Introduction
Safety is the very foundation of world-class drilling and well operations performance. Working safely is a condition of employment for everyone who works for or with BP. Everyone who works in BP’s drilling and well operations is required to operate in a fully responsible manner and protect and enhance the company’s reputation. The health of employees and others who work with BP’s drilling and well operations worldwide is a key consideration. An extensive and diverse agenda is available and is being implemented in every place BP operates.
Global Drilling Safety Review
Since BP began to focus on health, safety and environment (HSE) in a serious way in the 1990s, safety performance in drilling and well operations has been improving steadily. In response to setbacks in safety performance around the world in late 2000, and to enable the achievement of goals of no accidents, no harm to people and no damage to the environment, discipline leadership commissioned an extensive review of safety performance across the company. The review, which became known as the ‘Global Drilling Safety Review’, was completed in the first half of 2001.
Review Team Findings
The initial review of the team’s business unit visits produced over 150 observations, covering both concerns and good practice. This list was reduced to 48 issues that were observed in more than one business unit and was the result of significant dialogue among team members. Those items were then downgraded to 18 high-priority issues and finally grouped into the seven findings listed as follows.
The Cyclic Nature of Drilling
The cyclic nature of drilling is impacting safety. The drilling industry has a history of frequent and rapid growth and decline that has a detrimental effect on safety, sometimes immediate and sometimes long-term. Growth creates a demand for labour, but workers at all levels in the organisation are often poorly trained, with low motivation and experience. Growth may create pressure to accept hardware that is substandard and unfit for use. Decline creates an environment of personal stress that is destructive to morale and distracts those who require good concentration to execute their work safely. The cyclic business is also an environment that fails to promote sound, long-term investment in the physical work environment and the safety culture.
Site Leaders
Site leaders are the most visible safety leaders. Site leadership is inconsistent, and support of site leadership is inconsistent. The most visible site leader in drilling and well operations is the well site leader. These individuals establish priorities with their actions and decisions. Another critical site leader is the drilling and wells team leader, who has the opportunity to make a significant impact through investment in planning, equipment and time and a focus on safety. The working relationship between the drilling and wells team leader and well site leader is critical. The review team observed a range of effectiveness in these two positions.
Inconsistency of Risk Assessment
Application of and competency in risk assessment are inconsistent. Risk assessment, in its many forms, is probably the most powerful ‘tool’ in industry for guiding decision-making around safety behaviour, safety standards and procedures and the physical work environment. During the review, risk assessment was often found to be undervalued, inconsistently applied and poorly appreciated and understood.
Inconsistency of Physical Work
The standard of the physical work environment is inconsistent. The rig and equipment itself can be designed and retrofitted to eliminate hazards. The review team observed a significant amount of retrofitting for safety. However, in nearly alloperations, there are opportunities to further eliminate safety hazards. At times, work-related living conditions are also put at a very low priority.
Category:
Health & Safety
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