The “IX. Symposium on Problems and Solution Proposals in Occupational Health and Safety in Turkey” with the theme “Innovative Training and Practices Developing Safety Culture in Workplaces” is being hosted by Üsküdar Üniversitesi.
Prof. Dr. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin, Dean of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences: “Despite all these technological advancements, we are still losing our people due to work accidents. All of these are preventable deaths.”
Dr. Rüştü Uçan, Head of Occupational Health and Safety Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi: “Early warning systems related to earthquake fault lines are also one of today's topics. It is possible to provide an early warning 15-30 seconds in advance. This has not yet been implemented in residences in Turkey; it needs to be implemented urgently.”
Dr. Sertaç Temur, Deputy Head of OHS Department and Symposium Coordinator at Üsküdar Üniversitesi: “I believe that the field of occupational health and safety, which has completed its first generation, will reach much more advanced stages in the second and third generations than we have.”
The IX. Symposium on Problems and Solution Proposals in Occupational Health and Safety in Turkey, organized with the main theme of “Innovative Training and Practices Developing Safety Culture in Workplaces,” was hosted by Üsküdar Üniversitesi.
The symposium, held at the Ibn Sina Conference Hall of Üsküdar Üniversitesi NP Health Campus, brought together academics, public and private sector representatives, occupational safety specialists, and industry professionals. Many topics were discussed at the event, including the prevention of work accidents, strengthening corporate safety culture, psychosocial risks, digitalization, and occupational health and safety practices in the mining and construction sectors.
The opening speeches of the symposium were delivered by Dr. Sertaç Temur, Deputy Head of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Department and Symposium Coordinator at Üsküdar Üniversitesi; Dr. Rüştü Uçan, Head of OHS Department, Director of ÜSGÜMER, and President of MESKA Foundation; and Prof. Dr. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Prof. Dr. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin: “Occupational Health and Safety is one of the most important issues in our country”
Prof. Dr. Arif Aktuğ Ertekin, Dean of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences, pointed out that occupational health and safety is one of Turkey's most critical social issues, emphasizing that establishing a culture in this field requires continuity and persistence.
Stating that “Occupational Health and Safety is one of the most important issues in our country. Continuity and persistence are extremely important for creating a culture in a society,” Prof. Dr. Ertekin noted that the academic process in occupational health and safety at Üsküdar Üniversitesi has progressed steadily over the years.
Prof. Dr. Ertekin said, “We started the undergraduate program in 2012–2013, and we are currently holding the ninth edition of this symposium. This situation shows that the concept has been embraced and transformed into a corporate culture.”
Over 700,000 Work Accidents Occurred in 2024
Sharing current statistics on work accidents, Prof. Dr. Ertekin stated, “These are preventable deaths. I checked the statistics; including November 2025, the number of work accident fatalities is over 1900. December has not yet been announced, but if we look at the average, it means more than 2100 deaths have occurred. The previous year this number was around 1800. Unfortunately, despite such technological advancements, people are still dying from work accidents.”
Stating that over 700,000 work accidents occurred in 2024, Prof. Dr. Ertekin drew attention to the fact that child and migrant workers were among those who lost their lives in these accidents.
“Among these deaths, there are approximately 70 child workers and over 90 migrant workers,” said Prof. Dr. Ertekin, adding that when undocumented workers are also considered, the real figures could be much higher than the announced data. Ertekin commented, “When we consider undocumented workers, the true picture, unfortunately, could be much graver.”
Underlining that a large portion of work accidents are preventable, Prof. Dr. Ertekin stated that the continued loss of life despite technological advancements is concerning. “Despite all these technological advancements, we are still losing our people due to work accidents. All of these are preventable deaths,” said Prof. Dr. Ertekin, emphasizing that the issue of occupational health and safety should be more strongly embraced by all segments of society.
Dr. Rüştü Uçan: “The first one was organized with Yıldız Technical University after the Soma disaster”
Dr. Rüştü Uçan, Head of the Occupational Health and Safety Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, emphasized the vital importance of sustainable academic studies in occupational health and safety and early involvement in standard development processes.
Addressing the participants, Dr. Uçan said, “We are holding the ninth edition of this symposium. The first one was organized with Yıldız Technical University after the Soma disaster. Nearly ten years have passed since then, and we have not abandoned these efforts in any way.”
The Symposium Transformed into a Permanent Academic Output
Noting that the symposium has turned into a permanent academic output, Dr. Uçan stated, “The first event was also published as a book, and this e-book was downloaded over 170,000 times. This number made it the second most followed book of Yıldız Technical University. The Physics Laboratory book was in the first place.”
Emphasizing that industry representatives are regularly brought together each year, Dr. Uçan said that this approach creates a mutual evaluation process.
Dr. Uçan stated, “In these events, we tried to follow what companies think in this field and what kind of developments they have made. We invite approximately 8–10 companies each year, giving them different topics to see what they are doing. This process allows both them and us to evaluate ourselves and ask questions like, ‘Were we successful this year, what are our shortcomings?’”
We will organize a workshop on robotics for the first time in Turkey
Referring to an important institutional development this year, Dr. Uçan announced that he has been included in the Mirror Committee of the Turkish Standards Institute and said, “This committee is related to the field of robotics. For the first time in Turkey, we will organize a workshop between April 15–17. We will try to ensure that a standard is developed in Turkey together with experts from around the world. It is extremely important to get involved in the process while the standards are still in the preparation stage and develop them in accordance with our own needs.”
Stating that they are also active in the media to ensure that occupational health and safety is addressed correctly in the public, Dr. Uçan said, “In an explosion in a 14-story building in Beylikdüzü, people were writing ‘there is a gas smell’ in WhatsApp groups, and after a while, it was said ‘the smell increased.’ However, intervention was made only nine hours after the explosion, and unfortunately, one person lost their life. We need technical measures rather than WhatsApp warnings.”
Drawing attention to the importance of making natural gas detectors and automatic gas shut-off systems mandatory, Dr. Uçan stated that earthquake early warning systems are also of vital importance.
Earthquake Early Warning Systems are Extremely Critical
“Early warning systems related to earthquake fault lines are also one of today's topics. It is possible to provide an early warning 15-30 seconds in advance. This has not yet been implemented in residences in Turkey; it needs to be implemented urgently,” said Dr. Uçan, adding, “I have currently started my second doctorate. We are working on how early warning systems can be implemented in one of Turkey's largest casting factories. If measures such as preventing ladles from overturning, cutting off electricity, or activating a generator can be taken within 30–60 seconds during an earthquake, large fires and loss of life can be prevented.”
Referring to Üsküdar Üniversitesi’s mission of knowledge production and dissemination, Dr. Uçan stated that approximately 10 free e-books have been published to date and concluded by saying, “Now we are publishing our book on robots as an e-book. The book has been translated into English, and one of our students is even translating it into Persian. We are doing our best to be useful.”
Dr. Sertaç Temur: “This year, we aimed to organize a symposium themed 'safety culture'”
Dr. Sertaç Temur, Deputy Head of OHS Department and Symposium Coordinator at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, emphasized that values lie at the core of safety culture, stating that this approach determined the main theme of the symposium.
Stating that there is a direct relationship between the basic needs of human life and safety culture, Dr. Temur said, “Values such as the need for shelter and nutrition, which are located in the hierarchy of needs for a human to continue their generation, are also extremely important factors for the sustainability of safety culture.”
Conveying that the main theme of the symposium was determined in line with this approach, Dr. Temur said, “For these reasons, this year we aimed to organize a symposium themed 'safety culture'.”
Dr. Sertaç Temur drew attention to the importance of intergenerational development, saying, “I want to conclude with a quote from a professor I admire greatly: ‘We can talk about development as long as the next generation is better than the previous one.’”
Emphasizing the development process of the occupational health and safety field, Dr. Sertaç Temur stated, “I believe that the field of occupational health and safety, which has almost completed its first generation, will reach much more advanced stages in its second and third generations.”
2017 Graduates Met at the Symposium
The first graduates of 2017 from Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Health Sciences, Occupational Health and Safety Department, reunited at the ninth Symposium on Problems and Solution Proposals in Occupational Health and Safety in Turkey.
Dr. Ahmet Ebrar Sakallı, who works as an A-Class Occupational Safety Specialist at Turkish Airlines, and Dr. Sertaç Temur, Deputy Head of OHS Department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, drew attention with their academic and professional careers.
Dr. Ahmet Ebrar Sakallı and Dr. Sertaç Temur are among the first individuals to hold diplomas at three levels (bachelor's, master's, and doctorate) in occupational health and safety. This achievement once again highlighted Üsküdar Üniversitesi’s pioneering position in the field of occupational health and safety and its vision for training qualified human resources.
What Was Done at the Symposium?
The 1st Session of the symposium was held under the chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur. During the session, Selimcan Menemencioğlu, OHS Manager at Shell Turkey, presented “First Step; Not Starting Work”, Meksut Alev, HSE Coordinator at Soletanche Bachy, presented “Taking Root Cause Analysis One Step Further: Corporate Psychosocial Root Cause Analysis and the Digital Face of OHS in Construction”, Yılmaz Sonışık from EDİS Company presented “Marmara Region Earthquake Early Warning System”, and Mehmet Osmanoğlu, Safety, Environment, and Health Manager at Gümüştaş Madencilik, presented “A Helmet for the Future: Building a Sustainable Culture in Mining”.
The 2nd Session, which started after the lunch break, was chaired by Dr. Rüştü Uçan from Üsküdar Üniversitesi. Yasin Öztürk, Chief Engineer at Çayeli Bakır İşletmesi, presented “THINK! SAFETY”, Ahmet Ebrar Sakallı, Class A Occupational Safety Specialist at Turkish Airlines, presented “Employee-Focused Human Resources Practices”, and Hasan Çelebi presented his talk titled “MULTİTEK”.
The 3rd Session, the last session of the day, was held under the chairmanship of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Müge Ensari Özay. Ali Rıza Tiryaki from Artı Danışmanlık, Osman Sayar, President of İSGDER, presented “Problems Experienced by Occupational Safety Specialists”, and Ekrem Bayrak from Prosense presented “Examination of Sensor Selection in Gas Detection Systems from a Risk Assessment Perspective”. The symposium concluded with a closing speech after the evaluations.
During the preparation and execution of the symposium, Research Assistant Ender Sezen, as well as students from the Occupational Health and Safety bachelor's and associate degree programs and members of the Scenario-Based OHS Student Club, provided significant support by actively contributing to the organization.
The second day of the symposium, which will last for 2 days, is being held on Saturday, January 10, 2026, via an online platform.
