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Enhanced safety measures for the changeovers of shift personnel have been introduced at Gazprom Transgaz Surgut.
Before arriving at production facilities, new shift workers will spend two weeks in isolation. To this end, 13 buffer zones with 644 beds were created in the local hostels and hotels. The quarantine measure is aimed at preventing persons potentially infected with the new coronavirus from entering the company’s facilities.
Before being admitted to the isolation zone, workers will undergo medical check-ups. Employees with any signs of illness will be sent away for treatment at their places of residence. During the two-week quarantine, gas workers will be tested for COVID-19 twice, and they will not be able to come on duty unless both of their tests yield negative results.
The shift personnel will spend all 14 days in isolated rooms under the surveillance of medical staff. The workers will be provided with three hot meals a day via contactless delivery in compliance with sanitary standards. A procedure was developed to be followed by the staff in case persons suspected of having the new coronavirus are identified, with special places reserved for such patients.
Enhanced safety measures are taken when shift workers are moved from isolation areas to production facilities. Some of the workers will be delivered by charter flights on planes and helicopters, while the rest will arrive at their workplaces by crew buses traveling without intermediate stops. Passengers (traveling by air or road) will be seated at the maximum possible distance from each other. Vehicles will be disinfected in advance.
All shift workers are supplied with medical masks and disinfectants, and the medical personnel is provided with personal protective equipment (suits, respirators, and face shields).
Two-week isolation in the buffer zones will be mandatory for not only shift workers of Gazprom Transgaz Surgut, but also the staff of contracting companies that need to be working to maintain the operational continuity of the gas transmission company. The days spent by shift workers in temporary self-isolation are counted as work days and are therefore paid.
Background
Gazprom Transgaz Surgut is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gazprom. The company has 26 branches, including 14 gas pipeline operation centers with 38 compressor shops and 273 gas compressor units. Gazprom Transgaz Surgut operates over 6,500 kilometers of gas trunklines running from the Zapolyarny town to the borders of the Omsk and Kurgan Regions, and transmits nearly 200 billion cubic meters of pipeline gas per year.
The company is certified for compliance with the ISO 9001, GOST R ISO 9001, STO Gazprom 9001, ISO 14001:2004 and GOST R ISO 14001–2007, OHSAS 18001:2007 and GOST R 54934–2012 standards. It has approximately 9,000 employees and is headquartered in Surgut.
It should be noted once again that in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus at Gazprom Transgaz Surgut, the shift period has been extended from one to three months. The current group of workers will also have a three-month shift. Some of the company’s employees who have the opportunity to work outside the workplace have transitioned to remote work. The movement of employees within the company and between different subdivisions and branches has been minimized; visits to third-party and contracting companies have been limited along with the counterparties’ access to the premises of Gazprom Transgaz Surgut. All working and business contacts have been switched to remote mode to the maximum extent possible. A pool of shift personnel has been formed to replace isolated or sick employees. At compressor stations, the number of persons allowed in staff canteens at a time has been restricted. All rooms are disinfected and the health of staff members is monitored according to the set schedule.
