[Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH]

Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH on October 27, 2022 at 12:15 pm · in reply to: How Did Pass Your NEBOSH Exam? #17135

I passed my NEBOSH because I summarized my notes on my phone, learned them every day while commuting to work, during lunch break while at work, while relaxing at home, and at literally every spare time I had. I made learning more flexible and convenient by creating more time to study. I also did a lot of “mining” where I stayed back in the office after work to study and left for home at 9 pm every day and 10 pm sometimes. This approach inadvertently helped me to cover all the topics and brought them to my fingertips. I was also in the era where we could leverage past questions, not like the currently open book exam. So I solved a lot of past questions. Usually, I like to give myself ample time to prepare for an exam. I used 6 months for each part; i.e. I summarized my notes on my phone in 3 months and studied my notes for 3 months while solving lots of past questions. A day before the exam, I do quick brainstorming over all my notes and the solved questions; the morning of the exam I spend time on the solved questions; and few minutes to the exam, I try to recall answers to possible questions. My main trick has always been to learn everything so that I am not taken by surprises and to answer all questions as required to the best of my ability. This is how I passed all my NEBOSH exams on the first attempt.

[Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH]

Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH on October 27, 2022 at 11:59 am · in reply to: Health and Safety Software Recommendations #17134

Over the course of my career, I have had the privilege of using quite a number of software for my safety job, and these are what I always pitch to companies I work for if they lack the support systems but have the resources to procure them.

a. Synergi

Synergi is a web-based platform for building a database of HSE indicators according to the defined scope of an organization’s HSE management system. Users can create unique cases for all health, safety, and environmental activities for easy tracking, following up, and closure. Every activity entered on Synergi will have its unique case ID for easy tracking. Activities can range from;
i. Inspections
ii. Internal Audits
iii. External Audit
iv. HSE Observation
v. Client Feedback
vi. Statutory Inspection
vii. Unsafe Act & Condition
viii. HSE Incidents
ix. Nonconformance
x. Environmental reporting

A case created for each activity will render on a pre-defined template with sections to complete, such as; the date, time, case ID, details of the activity, corrective and preventive actions raised, and the person responsible to close an action. If an action is assigned to a person, an automatic email alert is received. Users can attach documents e.g. accident investigation reports to close action. Once an action has been completed and the case is finally closed, all persons involved in the case will be notified automatically via email. This presents an opportunity for users in direct reporting lines to view the case and all related actions for verification and can be used for meeting agendas for discussion. Synergi is very useful for sending daily reports of all the HSE activities captured on the system for the day for discussions at morning calls. Reports could be generated according to HSE observations, unsafe acts, and conditions, accidents and incidents, HSE inspections, audits, proposed improvements, etc. with related actions taken and corrective actions with respective deadlines.

b. Power Bi

Once there is a good system for building an HSE database, Power Bi, a Microsoft Data Visualization Software comes in very handy for extracting the data from Synergi to generate performance reports in varying perspectives for decision making. This makes HSE implementation exciting as employees are able to get feedback in terms of how well they are performing in order to ensure continuous improvement. Power Bi reports can be updated on weekly basis or at agreed intervals to fit into reporting and meeting timelines of users and decision-makers. Since Power Bi is a web-based system, it can be assessed by all employees, irrespective of location once they have been granted access to the system by your IT department.

c. Lessons Learning Portal

To ensure adequate organizational learning from incidents, a lesson-learning portal created on SharePoint is often used to populate all one-pagers and safety alerts from a company’s operations and industry at large for internal communication and learning by operational and management staff. A lesson-learning portal becomes a source of useful learning materials to sustain conversations about past incidents and safety at all operational sites during toolbox talks, departmental meetings, general safety meetings, and morning calls.

d. Accident Investigation Tool (Investigator 3)

To ensure adequate support and uniformity of the accident investigation process, software like Investigator 3 from Kelvin Topset can effectively facilitate root cause analysis. This makes accident investigation and reporting much easier and exciting as an investigation team lead can adopt the tool to generate an RCA diagram for their investigation reports.

e. Crisis Management Software

To ensure adequate tier 2 and tier 3 emergency response and collaborative support to an onsite emergency response team, a system that ensures real-time communication and a log of actions that are transparent to all levels are key. A crisis management software secures communication, improve multi-level collaboration, enhance real-time situational updates, action logs, assignment of task, and tracking of accountability. The emergency commander in charge of the emergency will be using the system to register an emergency incident, to automatically alert an onshore emergency team to mobilize and log into the system to share situational updates, log actions, and assign and track tasks. These are my four main software recommendations for organizations that have adequate resources for health and safety. For individuals and small businesses who cannot afford the web-based system, Microsoft Excel becomes very useful but require time, energy, and technical know-how to create effective working solutions. That is where SHEQXEL comes in to support. I hope you find my recommendations useful.

[Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH]

Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH on October 27, 2022 at 9:24 am · in reply to: Latest Health and Safety Trend – What’s New? #17129

The latest trend is the new wave of digital transformation in safety, where safety professionals engage online using the newly emerging technologies. WhatsApp and Telegram came and everyone hopped onto it for community. The trend further changed; zoom app which became popular during the COVID-19 pandemic made virtual conferencing possible. The latest trend now is the use of Virtual Reality for conferencing like the Safety Connect 22, a yearly virtual conference organized by Safeopedia.

Also, online media like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Linkedin have paved the way for sharing content with an ever-increasing audience. The trend here is individuals and safety communities are now able to have their own online platforms like Safety Knights, Safety Justice League, Safeopedia, SHP Online, etc. to engage. These are the source of inspiration for SHEQPGHOnline.

Last but not the least is safety entrepreneurship which is gaining an interesting momentum now. Safety professionals are building side hustles using technologies to monetize their skills. So there are those creating online courses, templates, apps, marketplaces, and communities and those providing solutions offline.

In conclusion, people are now going beyond just their jobs to pursue their higher purpose and to develop their full potential. How has it been just focusing on your job alone? Has it been fulfilling? There’s value in higher purpose.

[Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH]

Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH on October 27, 2022 at 8:36 am · in reply to: Health and Safety Tuition in Ghana #17126

For classroom and virtual mode of tuition, I can vouch for Ebecks System, HSEQ 360 and Edward Debrah Consult as they continue to show dedication and a high level of professionalism as safety professionals themselves who understand the value of investing in continuous professional development, hence providing value for money. You won’t waste your investment, and you can be guaranteed a pass.

For online mode of tuition, I started my NEBOSH Courses with SHEilds from 2013, as I preferred their self-paced tuition and the 3-month installment that made it easy on my pocket as a beginner. As a matter of fact, when I was given GHS 4,000 by my dad for my supposed classroom tuition, I rather used it to register for IGC and IOGC e-learning and then used my own salary to register for the exams. I considered using the same for the Diploma because of the long duration of the program. I needed a tuition provider that could stand the test of time with less risk for my long term goal.

There are various other promising ones but just take note of the bad nuts. I lost money for 2 Lead Auditor Courses because the tuition provider did not deliver the training certificate. That was Litac Africa, so always be careful and check their online reviews on Trustjet before parting away money.

[Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH]

Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH on October 25, 2022 at 7:50 pm · in reply to: Why Did You Become a Safety Professional? #17108

I became a safety professional because I wanted a career that fits the upstream oil & gas sector. After having worked in the downstream oil & gas sector for my national service and performing some safety roles for 2 years and being sent for safety workshops, I was naturally on the path of safety. My interest was sparked when I did a module, HSE Management in the Oil & Gas Industry from my Master’s Degree in Oil & Gas Management, hoping for a career switch to the upstream oil & gas sector. But it turned out, the upstream was all about engineering jobs and therefore the program was not cut for it, so I had to do some research. I checked on Rigzone and found HSE as one of the hot jobs in the oil & gas industry; I also checked the profiles of a lot of safety professionals on LinkedIn and noted down the things I needed to study for my professional development and prepared for them. Each day my colleagues closed from work, I stayed back to study and left for home at 9 pm every day and 10 pm sometimes. My immediate supervisors could not comprehend my energy and direction. Some thought I was trying to outpace them but in fact, I was planning my exit. My “WHY” was definitely to work upstream and make more money, and my “HOW” was to benchmark myself with all the folks on LinkedIn to pursue all the relevant safety qualifications. After completing IOSH Managing Safely, NEBOSH IGC, and NEBOSH IOGC to complement my Master’s Degree, I reached out to safety professionals on Linkedin in search of an internship. Enoch Egyir, a kind guy, responded to my message; I met him in person a few days later and he took me to Skarm Construction & Engineering Ltd, where his office shared premises with. To my surprise, there was a vacant position because the safety folks had resigned for better opportunities. All I needed was an internship to re-align my career path but it turned out I would be paid GHS 800, less than what I earned in the previous three years. That was how I entered mainstream safety. A couple of months later, Yaw Frimpong also reverted to me on Linkedin about a vacant position and I took it. I am forever grateful to these great guys and I promised to also pay it forward.

[Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH]

Selorm Ametewee, IDipNEBOSH on October 24, 2022 at 11:57 am · in reply to: Are Health and Safety Jobs Lucrative in Ghana? #17067

I would say a big YES, as long as you work for a good company, most especially a company that operates globally and delivers value in USD. Your salary could be pegged to the dollar which can put you in a good financial position. That is very common in the oil and gas and mining industries. The problem here is that they are only a few of such opportunities as both are very closed industries, meaning there are barriers to entry. On the other hand, if you work for a company that does not prioritize safety like most local companies then you could be in a worse position, and having less experience makes it even worst as such employers know you need the job and could easily dispense with you if you want your salary increased. In the early years of my career, I heard about a huge salary of approximately GHS 13,000 of a renowned safety professional at a time when my salary was only GHS 800.00. That really inspired me to keep going as I believed I could get there someday. That was my motivation compared to other professions, which I never heard about any of such amounts. I knew it is only the safety profession that could earn me that much. So let me use myself as the case study as nobody ever talks about theirs. In 3 years of my career, while preparing for my safety qualifications, my salary only grew by 10% i.e from GHS 800, GHS 880, GHS 960 to GHS 1010. After re-aligning my career path, I started again from GHS 800 to GHS 2,500 and when I switched to project-based jobs, I got a salary of GHS 13,000, GHS 16,000, GHS 20,000, and GHS 18,000. So from my experience and conversations with others, I can say the top 10% of salaries average around GHS 15,000 i.e those in project-based jobs, with 80% averaging around GHS 6,000 i.e. those on permanent jobs while the bottom 10% averages around GHS 2,500 i.e. the not so lucky ones. Within the top and bottom 10% are some outliers i.e., senior managers who earn way above the highest figure or novices earning way below e.g., GHS 800. Being in the bottom 10% should not demotivate you – I was there some. With good preparation and commitment to continuous professional development, you can reach the 90th percentile and become the outlier. Nevertheless, comparing safety to other professions, safety is the best career with a high rate of return on investment and as a global profession, one could strategically position him or herself to work in other job markets. I had to abandon my accounting career for safety because a great professional once told me – “when you do NEBOSH and become a safety professional, no employer can pay you”. That is technically true for local companies; they really wouldn’t want to pay you what you deserve, so you ought to plan carefully to work in industries and job markets that value safety. I am safety professional, and a safety entrepreneur and I find both paths very fulfilling. Thanks always to safety.