Atlantic CEO Philip Mshelbila stressed the importance of leadership in motivating employees and leading organizations through today’s challenges while speaking today (October 23rd) at the opening ceremony of the AMCHAM HSSE Conference, which was title-sponsored by Atlantic for the fifth consecutive year.
Visible leadership lays the foundation for organizational transformation in every sphere of our operations, including in HSSE, because it helps our employees and teams know that they can trust us,” said Mshelbila.
Acknowledging that change driven by technology has been a constant theme for global society over the last few years in almost every aspect including the global energy industry and the environment, Mshelbila outlined Atlantic’s strategy to embrace change.
Mshelbila explained that technology will help Atlantic deliver its business objectives and that the current focus on digitalization will enhance safety, efficiency, production and value. Sixty-nine initiatives making use of technologies and concepts such as Augmented Reality, Business Intelligence, Predictive Analytics, Artificial intelligence and Digital Twin, are currently earmarked for further study at Atlantic.
Around the world, the demand for energy continues to rise as both population and wealth increase. While future energy demand is characterized by increasing demand, for cleaner alternatives and energy efficiency, Mshelibila insisted that “the intermittency of wind and solar, and the limitation of renewables in high intensity uses such as furnaces etc., mean that natural gas, as the cleanest of the fossil fuels will continue to play a critical role in the energy mix of the future. Countries rich in natural gas like Trinidad & Tobago will therefore remain very relevant in the global energy transition.
Mshelbila emphasized that the best option facing the industry, is “to accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy forms, such as wind and solar.” This transition however will require government support and an active partnership between the government and key players to ensure that the right polices and initiatives are implemented quickly.
Atlantic is already progressing a feasibility study for the implementation of renewable initiatives to replace some of its non-process power generation activities. The results of this study will support other activities that are already ongoing to increase energy efficiency and reduce GHG.
Underpinning all these activities is Atlantic’s people. Mshelbila encouraged fellow leaders to take the “time to understand people and understand what motivates them to deliver good HSSE performance.”
Referencing research that showed that only a small number of the right people are needed to influence culture change; Mshelbila pointed to the benefits of Atlantic’s approach to continuous improvement saying, “the biggest benefits to using CI, is that the employees in the field and on the ground, are the ones who initiate, drive and implement the solutions that increase efficiency, enhance performance and empower them to make improvements in their day to day work.