be determined. |
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Employee Assistance Programme |
The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) was implemented at KPO in 2020 with the primary aim of supporting mental health and preventing harm to KPO employees. This includes addressing associated somatic diseases, self-harm, and mitigating the risk of suicides resulting from mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and panic attacks. The programme offers confidential consultations conducted by qualified third-party psychologists using multimedia, video, or face-to-face sessions, available 24/7 through a dedicated hotline. Additionally, group sessions and webinars are available as part of the programme. |
In 2023, a total of 868 employees sought assistance through various communication channels. During the same year, the service provider EAP Lotus MHH conducted 7 webinars covering various mental health topics, with 404 KPO employees participating. |
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Resilience Programme |
KPO Resilience Programme launched at KPO in 2018 is a voluntary thirteen modular programme developed for small teams. Participating employees may choose to become resilience facilitators by undertaking a short and engaging training class run by Health Department. Following the training, facilitators themselves run the modules for their colleagues with support from the Health Department. The goal is to develop employees’ resilience skills and minimize the risk of stress related illnesses and conditions: depression, alcoholism, suicide risk. The programme was frozen during the Covid pandemic and revitalized in 2022. KPO Management supported the recommencement of the Resilience Program in 2023, the materials had been revised with account for the past experience, and from the beginning of 2023, new facilitators will be engaged to deliver the Program. |
50 % of Program Facilitators have successfully delivered at least 4 Resilience modules in their teams. |
Fitness for work is a broad concept as it deals with the relationship between a worker and his or her ability to perform their job duties safely and competently. The objective of fitness for work examinations is to identify physical and psychological limitations which may be incompatible, or cause particular problems, with performing a specific task or employment in a particular location.
For employees who have been assessed as ‘unfit’ or ‘fit with restrictions’, the Company provides job modification or transfers the worker to alternative work. This ensures that the employee is removed from a potentially harmful environment, but continues to be employed.
Equally important is the legal compliance with the Republic of Kazakhstan fitness for work requirements. This includes the Employer’s duties such as an arrangement of and payment for the medical examinations, categorisation of the workers in relation to their working conditions, suspending workers who have not timely attended a periodic medical check-up, taking action to improve employees’ health, reporting suspected occupational illness, etc.