Take 5 with Wendell Seecharan

This article features leaders and senior managers answering five questions. This is intended to give employees a better sense of understanding their leaders.

I joined Heritage amidst COVID-19, so I was faced with several challenges that I needed to overcome. One was not being able to have a personal interaction with my team to understand not only the work but the individuals themselves. I started developing relationships by engaging the frontline workers, which allowed me to appreciate the business and safety risk and to understand where the support was most needed.

There was a gap in the HSSE systems and processes; therefore, we needed to establish an effective HSSE system by building on the existing OMS framework. As a team, we started to build systems in a synergetic manner where a team approach was implemented to close the gaps. A few months later, these contributions created a shift in the safety culture, which was the commencement of our journey toward building safety excellence in Heritage.

One of the most important aspects of motivating my team is fostering communication; this was done via the three team building sessions, where I took the opportunity to reward personnel who went above and beyond in their commitment towards safety excellence. I also believe in an open-door policy and encourage my Managers to do the same as this would foster an environment of trust and camaraderie among employees.

The biggest challenge in Heritage is what is happening worldwide, and that is COVID-19. COVID-19 has changed the way we work and interact. Our activity is limited by this pandemic; while we have become more resilient, we are still vulnerable to the impact of the virus, which is limiting us to interact with that face-to-face experience.

At an international Oil and Gas organisation where I was employed, while holding the role as Regional QHSE Manager, I had additional responsibilities as a Lead Auditor (ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001) for the Americas, with a focus on the South American region.

Internal audits were required to be conducted in the South American countries, and if any NCRs identified from the internal audit were not closed in the scheduled time frames, this would have significantly impacted the outcome of the external audit. Each country’s ISO certification is linked to the Houston Corporate Office; therefore, the certification of each country must be maintained.

As the Lead Auditor, I had to developed systems to ensure that each country's audit schedules were met; the strategies involved communicating with all member countries, regular weekly follow-ups on audit and nonconformances closure status. This resulted in each country, including the Houston Office, maintaining certification and the process developed to ensure compliance was utilised in all future audits.

Relaxing and unwinding these days is a bit of a challenge due to COVID-19. When I can, I go for a brisk walk or cycle around the neighbourhood to clear my mind. I take the opportunity. I try spending as much quality time over the weekend with the family, which entails chores around the house, grocery shopping, church and looking at a movie indoors.

For my quiet time, I would catch up on some reading on professional subscription HSE professional magazines/books.