Work Stoppage During Summer

Last Updated: December 31st, 2022/Views: 2715/4.1 min read/

As you might know in Gulf countries where temperatures rise tremendously during day time in Summer, the Governments in order to protect the workforce mandates work stoppage from 12:30 up to 3:30 throughout June, July and Augusturs, if some mitigations are not put in place.

In Oman the Ministry of Manpower is requesting the compliance to the summer working hours requirements

MD 286/2008 Article 16
MD 322/2011 Article 1

Work Stoppage During Summer of 2018

For situations where companies hold the opinion that the activities cannot be stopped during the mandatory rest hours for operational purposes they ensure that additional mitigations are implemented and waiver applied for in timely manner. Otherwise the work must be ceased.

Last day of accepting any submission in the Ministry is the 31^st March 2018.

Additional Summer Mitigations

Below are the addtional Controls that are aggreed to be put in place for Drilling/WorkOverover companies in order to be approved for continous operations in day time during Summer:

	Safety Requirements	>1000 hp drilling rigs	<1000 hp drilling rigs
1	Provide enough cool water to workers	Agreed
2	Provide shaded areas in the areas close to the workplace. The area should be shaded from four sides, furnished, air-conditioned and large enough to accommodate workers.	Provide customized comfort rooms (such as tea rooms, rest areas, etc.)
3	Provide first aid kit	Agreed
4	Provide water at a temperature suitable for human use in the workplace.	• Water must be stored at the site at a temperature suitable for human use (16-37 degrees Celsius) • Provide cover / isolation units for eyewash (explosive pressure) to keep them cool.
5	Provide air-conditioned vehicles for the transfer of workers (in line with Opal road safety standards)	Vehicles used for the transfer of workers between camps and workplace must comply with Opal road safety standards, including air- conditioning requirements.
6	Provide water cooling fans or water spray machines to cool the work site.	Provide safe water cooling fans	Inapplicable- the use of water for cooling and water spray machines will remain suspended until more instructions obtained from Opal based on a study which will be conducted to explore the possibility of application/ practical side, in coordination with the Ministry of Manpower represented by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health starting from June.
7	Assign physical hard labour to be carried out during the cool period of the day.	Agreed
8	Provide various kinds of drinks (such as energy drinks, juices, water, etc.)	Agreed
9	Someone must be appointed to carry out first aid in the workplace, and should be a well-trained to deal with cases of heat exhaustion.	Someone will be available to do first aid in the workplace, and well-trained to deal with cases of heat exhaustion. Provide training to deal with stress because of the heat for each team.
10	Provide additional clothing / accessories appropriate to increase cooling during work, such as cooling jackets, scarves, wrist ribbons and others.	They should be provided without affecting the minimum mandatory requirements for personal protective equipment and / or threatening personal safety, during the work performance.
11	Develop and implement a program to deal with stress because of the heat, based on the best practices in the sector to include effective communication about the heat indicators and weather during working hours in summer.	Alerts will be daily updated by two operators or local meteorological stations, wherever possible through the application of the current program followed in Occidental Oman and the British Oil company bp if a better system in one of the two operators mentioned is not available.

: Driller Cabin

: Air-Conditioned bus

: Water Mist system to cool

: Fiberglass Insulated water tank

: Temporary Shade

Operations which do not include drilling rigs (separate units)

Without exceptions:

Work shall stop during the period from 12:30 until 15:30. This includes the removal and installation of drilling rigs and drilling examination units.
Only sampling shall be excluded from non-stop and may continue as usual and as planned.

Point 8 – Drinks

You can provide ORS – Oral Rehydration Solutions as well as IV Fluids as a mitigational measure to recover from Heat Stress

IV fluids are used to maintain fluid & electrolytes in human body.

0.9% Normal Saline – Normal saline used to rehydrate patients in case of dehydration and patient who is unable to take water/ food by mouth.
Dextrose Normal saline – Dextrose Normal saline is used for fluid and electrolyte replenishment and caloric supply .DNS can be used in case of weakness/ unable to eat due to severe gastritis.
5% Dextrose – 5% Dextrose is used to replace lost fluids and provide carbohydrates to the body. Dextrose 5% in water is used to treat low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), insulin shock, or dehydration (fluid loss).
Ringer Lactate – Ringer Lactate solution is used to replace fluids and electrolytes in patients with unbalanced blood fluid

Consequence

Failure to comply with above Ministerial Decree, without securing a waiver approval, is liable to result in either:

Issuance of a warning letter,
Issuance of a fine, or
Work stoppage.

For further details or clarifications, contractors can contact Mr. Hummod Al-Henai, Head of Safety Section in the Ministry of Manpower (office Tel: 24766016, Email: humood.henai@manpower.gov.om).