Imagine you are a newly assigned graduate trainee at a Shell retail station. During your shift, you notice a small fuel spill near a pump that hasn't been cleaned up and no warning signs have been placed. Your supervisor is off-site and not answering calls. What would you do?

Situation

During my OJT at a fuel station, I arrived at the start of my shift and found a small diesel spill near pump 3. The area was still in use, and the morning crew hadn't noticed because they were handling a sudden rush of customers.

Task

I had to ensure the safety of customers and the site, even though my supervisor was unreachable and I was the newest team member.

Action

I immediately placed four orange warning cones around the spill to cordon off the hazard. I then retrieved the spill kit, donned the appropriate PPE, and used absorbent pads to contain and clean the spill. While doing so, I asked a senior pump attendant to temporarily redirect vehicles to other pumps. After the area was safe, I documented the incident in the shift log, including the time, actions taken, and product involved.

Result

The spill was neutralised within 15 minutes with no slips, no equipment damage, and minimal disruption to fuelling. When my supervisor returned, she reviewed my actions and commended me for following HSSE protocol without hesitation; she later asked me to help create a simple closing-shift checklist to prevent future oversights.