“Working Safely May Get Old, But So Do Those Who Practise It”: Sanjeev Kumar Soosaipillai and the Prax Group’s Unwavering Commitment to Safety

“Working safely may get old, but so do those who practise it.” This anonymous quote can be found in workplaces worldwide. Like all clichés, the words contain a bit of universal truth.

For Sanjeev Kumar Soosaipillai, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Prax Group, these words represented more than workplace wisdom. They encapsulated a fundamental business philosophy that guided his company’s growth from a single filling station to a multinational energy conglomerate employing over 1,400 people at its peak.

The sentiment behind this quote spoke to a paradox familiar in the oil and gas industries, where the stakes are always high. Safety procedures may feel repetitive, tedious, or even bureaucratic. Yet by embracing these practices, businesses that resist complacency despite the monotony build a foundation for true growth.

Sanjeev understood this truth intimately. Operating across upstream, midstream, and downstream energy markets, the Prax Group managed some of the UK’s most hazardous facilities. The Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery operated as an Upper Tier COMAH (Control of Major Accident Hazards) site, where dangerous materials were present in quantities sufficient to pose serious risks to human health and the environment. Prax Terminals Jarrow operated as a Lower Tier COMAH establishment. The Group’s operations spanned refineries, terminals, retail forecourts, logistics operations, and exploration platforms – each presenting distinct safety challenges.

Safety as a Non-Negotiable

Under Sanjeev’s leadership, safety was never negotiable. The company’s approach reflected an understanding that accidents didn’t announce themselves; they emerged from accumulated small failures, from shortcuts taken, from warnings ignored.

This philosophy manifested in concrete achievements. The Prax Group consistently earned Gold Awards from RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents), the UK’s longest-running industry awards scheme. The company first achieved this recognition in 2020, maintaining the standard through subsequent years, standing as a testament to sustained commitment rather than temporary focus. These weren’t ceremonial honours; they represented measurable performance in preventing injuries and fatalities across complex, high-risk operations.

The 2025 Turnaround (TAR) at Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery demonstrated this commitment under pressure. The maintenance event, focusing on the Hydrodesulphurisation-3 complex, involved 450 work packages and over 70,000 work hours completed by more than 200 additional contractors.

The event finished accident-free. Every safety target was met. In recognition, the refinery donated £7,500 to local charities, a gesture that transformed safety achievement into community benefit, reinforcing its value beyond mere compliance.

Sanjeev’s approach to safety extended beyond policies and procedures. In his own words from an internal memo, he emphasised the importance of discipline, even when it’s hard.

“I believe that having the right attitude to getting the job done is absolutely essential and encourage my teams to always stay positive and motivated, even when a specific task is challenging,” Soosaipillai wrote.

This positive, motivated approach applied equally to safety. By setting this example from the top, Soosaipillai created a culture of commitment to safety protocols, not through fear but through a genuine understanding of their purpose.

Company-Wide Commitment to Safety

Safety wasn’t just a concern for those working in refineries and oil fields. The Soosaipillais made sure workplace safety was a company-wide effort.

The company’s SHEQ (Safety, Health, Environment, Quality) team worked hard across all divisions to maintain standards. Their efforts encompassed everything from manual handling training to COMAH compliance, from ergonomic hazard prevention to emergency response planning. The company’s quarterly publication, Prax Pulse, even contained a recurring column in which the Group Head of SHEQ wrote about a variety of health and safety topics.

The company’s annual Prax World Safety Day further exemplified its collective commitment to best practices.

In 2025, the theme focused on High Risk Hot Work and Fire Safety, acknowledging that over 15% of industrial fires resulted from activities like welding, grinding, and cutting. The day combined celebration of safety successes with stark reminders of what was at stake – sparks from welding can reach 1,800°C and travel over 10 metres, while routine jobs can become high-risk if vigilance lapses. Put simply, fire doesn’t offer second chances.

Leading by Example

The Prax approach recognised that safety culture flowed from leadership. Doing so protected the company’s most important asset of all: its people.

Working safely may indeed have gotten old. The daily toolbox talks, the permit-to-work systems, the risk assessments, and the PPE requirements. Repetition was precisely the point. In building the Prax Group, Sanjeev created more than a business. He built a culture where getting old by working safely was the expected outcome.