By Anwar Al-Balushi | KADI HSE Consultancy
Having worked in HSE and now developing KADI HSE Consultancy, I keep coming back to one question: how can we make safe working practices easier to follow in everyday work?
Most employees want to do their jobs properly and return home safely. Most employers understand the importance of protecting their people. Yet a gap can still develop between what a procedure requires and what happens at the workplace.
A task takes longer than planned. A supervisor is managing competing priorities. An employee does not fully understand an instruction but hesitates to ask. Under pressure, people find a way to finish the job, sometimes accepting risks that should have been addressed.
For me, this is where a useful conversation about HSE begins.
Recent publications from the International Labour Organization and EU-OSHA bring attention to workload, artificial intelligence and climate-related risks. These topics have practical relevance to businesses in Oman, including smaller companies trying to build effective HSE arrangements with limited resources.
Look at the pressure behind the behaviour
When an employee takes a shortcut, we need to understand why. Was it a consider decision to ignore workable control? Or was the required equipment unavailable, the instruction unclears, or the deadline unrealistic?
Accountability matters, but we need enough information to apply it fairly.
The ILO’s April 2026 report examines how workload, working hours, role clarity and management practices influence workers’ health and safety. It reinforces the need to look at how work is organised. [1]
My view is that HSE teams should spend more time asking employees what makes their work difficult to do safely. The answer may point to something that another training session cannot solve.
Employees need to raise concerns early and explain when they cannot safely complete a task with the resources available. Managers then need to decide to adjust the timing, provide support or change the method.
Telling someone to “be careful” leaves the original problem with them.
Make sure the message reaches everyone
For businesses in Oman with teams that speak different languages, communication deserves particular attention.
A presentation delivered, an induction completed and an attendance sheet signed do not necessarily mean that everyone understood the message.
I would rather hear a worker explain the main hazards and controls in their own words than rely only on their signature. A short demonstration or a clear picture may be more useful than another page of instructions.
HSE teams should help supervisors check understanding. Employees should feel comfortable asking questions, even when others appear to understand. Managers must allow time for that conversation.
This is particularly important when contractors or new employees join an unfamiliar workplace. We should never confuse someone’s difficulty with a language with a lack of ability to do the job.
Treat heat protection as part of planning
In Oman, heat needs to be considered when planning work, allocating people and setting expectations.
EU-OSHA’s June 2026 publication discusses how smart technologies can support heat prevention through monitoring and improved work organisation. It also recognises that technology alone is insufficient. [2]
For me, the practical test is straightforward: when conditions become more demanding, can the team change the work?
Can an active task be moved to a more suitable time? Are recovery arrangements accessible? Does the supervisor have authority to pause the job? Will an employee report feeling unwell without worrying about disappointing the team?
HSE professionals should help establish clear, task-specific arrangements. Employees should follow them and report symptoms promptly. Management must provide the resources and support needed to put them into practice.
A written plan is useful only when it guides decisions at the worksite.
Use technology with a clear purpose
Digital inspections and AI-supported tools offer opportunities for businesses of different sizes. EU-OSHA highlighted developments in AI-enabled safety systems in April 2026. [3]
I see potential here, particularly for smaller businesses that need a manageable way to record inspections, assign actions and follow-up.
However, choosing software should begin with the problem we want to solve. If hazards are being reported but remain unresolved, adding another reporting tool may simply create a longer list.
Start with a clear process: who receives the concern, who acts and who checks that the problem has been fixed?
The same judgement applies to AI-generated procedures and risk assessments. They may help prepare a draft, but someone who understands the actual work must check the content before it is used.
Make HSE manageable for smaller businesses
Through KADI, my focus includes supporting small and medium-sized businesses. I believe HSE advice needs to be practical enough for an owner, supervisor and employee to use.
A business can begin by understanding its most serious hazards, putting suitable controls in place and making responsibilities clear. The arrangements should develop as the business and its risks change.
Employees have an important contribution to make because they know where work becomes uncomfortable, confusing or difficult. HSE professionals need to listen to that knowledge and turn it into workable improvements.
Business owners also need to recognise that addressing HSE gaps early gives them more room to plan than waiting until an incident or inspection forces action.
Start with the work itself
My suggestion to any organisation in Oman is to choose one task this week and ask the people doing it:
“What would help you do this job more safely?”
Listen carefully, agree on an action and follow it through. Then return and ask whether the change helped.
That is the kind of HSE practice I want KADI to encourage: clear expectations, honest conversations and improvements people can see in their daily work.
References
- "ILO — The psychosocial working environment: Global developments and pathways for action, 22 April 2026" (https://www.ilo.org/publications/psychosocial-working-environment-global-developments-and-pathways-action)
- "EU-OSHA — Managing climate change: Smart technologies for workplace heat risk prevention, 5 June 2026" (https://osha.europa.eu/en/highlights/managing-climate-change-smart-technologies-workplace-heat-risk-prevention)
- "EU-OSHA — The future of work: new insights on labour shortages and artificial intelligence, 23 April 2026" (https://osha.europa.eu/en/highlights/future-work-new-insights-labour-shortages-and-artificial-intelligence)