Qatar’s Umm Al Houl desalination plant achieves one millions hours without accident
The firm has been the main partner on the project, designing, constructing and operating it from 2017 to present day
The 894,000m3 desalination plant at Umm Al Houl in Doha, Qatar has achieved one million hours without any accidents involving lost time injury (Zero LTI). ACCIONA, who designed, built and has operated the plant for the last six years notes that the achievement is thanks to the efforts of the plant’s workers and stringent safety measures.
The plant is part of a large-scale integrated water and power project (IWPP) that produces approximately 2,500MW of electricity, and can reach a daily total of 894,000 m3, including the production of MSF. The plant is said to have served over three million people to date.
ACCIONA says the achievement demonstrates its commitment to hazard prevention and the application of measures that ensure the safety and health of everyone involved, as well as the responsibility of the workers themselves by prioritising and improving safety in the workplace.
In June 2022, ACCIONA said it began a 25-year O&M contract at SWPC’s Shuqaiq 3 desalination plant while, in July 2022, Jose Vera-Agullo, Acciona R&D Concrete Manager shared insights on how to keep concrete cool while working in high-temperature areas.
This safety milestone is the result of teamwork by the workers and the operator, following several training courses in health and wellbeing. A number of Safety and Hygiene (HSE) measures have been implemented and inspections have been made on a more detailed and frequent basis, which has led to an improvement in the state of the equipment and machinery, the company explained.
Regular operation and maintenance meetings related to work permits (PTW), improvements in the organisation of the work such as the use of colour coding, certifications, the creation of specialised HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) committees, and – in particular – efforts made to digitse are amongst the preventive measures ACIOONA credited for the plant’s safety milestone.
All this means that situations of risk can be identified at an early stage and workplace accidents can be avoided, the firm explained. It is also noteworthy that this milestone has been reached by strict compliance with established international and local protocols to offset the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the vaccination of 100% of the workforce, ACCIONA continued.
The reverse osmosis desalination plant is said to represent a milestone in the world of desalination because it the first time that reverse osmosis technology has been applied on a large scale in Qatar.
In August 2022, ACCIONA Cultura completed the implementation of four pavilions at the Al Shindagha Museum.
