Occupational safety, work accident prevention methods and risk assessment in the natural gas distribution industry

Today, natural gas is considered one of the most important elements of the energy sector and provides energy to millions of homes and businesses in a wide geography. Providing this critical service requires natural gas distribution services to be effective, reliable and uninterrupted. However, the difficulties encountered during the provision of this service pose considerable risks, especially in terms of occupational safety. These risks include direct physical hazards such as leaks from high-pressure gas lines, explosion and fire hazards; It also includes indirect risk factors such as harsh weather conditions, terrain difficulties and operational errors. In this context, ensuring the safety of natural gas distribution services is not limited to technical infrastructure and procedural regulations, but also requires a comprehensive occupational safety culture and management approaches that prioritize the safety of employees. The aim of this thesis is to comprehensively examine the occupational safety management system practices of a natural gas facility in Turkey, and to investigate the strategy for achieving Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) goals and its impact on accident prevention. The analysis conducted on the OHS policies, procedures, and practices of the natural gas facility aims to identify its successes and improvement potentials in the field of occupational safety. Additionally, focusing on the highly risky Hot-Tap operation specific to natural gas facilities, a hazard and importance analysis using the fine kinney method is carried out with the goal of providing strategic recommendations for the safer management of this critical activity. This study not only aims to evaluate the occupational safety performance of the natural gas facility but also seeks to contribute to the identification of best practices in occupational safety by shedding light on similar applications in the industry.