Voluntary fire brigade competition ends at TAIF-NK
Over 30 teams of different departments of TAIF-NK took part in the annual voluntary fire brigade competition. They had to show their level of physical preparation, the basic knowledge of firefighting and the response time to emergencies. Read how the fire department improves safety in the enterprise and who showed the best performance in the competition in Realnoe Vremya’s report.
“All the skills we get here always come in handy at work during a shift”
The goal of the competition between voluntary fire brigades is to show the readiness of employees for emergencies. 30 teams from TAIF-NK departments had to go through four stages of the competition: to cover a 100-metre course with personal protective equipment, put out an imaginary fire source with a fire hose and nozzle, another obstacle course and put out a real source of fire with a fire extinguisher.
Apart from the practical part, the participants of the competition had to do a test on fire safety rules. The participants must be familiar with firefighting equipment as well as requirements for evacuation and use of the primary firefighting equipment.
“The goal of the competition is to check the theoretical and practical knowledge of fire security again and find the best employees. We also need to check the teamwork, as teamwork is well seen in the relay,” Deputy Head Engineer in Process Safety, Environmental Protection and Occupational Safety at TAIF-NK Oleg Grishakov explained.
Such competitions have been held since 2012: at first, they were held among shops of the oil refinery and the benzene plant, while departments of the Heavy Residues Deep Conversion Complex began to participate in the competition in 2017.
“We’ve participated for the third time and always try very hard. Every time we do it better and better,” operator of technological units of the Shop No. 05 of the HRDCC at TAIF-NK JSC Artur Kurbanov shared.
“All the skills we get here always come in handy at work during a shift. You behave differently, you always know what you should do in such a situation,” said head of the shift of the Shop No. 07 of the Oil Refinery at TAIF-NK JSC Igor Snigur.
All TAIF-NK employees can become volunteers
The voluntary fire department was created to improve fire safety in the enterprise. The company pays special attention to it and the compliance with fire prevention rules — the issue is constantly monitored by TAIF-NK JSC Director General Rushan Shamgunov. All TAIF-NK employees can become volunteers, for this purpose, they should fill in an application, while age and physical qualities don’t matter. Then the employee is accepted to the brigade and he has to take measures to put out a fire during training and evacuate people if needed.
“Every employee knows the rules of use of the primary firefighting equipment, the order of actions to inform when a fire is detected. According to the requirement, all workers of explosive plants should the basics of fire safety. They are taught how to correctly use the primary firefighting equipment, the basics of fire safety, actions when a fire is detected and characteristics of inflammable materials. So everyone can join the voluntary fire brigade,” Deputy Head Engineer in Process Safety, Environmental Protection and Occupational Safety at TAIF-NK Oleg Grishakov explained.
The team of the Shop. No 12 of the Oil Refinery won the victory in the team contest in the competition among voluntary fire brigades, the team of the Shop No. 12 of the Heavy Residues Deep Conversion Complex was second, the team of the Shop No. 8 of the HRDCC was third. Operator of the Shop No. 12 of the HRDCC Andrey Rybakov won in theoretical preparation in the individual event, operator of the Shop No. 8 of the Oil Refinery Ilnaz Gilmiyev became second, while machinist of processing pipes of the Shop No. 7 of the Oil Refinery Denis Dolgov occupied the third place. All the winners were awarded diplomas and prize money.
Safety of facilities and workers is one of the priorities for TAIF-NK
TAIF-NK pays special attention to fire and process safety. To strictly meet the process safety requirements, every new employee is given introductory and initial instructions. The initial instruction is carried out by the subdivision’s director at the workplace, then internship begins under a responsible person: it lasts for at least 10 shifts, moreover, at least 20 hours are dedicated to theoretical training. An employee can be allowed to work alone only after they pass the exam.
“If a new employee deals with the maintenance of the manufacturing process, he also does training and improves his practical skills on the computer. Every subdivision has computers an employee uses to improve his skills of the manufacturing process and the management system, the launch, scheduled and emergency shutdown and actions in emergency situations. According to the performance on the computer, the employee is allowed to take exams to get permission to work alone,” Oleg Grishakov said.
Safety of facilities and workers is one of the priorities for TAIF-NK. This is why the enterprise regularly introduces new technologies in process safety. The company plans to hold such competitions further on, as they not only unite the staff but also stimulate the employees to continue developing. And professionalism and the staff’s daily work are a key to safe and accident-free performance in all manufacturing facilities of the enterprise.