07.05.2025
In this special interview, we sit down with Virgilio Scolaro, our QHSE Manager at Oceans & Cables Ltd. Virgilio talks about his passion for Health & Safety in the workplace, the responsibilities and the challenges he faces in his role, as well all the satisfaction it brings along in such a fundamental and important role.
Can you tell us something about your background?
First, thank you Charlene for this interview. Working in the offshore sector has always fascinated me. I come from a family with a strong maritime tradition and, as for education, I got high school qualifications at the Maritime College in Pozzallo. I consider myself a lucky person because I do a job that I like, and I hope to be able to do it until the end of my career. After graduating in mechanical engineering, I gained experience abroad as a commissioning engineer for the construction and start-up of new power plants around the world. The dream of dealing with QHSE has always been alive, for this reason, after few years, I moved closer to home working as HSE manager for an important company present in Italy with several plants. After a few years, I decided to start a freelance career as a QHSE consultant and HSE trainer. An experience that gave me a lot and convinced me to take another degree in work and organisational psychology with a final work on the correlation between accidents and people’s behaviors. Years ago, I started an international career as a site HSE manager and, subsequently, I embraced the Oceans & Cables’ plan for professional development, trying to give my contribution to growing the company business in a new but rapidly expanding and fundamental sector such as QHSE around the world, onshore and offshore.
Can you elaborate on your primary responsibilities as the QHSE Manager at Oceans & Cables?
As the QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment) Manager at Oceans & Cables, my primary responsibilities include a wide range of strategic, operational, and compliance-focused tasks aimed at ensuring the company adheres to the highest standards of quality, safety, environmental sustainability, and regulatory compliance. For example, development and implementation of QHSE Policies; embed QHSE principles into the company culture to ensure they are integral to daily operations; maintain up-to-date knowledge of local and international HSEQ regulations; ensure compliance with all relevant legal requirements and maintain the company’s legal registers; oversee incident reporting systems and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) related to health, safety, and environmental performance; being involved in audits and inspections of QHSE management systems and assist the company during external audits by third parties. When it is required, perform site inspections and risk assessments to identify potential hazards, provide training for staff on emergency protocols to ensure readiness in critical situations, train employees on QHSE best practices, including safe work procedures and environmental sustainability measures. I also act as a mentor to promote continuous improvement in QHSE standards across the organisation, collaborating with other departments (technical and human resources) to integrate QHSE considerations into project planning and execution. This role is pivotal in maintaining Oceans & Cables’s reputation for delivering high-quality marine cable installation services and providing skilled manpower for onshore projects while adhering to stringent safety and environmental standards.
What are the most significant health and safety challenges faced in submarine cable installation and maintenance projects?
Submarine cable installation and maintenance projects (offshore and onshore) face numerous health and safety challenges due to the demanding environments and complex operations involved. These challenges can be categorised into environmental, technical, logistical, and human factors. These categories are challenges not only for us, but also for the project installation itself. I can give some examples of what we face normally during an offshore project. Regarding the environmental point of view, the most common risks induced from human are related to anthropic activities like fishing activities (70% of cable faults are caused by fishing gear, such as trawler nets, which snag on cables), anchoring (ship anchors dragging across the seabed are another major cause of damage, particularly in shallow waters) and last but not the least, sabotage and security threats. Technical challenges are also parts of daily business in submarine cable projects. For example, repairing damaged cables involves locating faults (often in remote areas), recovering the cable from the seabed using grapnels or remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), splicing new sections, and reburying the cable — all of which require precision and expertise. The weather is a parameter that is constantly taken into consideration for the risks to which both the on-board personnel and the expensive components of the system during installation may be exposed. Storms or rough seas can delay both installation and maintenance activities. Human behavior and human factors are always under assessment, with no differences if we are challenging offshore or onshore projects. Personnel operate heavy machinery on moving vessels in challenging sea conditions, increasing the risk of accidents. Tasks like cable splicing require extreme precision under strict health and safety protocols to avoid errors that could lead to costly disruptions. Heavy liftings require proper preparation, competent personnel and accuracy to avoid any type of incident.
How do you ensure compliance with international health and safety regulations in various offshore operations, especially when operating across different jurisdictions?
Every project in different countries is always a new challenge and inspiration to learn and apply something new. The complexity arises from diverse regulatory frameworks, the hazardous nature of offshore environments, and the involvement of various stakeholders. When I am assigned to a new project, I take time to prepare myself. At the beginning it is important to understand how to adhere to international and regional standards and regulations. Then, it is time to verify if the risk assessments together with mitigate measures are in line with the project requirements. Conduct thorough risk evaluations to identify hazards specific to each jurisdiction and operational environment. This includes analysing weather conditions, machinery risks, and emergency scenarios. After this first step, implement controls to minimise risks to personnel, equipment, and the environment. For instance, advanced monitoring systems can provide real-time data on environmental conditions. Regular updates and training could help also to comply with several international health and safety regulations. The secret is to be always active and proactive, looking for workshops, updates, documentations, new publications. Nowadays, in this digital era, it is easier compared to 10 years ago, to keep updated and in contact with several expertise and colleagues around the world, to discuss, compare and learn. You never stop learning!
Can you share an example of a critical incident or near-miss in your work, and how your team responded to mitigate the situation and prevent future occurrences?
As you well know, an event that has a very negative impact on a company’s reputation is a serious accident or injury. Fortunately, during my career and professional experience, thanks to the contribution and support of others I have worked with (let’s always remember that safety is and must be a team effort), I have managed to build and/or monitor and implement a system that took into account EHS events, from unsafe acts to unsafe conditions, including any near misses, with very few occasions for injuries. As already anticipated in the 30s by Bird’s triangle (Industrial Accident Prevention: A Scientific Approach by Herbert William Heinrich), the importance of identifying and improving near misses to proactively prevent accidents is emphasized.
In the past, after a near miss at the job site where I worked, following key elements to be highlighted that have been put in place not only the EHS team, but from the entire site team:
Quick and proper response, with their immediate action allowed for immediate reporting with details and information that allow for determining a root cause through the investigative process, the quick response from site team has been very important. When you are dealing with high-risk activities, response and reporting time plays a crucial role; proper mitigate measures to put in place, after the investigative process, I got the availability of the company management to follow up and allow the application of mitigation actions immediately (a point that is by no means a given in our work); refresher course for workers and EHS team, deriving from the mitigation actions undertaken. Sharing lessons learned within a company operating in different countries or locations is very important for the prevention and reduction of the recurrence rate of a near miss or an accident.
You are also responsible for the Bureau Veritas Certification at Oceans & Cables. Can you tell us more about this?
Oceans & Cables has been certified ISO 45001:2018, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 for the activities of “Technical consultancy and project management services in subsea cabling, oil and gas, hydrography, geophysical, geotechnical industries” for a few years. I am very happy and proud to hold this role for Oceans & Cables as I believe that the company has had full confidence in me and in my professional skills for the activities concerning the renewal and maintenance of the certification of the integrated management system for Quality, Environment and Safety. What the company normally does in daily business, to implement and maintain the EHS management system, will be audited once a year by Bureau Veritas during the third-party audit. Bureau Veritas certification plays a crucial role in ensuring safety, quality, and compliance across various offshore projects. During the audit, following an activity program, documents and models that demonstrate compliance with ISO standards in the field of Environment, Health and Safety are checked. In my role, I’m also in charge to be one of the reference personnel of Oceans & Cables during the audit phases at our office in Malta. For me, this is not only a source of pride in officially representing Oceans & Cables during a third-party audit, but also a moment of professional growth seen in terms of improving the company and ourselves thanks to the input from the Bureau Veritas’ auditors.
Reflecting on your career, what motivates you to maintain a strong focus on health and safety in your daily responsibilities?
What I always repeat when I talk to others about my job and the responsibilities that come with it is that first, you must be truly passionate and believe daily in what you do and think positively about what you can do to improve yourself and get better. Then, there are other motivational important aspects that are the pillars from my point of view: Protecting colleagues, contractors, and visitors from harm during daily business. Every day, I am motivated by the knowledge that a safe workplace means everyone goes home to their families healthy and unharmed; be a leader for a strong safety culture to make people feel safe and motivated with their work in several environments; always ready to learn for continuous improvement, today is better than yesterday but worse than tomorrow! Each day presents new opportunities to make processes safer and more efficient. As an engineer and as EHS professional, I cannot forget my legal and ethical responsibility. Maintaining high standards in health and safety is about integrity and professionalism. Last but not the least is personal fulfilment. EHS is not just a job – it’s a commitment to making a difference, and that sense of purpose keeps me motivated every day. In summary, my motivation comes from a blend of protecting people, fostering a positive culture, continuous improvement, meeting legal and ethical standards, and personal fulfillment. These drivers ensure that health and safety remain at the forefront of everything I do. EHS is also a way of living!
Any tips you want to share to the younger generation that might be interested in this career?
Young people who want to gain experience and grow in the world of EHS must be highly motivated, have strong character, and are ready to cope with having a highly irritable bowel and losing their hair. Jokes aside, like all jobs, you must be willing to interpret them in a very serious and dedicated way. Even more so when it comes to a job where with your choices and indications you could put the lives of other people at risk, you must really believe in it. A career in Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) offers opportunities to make a meaningful impact on workplaces, communities, and the environment. Being a multifaceted and multidisciplinary role, I suggest pursuing a bachelor’s degree in relevant fields such as environmental science, occupational health, engineering, or public health. Consider certifications like Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) or any other international chartered body or organisation to enhance your qualifications and competitiveness. Be humble and gain practical experience. On-the-job training is crucial for understanding workplace-specific safety protocols and regulations. Commit to Continuous Learning by attending conferences, seminars, or workshops to stay informed about advancements in the EHS field.
Finally, could you share a lighthearted or humorous episode from your time working at Oceans & Cables related to health and safety?
There is no episode that can bring attention, but I am always in the thoughts of my colleagues especially when there is a need to make fun of me for applying EHS principles in everyday practice. I still remember when a colleague, while walking around his city, sent me a video of a road construction site with comments and observations regarding the unsafe conditions detected. An episode, together with others, that not only makes you smile but also reflects on how important it is to raise awareness among people on important issues like these. Safety first!
Oceans & Cables Limited is a company based in Malta, founded in 2014, operating in the submarine cable industry and related technical services, working with various industries and markets globally. Our specialisation is in the consultancy, planning and implementation of the submarine cable industry for governmental entities, commercial corporations, and offshore renewable energy companies around the world. For more information about Oceans & Cables, please contact us on info@oceanscables.com.
Interview by Charlene Sciberras to Virgilio Scolaro, QHSE Manager Oceans & Cables Limited.