Tafawoq ashghal

Doha, Qatar : Qatar’s elite project management centre of excellence, the TAFAWOQ programme, has once again partnered to deliver a high-level safety workshop for engineers who have recently joined Qatar’s Public Works Authority, Ashghal.

The three-day workshop, titled ‘HSSE Leadership,’ took place recently, bringing together 25 engineers to discuss best practices in the field of safety.

The workshop emphasised the importance of embracing a safety culture, and touched on the roles and responsibilities of engineers in this regard. Others topics on the workshop’s agenda included the impact of internal and external factors on safety performance, and the use of safety tools and observation systems.

His Excellency Dr. Eng. Saad bin Ahmad Al Muhannadi, President of the Public Works Authority, Ashghal, noted that the workshop’s objectives fall in line with his institution’s commitment to the development of Qatar.

“Promoting a culture of safety and employee welfare will bolster productivity, which will ultimately fast track the development of major infrastructure projects in Qatar in line with our national vision,” Al Mohannadi said.

tafawoq ashghal

The workshop comes at an important time for Ashghal, the highest authority in charge of managing Qatar’s major infrastructure projects, as the country undertakes key developments in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup QatarTM.

‘We are extremely honoured to partner with Ashghal, for the first time, to deliver this workshop. The act of collaboration facilitates both the transfer of knowledge and expertise. I am confident that the workshop will further strengthen Ashghal engineers ability to deliver their portfolio of major projects while maintaining a leading health and safety record by understanding and managing the risks inherent in the business.’

‘Without doubt, these workshops have a positive impact on Qatar’s human capital and significantly contribute to the achievement of the human development pillar of Qatar National Vision 2030 – and this is something we truly believe in at TAFAWOQ and Qatar Shell’, he added.

Delivered by leading consultancy firm, JMJ Associates Middle East, the workshop also introduced participants to behaviour-based safety and the benefits of adopting an integral safety model. Sabu Joseph, managing consultant at JMJ Associates, and Sandy Schreiber, a senior consultant, led the workshop in the presence of Alan Palmer, a partner at the firm.

JMJ has supported Qatar Shell’s Pearl GTL, the world’s largest plant to turn natural gas into cleaner-burning fuels, in developing an incident and injury-free safety culture, while overseeing the creation of a high-performance project team during the construction phase of the project.

TAFAWOQ, which is the Arabic for ‘excellence’, is a partnership initiative between Qatar Shell, QatarEnergy (QE) and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). In addition to providing project management training courses, TAFAWOQ also hosts custom-tailored workshops to address specific organisational needs.

Since its inception in 2012, TAFAWOQ has graduated close to 1000 professional students.

About TAFAWOQ

TAFAWOQ is an elite project management centre of excellence that develops the competencies of project managers to deliver large capital investment projects in Qatar. The programme is a partnership between Qatar Shell, QatarEnergy and Hamad Bin Khalifa University and provides world-class training through virtual and in-class learning. It nurtures the development of a strong community of local project professionals, benefiting both individuals and organisations.

Since 2012, TAFAWOQ has graduated nearly 1,000 professional learners. Participants come from leading organisations in Qatar, including QatarEnergy, Qatar Gas, Qatar Airways and more.

TAFAWOQ supports the Qatar National Vision 2030 by strengthening the nation’s human capital – Qatar’s stock of knowledge, capabilities, and expertise - through project management competency development. In 2014 TAFAWOQ was honoured to win best “Corporate Social Responsibility initiative” in Qatar's energy sector at the inaugural Al Sharq CSR Awards Ceremony.

The programme was reaccredited with the Association of Project Managers (APM) – now valid until 2022. The APM is the largest professional body in Europe with 500 corporate and 18,500 individual members. The curriculum is carefully aligned with the APM to enable our learners to excel and obtain world-class qualifications and certificates.