Tenerife Refinery recognized by COASHIQ for its Safety Management

• The Business Association for Safety, Hygiene, and the Environment in the Chemical Industry presents its 2020 Awards in a year in which recognizing best practices in safety is more important than ever

The Tenerife Refinery was recognized by the Business Association for Safety, Hygiene, and the Environment in the Chemical Industry (COASHIQ) in its Annual Safety Management Awards for having achieved a Zero Frequency Index, which represents the absence of accidents among its staff during the past year. In this year, other Cepsa operating centers were also awarded, such as the La Rábida Refinery and the company’s chemical plants in Palos, Huelva, and Puente Mayorga, San Roque-Cadiz.

With these awards, the Association recognizes once again efforts to improve accident rates and best practices in safety based on data collected in 2019. For the first time, the award ceremony could not be held in person due to the public health emergency.

COASHIQ is a non-profit business association that works for safety and environmental protection in the chemical and related industries. Currently, it represents about 200 companies in the sector, and its objective is to be a meeting point for Occupational Risk Prevention professionals who work to improve the health and safety conditions of workers, the safety of industry facilities, and integrate their activities into the social and environmental field.

In total, 37 awards were given in 3 different categories for this year: a Trophy for the Best Presentation; 10 congratulatory awards for the highest reduction percentage in the accident frequency index; 15 diplomas for having achieved a Zero Frequency Index in 2019, and 11 plaques for the companies that maintained this Zero Frequency Index for at least three consecutive years.

The recognized companies are based in various locations throughout Spain: Tenerife, Barcelona, Madrid, Huelva, San Roque, Granada, Huesca, Castellón, and Ciudad Real, among others, and are examples of efficient and effective management in the field of occupational safety.

The president of COASHIQ, Ángel Monzón, highlighted the importance of “having once again recognized with these awards the work and roles played by companies that are examples of safety within the sector, thanks to the work of their Occupational Risk Prevention and Industrial Safety teams.” “2020 has been a year in which all those responsible for safety have been forced to rethink how to address our operations. This has also meant that, now more than ever, we are all more aware of the activity carried out by those who care for and ensure our safety, in all areas, and that we recognize their work, as well as the need to continue investing in prevention,” he added.

Cepsa and Safety

At Cepsa, safety is a historic and inseparable principle of its activity embodied by all employees and the auxiliary service companies with which it works.

In this way, the Tenerife Refinery, as well as the other Cepsa operating centers in the Canary Islands, in addition to meeting the requirements of the Occupational Risk Prevention Law and the SEVESO regulations on prevention and control of serious accidents, have a Health and Safety at Work System certified under the ISO 45001:2018 standard.