Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic represented one of the greatest challenges faced by Bapco in living memory. Whilst many organisations were able to shift their operations from office-based to remote work, Bapco was faced with the daunting prospect of having to sustain 24-hour operation of its Refinery. For the many staff in operational positions there was no option for work to be conducted remotely, shift work had to continue throughout the pandemic in a manner safe for Bapco personnel and sustainable for the company. Bapco additionally needed to undertake shutdown activities (i.e. stopping and making safe a process unit ready for maintenance) during what would later be recorded as the peak of the pandemic. Managing BMP construction schedules with the attendant workforce of several thousand contractors was a further complication.

The success of Bapco’s response to the pandemic was credited to the formation of a multi-disciplinary team with broad functional expertise in HSE. Medical practitioners from Awali Hospital worked alongside personnel from Departmental HSE teams to incorporate COVID-19 control measures into risk assessments for critical operational activities. The HSE teams, experienced in the audit of control measures, were able to quickly adapt their verification activities to include the new control measures. Toolbox talks - the regular onsite safety briefings that provide rapid dissemination of safety-related information - were adapted to include COVID-19 control measures. The focus of visits to contractor accommodation was similarly changed to consider applicable COVID-19 precautions.

Bapco not only continued operating throughout the pandemic but did so without significant business interruption to either the base business or BMP. This Special Topic describes some of the challenges faced by Bapco and how, at the peak of the pandemic, Bapco was sustained by the dedication and hard work of all personnel, who each played a role in Bapco’s response to the pandemic.

Activities and initiatives taken by Bapco’s COVID-19 response team to ensure employee and contractor safety

• 24/7 Hotline for all COVID-19 related inquiries

• Providing free accommodation and special medical care for infected individuals

• Daily updates provided to all medical personnel

• Daily call to all employees who had tested positive, to monitor physical and mental wellbeing

• Regular visits to departments to ensure that all employees are adhering to all precautionary measures

• Design and supply all posters related to the pandemic

• Hand wash training to all departments

• Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) training to all employees

• Conducting random testing

• Development and testing of Business Continuity Plans for critical areas of operation

• Creation of a COVID-19 dashboard to monitor workforce availability and any operational impacts

• Development of response procedures for COVID-19 cases and training of personnel on those procedures

• Conducting Town Halls meetings and supplementary communications throughout the pandemic to raise awareness and establish COVID-19 controls

• Reassessment of all Bapco day to day activities to incorporate any COVID-19 precautions

• Encouragement of all staff and contractors to receive COVID-19 vaccinations at the designated Bapco medical facilities

• Providing and monitoring digital thermometers at all gates

• More than 18000 cloth masks distributed

• Wearing and discarding masks procedure development

• Weekly medical visit to the Refinery canteen and Bapco Club

• Regular visits to the main operation control rooms

• Regular banner presentations at all gates

• Screen savers, updated regularly

The Pandemic Emerges - Business Continuity Planning

The outbreak of COVID-19 was declared a Public Health Emergency by the World Health Organisation on 30 January 2020. During that period Bapco health professionals had started briefing personnel on the signs and symptoms of COVID-19, and the precautions that could be taken to limit infection. Bahrain’s first COVID-19 infection was reported the following month, with the National Medical Taskforce under the guidance of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, which started meeting and issuing directives from mid-February 2020. The Bapco CMT for COVID-19 commenced the first meeting on 26th of February 2020. The Bapco CMT and nogaholding CMT under the guidance of the National Medical Taskforce followed the “Test – Isolate – Track” process during the pandemic.

With the declaration of a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on 11 March 2020 and with rising numbers of COVID-19 infections reported in the Kingdom (mirroring that occurring across the region), the Bapco CMT coordinated response strategies and provided direction to ensure that the National Medical Taskforce directives were implemented, going above and beyond the minimum required response to create the safest possible working environment.

access by other non-critical personnel. Isolation rooms were established across Bapco for those exhibiting symptoms, and regular exercises conducted to raise awareness and evaluate the response of personnel when faced with a colleague who potentially had contracted COVID-19. The CMT adopted Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Escalation Levels that were aligned with the tiered restrictions introduced by the government. Escalations Levels from Stage 0 to Stage 4 set out the manpower requirements and priorities in the event that sufficient personnel were not available to continue normal operations.

Bapco enacted dozens of separate precautions to minimise the spread of COVID-19 between personnel who had to continue working across the organisation. The canteen was rearranged to maintain a 2m safe separation distance. All recreation areas were closed, including the Bapco Club and tennis courts, swimming pool and tennis courts at Awali. Physical meetings were stopped with use of Microsoft Teams mandated and smoking area capacity was reduced to 2 people to ensure safe distance. Food provision was intensively monitored and those involved treated as a critical workforce in a similar manner to others involved in Refinery operations. Thousands of cloth masks were issued. Continuous monitoring of the base business and BMP contractor camps was instigated early in the pandemic by Bapco. The camp was subject to regular auditing and the results were shared with the HSE Committee.

The CMT met twice a week during the initial stages of the pandemic. Under the direction of the Executive Management, the CMT included representatives from Awali Hospital, HR, HSE, Corporate Communications, IT Department and the Business Resilience team. The CMT facilitated the rapid sharing of information between diverse business functions who each had a critical role to play in Bapco’s response. Data on current numbers of infections, numbers of hospitalised cases and numbers of those recovered were shared daily by the CMT.

The CMT developed a strategy to isolate and contain identified cases of COVID-19 by individual process unit, allowing other units to continue operating without impact. Within each process unit critical workforce were identified - for example operations control room personnel. The critical workforce were subject to additional controls, such as restricting

Bapco Information Technology functions faced significant challenges in maintaining the connectivity of personnel who had previously conducted work through in-person meeting and office attendance. Bapco had taken the early decision to allow flexible home-working for the majority of office-based staff, significantly reducing the number of personnel who had to commute to Bapco’s sites. Whilst these facilities were in place prior to the pandemic, the move to home working for some employees greatly accelerated the need for remote connectivity. The Department responded by introducing a 24 hour service to assist personnel with any issues that might stop them from completing their work.

The Medical Response

Bapco has two permanently-staffed medical facilities: the Refinery Clinic and the Awali Hospital. The latter has 25 beds, two wards, two operating theatres, a maternity unit, day procedure rooms and a pharmacy. The medical staff include physiotherapists and a dietician. Bapco’s medical facilities were the focal point for Bapco’s response to the pandemic, leading on the clinic measures implemented by Bapco as information on COVID-19 was received.

At the onset of the pandemic, accurate tests to detect whether a patient had contracted COVID-19 were not available. Accurate testing was critical for Bapco to identify personnel infected with COVID-19, to prevent those exhibited no or mild symptoms from inadvertently infecting others. Bapco made an early and significant investment in technology for processing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests, considered the ‘gold standard’ for accuracy. Bapco purchased technology that could process batches of tests to obtain a result in 20 minutes. The tests supplemented the rapid antigen mass testing for those working at the Refinery. Testing was supplemented by temperature monitors installed at significant entry points to Bapco’s facilities - including the hospital entrance.

It is a measure of how successful these restrictions were that the hospital continued to operate with no reduced operational capability throughout the pandemic.

Bapco was an early recipient of the vaccines made available by the government in 2021. Bapco provided vaccinations on-site for both Bapco personnel and their family. Vaccine uptake was encouraged by webinars hosted by the Health Promotion Unit and attended by all Bapco personnel. At the time of this report more than 90% of Bapco personnel have been vaccinated with at least two doses and that proportion continues to rise, with the majority having received booster doses also.

Raising Awareness and Managing People

With increasing knowledge of COVID-19, its symptoms and the approaches used to reduce the risk of transmission, Bapco undertook a comprehensive information campaign to raise awareness. The campaign oversaw the dissemination of information throughout the pandemic in multiple formats.

The Awali hospital enacted strict restrictions to isolate both staff and patients. The influenza centre (a separate building attached to the main hospital complex) was used to screen those with COVID-19 symptoms rather than allowing them access to the hospital. The Al Dar facility a few minutes away from the hospital was converted into an isolation centre where food and medical services were provided. Bapco also provided generous financial support for employees who needed to self-isolate in one of the 20 approved hotels. Some staff who commuted daily to work at the hospital - for example Janitors - were moved to Bapco accommodation and isolated from their families to eliminate a route of infection from the community.

Posters were a principle means of raising awareness and were produced in several languages. Screensavers were another means of disseminating information. Pamphlets were produced - also in multiple languages - for the health education of personnel.

Bapco took several important initiatives to safeguard the wellbeing of the workforce and reduce the risk of cross-infection. Personnel who experienced symptoms were encouraged to stay at home, a period of absence that was not counted as sick or annual leave. A hotline was put in place to support personnel, operated jointly by HR and Bapco’s Health Promotion Unit, and a mental health support system was developed with the support of a psychologist to promote well-being.

Return to Work and the Better Normal

As the levels of COVID-19 infections peaked and then subsided, Bapco personnel have returned to work in line with government regulations. Bapco has implemented a return to work strategy required for all personnel before accessing Bapco premises, including a lateral flow antigen test for the first five days after returning. Additional testing has also been required prior to attending some essential in-person meetings. Other restrictions such as social distancing and the requirement to wear masks have remained in place through 2021.

Bapco has emerged from the pandemic stronger and with renewed confidence that it has the organisational resilience to cope with previously unforeseen challenges - a Better Normal.