GEBKİM’s First: “Emergency Response Software”

GEBKİM is undertaking an important project that reinforces its leading role in the sector. An Emergency Response Software—a first of its kind in Turkey—will be developed by GEBKİM to prevent possible accidents in the chemical industry and to enable rapid and effective intervention.

The opening meeting for the Chemical Sector Emergency Response Innovative Step: Emergency Response Software Project, financed by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey, was held online, and information was provided on the planned activities. Within the scope of the EU project, which started in February and will last 18 months, numerous activities will be carried out. Under the financial cooperation between Turkey and the European Union, the Instrument for Pre Accession (IPA) is being implemented under the "Employment, Education, Social Policies" component of the Occupational Health and Safety Development Grant Program. The grant program, financed by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey, is managed and monitored by the Ministry of Labor and Social Services as the Contracting Authority, and the European Union and Financial Aid Department Directorate.

Within the scope of this program, the Chemical Sector Emergency Response Innovative Step: Emergency Response Software Project carried out by GEBKİM Chemical Specialization Organized Industrial Zone aims to develop emergency response plans and methods in the chemical industry, safety culture, and emergency preparedness and response capacity.

Within the scope of the project financed by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey, an Emergency Response Coordination Center will be established under the leadership of GEBKİM Chemical Specialization OIZ, an Emergency Response Plan and Emergency Response Software for the chemical industry will be prepared. The Emergency Response Software, which gives the project its name and constitutes one of the most important building blocks, will enable rapid response to potential fires and accidents through the power of information and technology. Through the establishment of strong communication between companies and relevant parties, the Emergency Response Plan will be able to be implemented swiftly and effectively. Another objective of the project is to increase the emergency preparedness capacity of manufacturing plants. The opening meeting for the Chemical Sector Emergency Response Innovative Step: Emergency Response Software Project, held online, began with remarks by GEBKİM Chemical Specialization Management Board Chairman Vefa İbrahim Aracı. Following Aracı's remarks, Deputy Director General of Occupational Health and Safety Sedat Yenidünya, Kocaeli Provincial Disaster and Emergency Management Director Mehmet Emin Koçan, Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department Director Doğan Kara, and Kocaeli Industry and Technology Provincial Director İlhan Aydın each delivered remarks. Following the remarks, GEBKİM Environmental Engineer Cem Kılınç, the project manager, delivered a detailed presentation on the Emergency Response Software Project and the planned activities. The meeting was followed with interest by GEBKİM OIZ companies and representatives of OIZs in Kocaeli. Deputy Director General of Occupational Health and Safety Sedat Yenidünya, in his remarks addressing the importance of occupational health and safety in the chemical sector, congratulated GEBKİM on the Emergency Response Software Project being among the 37 approved projects and expressed his wishes for the project to be beneficial to our country and the working world. Kocaeli Provincial Disaster and Emergency Management Director Mehmet Emin Koçan also expressed his belief that the project will be highly beneficial by discussing the importance of taking precautions in advance for effective intervention. Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality Fire Department Director Doğan Kara, expressing his excitement about the Emergency Response Software, emphasized that response teams with timely and accurate information can deliver the most effective response, and stated that this software will be highly beneficial for both the fire department and the sector in terms of access to information.

Kocaeli Industry and Technology Provincial Director İlhan Aydın stated that they will always stand with GEBKİM in future meetings and wished success for the planned activities.

Following the opening remarks, GEBKİM Environmental Engineer Cem Kılınç provided participants with detailed information on the objectives and activities to be conducted within the scope of the Chemical Sector Emergency Response Innovative Step: Emergency Response Software Project, which began in February and will last 18 months. An Emergency Response Plan for the chemical industry and an Emergency Response Software—a first of its kind in Turkey—will be prepared. Occupational Health and Safety capacity will increase through training and awareness-raising activities. Among the results targeted by the project are the reduction of accidents in the chemical sector and the minimization of the social, economic, and environmental impacts of emergencies through the planned activities. Factories established and to be established in GEBKİM OIZ, their employees, GEBKİM Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School students, the Turkish chemical industry, AFAD, fire departments, and OIZs across Turkey as well as in Kocaeli constitute the main target groups of the project. Numerous training, seminars, and awareness-raising activities are also planned. GEBKİM Chemical Specialization Organized Industrial Zone Management Board Chairman Vefa İbrahim Aracı stated: "The Emergency Response Plan and Software that we will bring to the chemical industry will enable us to act together against potential accidents through the strong communication and synergy it will create. We have no doubt that this project will succeed thanks to the chemical industry's ability to adapt to new technologies and digitalization. For GEBKİM, leading such a valuable and important project is of great significance. The gains brought by the project will be open to the chemical sector across Turkey as well as in Kocaeli. I wish it to be beneficial for our chemical industry."