I was on my daily site routine inspection yesterday at Zone A (infront of Bin Laden Gate) and KAM Access Road from 0650 to 0930 Hours when the ICC HSE Manager notified me at around 0930hrs of him suspending the ongoing works thereat. I notified Mr FA Balawi of the matter and his instruction was "to continue the works as the condition is still manageable". The HSE Manager was informed accordingly with the decision to return to work as instructed.

The reasoning as pointed out in the letter as a "force majeure due to the sandstorm" can be accepted at the height of the sandstorm between 0845 to 1000hrs. However using the same reasoning from start of the shift to the time the sandstorm escalated should not be tolerated from the point of view of work efficiency since there were no jobs at the sites to be "STOPPED" except the just started hauling work from Ayash Group in KAM Access Road. From a Supervisor Safety point of view, all affected workers should be  grouped at the Emergency Assembly Areas and/or keep in the busses as point of refuge. Upon being notified (with Aramco's clearance)to evacuate that is the right time to move to a safer place like the Field Office Buildings. Going home or to the quarters should only be done after ICC Management is given by Client to do so unless a RETURN TO WORK ORDER is instructed.

This is a classic example of Operational Emergency Preparedness Procedure!