Jury Special Award for Gebkim OSB's Innovative Project

GEBKİM's Emergency Response Software Project has been awarded the Jury Special Prize at the National Ceremony of the European Good Practice Awards Competition on "Occupational Safety and Health in the Digital Age" organised by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work.

GEBKİM Chemical Specialised Industrial Zone, which hosts companies from the chemical sector that make significant contributions to Turkey's economy and exports, is leading the sector with exemplary projects in digitalisation, green transition and disaster preparedness. One of these projects is GEBKİM's award-winning initiative, "An Innovative Step for Emergency Response in the Chemical Sector: Emergency Response Software". Under the project, which was developed to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies and disasters with the help of technology, autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles are used for 24/7 monitoring of the area. Mobile integration and digitised emergency response plans are accelerating processes.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security's Occupational Safety and Health General Directorate organised a national competition to select examples that would represent Turkey in the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work's (EU-OSHA) European Good Practice Awards Competition on "Occupational Safety and Health in the Digital Age". A total of 52 projects competed, consisting of good practices that evaluate the opportunities brought by digitalisation in terms of occupational safety and health, as well as presenting exemplary approaches in eliminating challenges and risks arising from digitalisation. GEBKİM OSB's Emergency Response Software Project made it into the top 5 out of 52 good practices and was awarded the Jury Special Prize.

At the awards ceremony held at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, GEBKİM Chemical Specialised Industrial Zone Board Member Sebahattin Işık received the Jury Special Prize for the Emergency Response Software Project from Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Security Prof. Dr. Lutfihak Alpkan.

Autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles monitor GEBKİM 24/7

The Emergency Response Software, a first in Turkey and in the chemical sector, aims to detect emergencies at an early stage and respond to them effectively and safely, minimise the social, environmental and economic impacts of emergencies, and improve occupational safety and health. During 24/7 monitoring of the area, autonomously patrolling unmanned aerial vehicles detect potential accidents or fire threats early. Emergency reports from within the area can be received through the mobile application. It enables observation of incident locations and sharing of dangerous events with emergency response teams. With the digitised emergency response plan, rapid access and access to accurate information are simplified. All processes are managed from the Command and Control Centre established within the GEBKİM Fire Station building.

The Emergency Response Software Project, which involves extensive cooperation with AFAD, Kocaeli Metropolitan Fire Department and neighbouring industrial zones, also places great importance on training and awareness activities. To date, approximately 2,000 people have received training on 16 different topics including basic emergency response, emergency response coordination, fire risk assessment and first aid. Emergency response teams and employees of companies operating in GEBKİM have also benefited from these trainings. It is envisaged that training and awareness activities will continue in the coming period.

GEBKİM Chemical Specialised Industrial Zone Board Chairman Vefa İbrahim Aracı, stating that they will continue to contribute to the chemical sector by developing innovative solutions in occupational safety and health as well as preventing emergencies and disasters, said: "We operate with the vision of achieving digital transformation in the chemical sector and developing applications that benefit both our companies and the sector by utilising the opportunities offered by technology. The Emergency Response Software Project, which has won numerous awards to date, and the GEBTEK Technology Development Centre that we established within our industrial zone are some of the projects that have been realised with this vision. We believe that with a responsible industry approach, identifying risks regarding emergencies, taking precautions and responding rapidly in the event of a possible emergency or disaster to minimise loss of life and property is of vital importance. The Emergency Response Software is an innovative project that also serves to raise occupational safety and health standards and promote a safety culture through training. Our project previously won First Place in the TİSK Shared Tomorrows Awards Programme in the OSH category and the Productivity Award in the sustainability field at the Energy-Generating Factories Summit. This time, we are delighted that our project has been deemed worthy of the Jury Special Prize by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security as one of the good practice examples in our country. I would like to thank the Ministry, the valuable members of the Evaluation Commission, as well as all our managers and employees who contributed to the Emergency Response Software project."