About Us - History

Health, Safety & Environment is one of the most concerning need for humans, across globe. From the Great Fire of Roma in 64 AD that lead to compartmentalization in Construction to desist the spread of Fire to the Great Fire of London in 1666 AD that erupted from a small bakery but burnt almost three fourth of the London leading to incorporation of Fire Fighting Teams and even Safety Insurances. The World didn’t adopt HSE as an exclusive function for ages.
The death of over 100,000 workers mostly miners between the years, 1900 AD to 1918 AD lead to popular uprising, strikes and shut downs by the affected families of the workers. It resulted in the introduction of a Worker’s Compensation Act in 1919 AD that initiated legal, moral and financial repercussion against employers if they are unable to provide safe and an enabling work environment to their workers and employees.
In Parallel safety inventions like the one of a fire hose in 17^th Century and fire tank in 18^th Century followed by quantitative research work of Dr. Heinrich between 1922 to 1932 AD culminating in “Safety Incident Pyramid Theory” paved paths to HSE becoming an exclusive and an organized function.
Irrespective of the fact that many smaller entities in United States and United Kingdom and some parts of Europe, China, Russia and Australia were working on structured safety management, the OSHA Act passed under Nixon on the eve of 1970 led to initiation of comprehensive Safety work under Occupational Safety & Health Administration in the USA.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established in 1946 AD with over 163 countries aligned with it also started contributing to HSE needs in parallel after the launch of OSHA.
Undoubtedly, OSHA served as catalyst and a cornerstone. Multiple entities and regions followed footprints of OSHA. National Fire Protection Association was equally working hard to focus on fire safety standards and so were the Civil Engineers introducing Building and Civil Construction Safety Codes. EU-OSHA, DuPont, Health & Safety Executive in UK, NEBOSH, IOSH, CSB and others. In order to seek help and support from any of such entities you may look into below information.

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Website: https://www.nfpa.org/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1896
Number of Standards Issued: Over 300 consensus codes and standards aimed at minimizing fire and related hazards.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) (NFPA)

Website: https://www.iso.org/
Countries Influenced: 170 member countries
Year of Origin: 1947
Number of Standards Issued: Over 25,000 international standards covering various aspects of technology and manufacturing.

World Health Organization (WHO)

Website: https://www.who.int/
Countries Influenced: 194 member states
Year of Origin: 1948
Number of Standards Issued: Numerous health guidelines, frameworks, and classifications, including the International Classification of Diseases (ICD).

British Standards Institution (BSI)

Website: https://www.bsigroup.com/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1901
Number of Standards Issued: Thousands of standards across various sectors, including the renowned Kitemark certification.

International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS)

Website: http://www.iafss.org/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1985
Number of Standards Issued: Focuses on promoting fire safety science research and does not issue standards but provides a platform for disseminating research findings.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Website: https://www.osha.gov/
Countries Influenced: United States
Year of Origin: 1971
Number of Standards Issued: Numerous regulations and standards to ensure safe and healthful working conditions in the U.S.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

Website: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
Countries Influenced: United States
Year of Origin: 1970
Number of Standards Issued: Conducts research and makes recommendations for occupational safety and health standards.

International Labour Organization (ILO)

Website: https://www.ilo.org/
Countries Influenced: 187 member countries
Year of Origin: 1919
Number of Standards Issued: Over 190 conventions and 200 recommendations, many addressing occupational safety and health.

National Safety Council (NSC)

Website: https://www.nsc.org/
Countries Influenced: United States
Year of Origin: 1913
Number of Standards Issued: Provides safety training and resources; does not issue formal standards.

International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)

Website: https://www.iec.ch/
Countries Influenced: 88 member countries
Year of Origin: 1906
Number of Standards Issued: Over 10,000 standards in electrical and electronic technologies.

American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

Website: https://www.ansi.org/
Countries Influenced: United States
Year of Origin: 1918
Number of Standards Issued: Oversees the creation and dissemination of thousands of norms and guidelines in the U.S.

International Occupational Hygiene Association (IOHA)

Website: https://www.ioha.net/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1987
Number of Standards Issued: Facilitates the exchange of occupational hygiene information; does not issue standards.

Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)

Website: https://www.iosh.com/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1945
Number of Standards Issued: Provides guidance and training; does not issue formal standards.

National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health (NEBOSH)

Website: https://www.nebosh.org.uk/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1979
Number of Standards Issued: Offers globally recognized qualifications; does not issue standards.

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)

Website: https://osha.europa.eu/
Countries Influenced: European Union member states
Year of Origin: 1994
Number of Standards Issued: Provides information and guidance; does not issue formal standards.

International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH)

Website: http://www.icohweb.org/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1906
Number of Standards Issued: Focuses on scientific research and knowledge dissemination; does not issue standards.

World Safety Organization (WSO)

Website: https://worldsafety.org/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1975
Number of Standards Issued: Provides certifications and promotes safety; does not issue formal standards.

International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP)

Website: https://www.iogp.org/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1974
Number of Standards Issued: Develops guidelines and standards

DuPont Sustainable Solutions (DSS)

Website: https://www.consultdss.com/
Countries Influenced: Worldwide
Year of Origin: 1802 (DuPont) DSS established as a consulting firm later
Number of Standards Issued: Offers best practices and consulting for industrial safety, risk management, and sustainability; does not issue formal regulatory standards.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

Website: https://www.imo.org/
Countries Influenced: 175 member states
Year of Origin: 1948
Number of Standards Issued: Developed the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), MARPOL (marine pollution prevention), and other crucial maritime safety regulations.

American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP)

Website: https://www.assp.org/
Countries Influenced: Over 75 countries
Year of Origin: 1911
Number of Standards Issued: ASSP serves as the secretariat for several American National Standards Institute (ANSI) committees, developing standards such as those for fall protection (Z359), construction and demolition operations (A10), and occupational health and safety management systems (Z10).

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Website: https://www.iaea.org/
Countries Influenced: 175 member states
Year of Origin: 1957
Number of Standards Issued: The IAEA has developed numerous safety standards and guidelines to promote the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear technologies

International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)

Website: http://www.icrp.org/
Countries Influenced: Global influence
Year of Origin: 1928
Number of Standards Issued: ICRP has published over 100 reports providing recommendations and guidance on radiological protection.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Website: https://www.icrc.org/
Countries Influenced: Operates in over 80 countries
Year of Origin: 1863
Number of Standards Issued: The ICRC has developed numerous guidelines and protocols related to humanitarian law and the protection of victims of armed conflicts.

Chemical Safety Board (CSB)

Website: https://www.csb.gov/
Countries Influenced: United States
Year of Origin: 1998
Number of Standards Issued: The CSB conducts investigations and provides recommendations but does not issue binding standards.

Greenpeace

Website: https://www.greenpeace.org/
Countries Influenced: Active in over 55 countries
Year of Origin: 1971
Number of Standards Issued: Greenpeace does not issue formal standards but publishes reports and guidelines advocating for environmental protection.

This is how world has been taking HSE, However in Pakistan except for few multi national companies and some local groups working under the supervision of funding bodies from abroad HSE departments, functions and teams rarely exist.
During last couple of decades there have been drives and initiatives to establish significance and importance of safety in Pakistan which led to passing of Occupational Health & Safety Acts by the provincial assemblies, incorporation of Rescue 1122 setups, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs). In some of the major Cities and Towns the Civil District Fire Department has been improved. However, every entity seems to be operating with very less details, legitimate support / authority and synchronization when compared with developed world.
The private sector follows standards, regulations, codes and laws mostly issued by OSHA, DuPont, ISO, ILO, WHO, ASME, IEE or NFPA. Government Sector follows their own directive guidelines mostly lacking in meat and coherence. Public Safety in Pakistan is at Infancy Stage and there is lot of work to be done.
Following are the widely known entities, initiatives and initiations with regards to HSE in Pakistan.(to be mentioned later)
Keeping in view the need hse.org.pk has been initiated as a website, a platform to help well wishers, sound minded and alike minded HSE professionals to work collectively in unison for bridging all gaps and improving the overall HSE Environment Across Pakistan.
This move started Pakistan’s Society of Safety Professionals in 2015 and the website was actually initiated in 2020 by Dr. Zahid Faqir, PhD working as HSE Professional in Pakistan since last Two Decades.