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Why I started the company:
I started my flying career with Bristow Caribbean Limited (BCL) who had a contract to support Amoco Trinidad Oil Company(ATOC) in Galeota Point. During my tenure with BCL , I was sent to the UK to undertake several programs including Sea Survival Training and was responsible for training all BCL Crewmembers in case the Helicopter ever had to ditch at sea.
In 1985, ATOC approached BCL about getting their offshore production personnel trained in sea survival as at the time, there was no safety program in place for workers going offshore and ATOC thought this would be a good start so I was tasked with this training which we did monthly out in the middle of Guayaguayare bay.
Theory training was conducted at ATOC's office at Galeota Point then we would take a pirogue with as many as 20 persons and start doing a very exhausting and intense training program in actual open water conditions which was realistic of what ditching scenario conditions would be like, albeit in a controlled manner.
This training was conducted right up to 1987 when ATOC developed their 5 day offshore program that included the Sea Survival module. In 1997 when it was announced that BP had purchased ATOC, I knew that the UK Safety Management would be implemented including Helicopter Underwater Egress Training and I saw this as an opportunity to get in on the ground floor so I went overseas and completed the training.
I tried convincing several big companies to join me in a JV but it was not considered as we did not have the expertise locally but they were most willing to send their UK & US personnel to train for my clients as and when needed.
I did not see this as an option as knowledge transfer was key to having a local content capability so I subsequently contacted a small outfit who were willing to come to Trinidad to run a few programs for clients as well as train a local instructor. That was the genesis for the company as we developed that training exponentially and decided to try and create a One Stop Shop for all safety training needs here in Trinidad and Tobago.
Outlook for the future and opportunities to grow the business:
Safety training and services are key to any and all companies existence, especially in the oil & gas industry but more important is having competence assurance that your workers have retained their safety skills so training is not a one-off occasion but continuous throughout their career so there is an ongoing need for our services .
Safety lies at the very ethos of HHSL Safety Systems Limited and our diversification over the years has been driven by the need to improve on sfety and safe systems Of work so we started in training then we moved on to provision of HSE and Emergency Response Technicians and within the last 2 years have introduced drones, robotic crawlers and ROV's for Inspections to minimize the need for personnel having to be exposed to high risk activities such as entering confined spaces, working at height or diving.
We anticipate further growth for our company not just in the local sector but also regionally but it is our firm belief more emphasis must be placed on monitoring local content by the government and operators, the latter having signed charters with the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago including local content and STOWTT but are not living up to the tenets of those charters!
