News Desk
KARACHI: Public safety is a growing concern because of the dangers that currently pose to individuals as well as society. At every arena of public life, it is important to implement measures to ensure public safety so that health and normal life is always maintained.
Public Safety Committee of Rotary District 3271 (Pakistan) organized an online workshop/webinar on “Public safety & Its importance”. High profile professionals speakers and safety specialists talked about safety issues and the importance of public safety in the region.
District Governor Professor Dr Farhan Essa, was the honorable Chief guest of the program, and District Public safety committee chair Rotarian Saman Laiq Abbasi ( one of the leading HSE professional& member Sindh OSH Council) took I this initiative of spreading safety awareness and was the host of the event.
Participants from different background within and outside Pakistan including Rotarian, non Rotarian, students, industry specialist, civil society, housewives attended the session with interest.
The core purpose of organizing the entire event with a week long campaign was to create an awareness for a common man regarding importance of safety and build a Safety Culture at all levels of society.
Speakers who attended the program Dr Huma Baqai: Professor at IBA, welk known media anchor & political analyst, Akhtar Quddos: International safety trainer & consultant, risk manager, Auditor, process safety & HAZOP Leader, RCA Specialist.CEO – MaxSafe Engineering, MD – MaxTrain International, Majyd Aziz: Former President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Former President Employer federation of Pakistan, former president South Asian Forum of Employers.
Dr Huma Baqai said public safety must be considered as important issue as climate change & terrorism. Public Safety is linked with poverty, society norms, justice, regulations and most important it is linked with Good Governance. A person in extreme poverty cannot understand the importance of implementing safety unless good governance is in place. She said when we talk about safety in schools, a child is safe in school but how it will be ensured that he safe in his daily commutation from home to school. It is not only the responsibility of government but all communities, societies and industries must contribute their part. Like all other concerns investment in public safety improvement is equally important. Only with the sincere and dedicated involvement of all stake holders, right investment and resources from politics, government, institutes, civil society, industries this safety culture can be obtained.
Mr. Akhtar Quddos gave his views on Significance & priority for home safety in view of the importance & value of your loved ones and your assets in your personal life. He mentioned we need to set our priorities right & focus on the hazards at home which can harm our family and home. We must start with changing our mind set and own the problems and their solutions. He emphasized to apply in our home environment, the standard risk assessment, hierarchy of control strategies, emergency response and preparedness, incident investigation, training and drills, behavior change, etc. as we would in a workplace scenario.He gave a new interesting and unique idea to have a Safety Manager in our home environment.This safety manager will be the sole Approving Authority, the Implementer, The Inspector, the Auditor, the Investigator and also the Affected Person – all in one.
Mr. Akhtar Quaddos concluded with this statement, “ GET YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT & ACT NOW. TOMORROW MAY BE TOO LATE”.
Mr. Majyd Aziz said it’s important to insist and promote safety and health culture, to achieve goal zero in accidents at workplace. He said in his tenure of 40 month in EFP as President he accorded OSH as his top most priority. last year, he had structured and international conference on OSH and experts from Belgium, Germany, Japan, USA as well as well as globally known experts from Pakistan were to present their papers and give training. Unfortunately, due to COVID 19, every event fizzled out.however, end of October 2020, EFP is having this event but foreign experts would be virtually present instead of visiting Karachi.In multinational corporations and most of the large national organizations and export oriented industries, OSH (Occupational Safety & Health) is essential on business agenda. However, in SMEs and informal sector it still remains a huge challenge. Alsoas constituent of ilo and aspiring for decent work agenda for all, we accept that tripartite consultative and involvement process, especially with workers, must continue for safe, healthy and motivated workplace. He also said we are of the firm opinion that the concept of managing and practice of workplace safety & health is not a detached activity but it is part of overall operational excellence that ensures business continuity. The present pandemic crisis is a wakeup call for businesses and decision makers.
Since District Governor3271 Prof Dr Farhan Essa holds special interest in Public Safety, he thanked the speakers, organizers and participants and mentioned that every country has its own rules and regulations on how to maintain safety. However, the public has to be more aware now than otherwise because they are faced with a lot of danger from various corners and it is essential to be aware of what steps to take for protection in the event of any usafe act or condition. The best way for people to be aware of public safety is to get assistance from HSE Professionals. He emphasized all Rotarians to take the lead in building a safety culture in the society and invited all stake holders including media, industries, government departments, OSH regulators, civil society, Industry Professionals to join hands with Rotary and take the initiative to the next level.
