US Macondo investigators on UK fact-finding mission
26 Apr 2012
Aberdeen, UK – Investigators from the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) have visited the UK on a fact-finding mission about the UK oil and gas industry’s safety culture, including the role of regulators, workforce engagement and management of asset integrity issues.
The fact-finding effort in preparation for the CSB’s 23-24 July public hearing on process safety indicators that could help US industry and regulators improve safety.
Lead CSB investigator Cheryl MacKenzie and colleagues visited Aberdeen on Wednesday 25 April. Among other things, the CSB team attended the Step Change in Safety Leadership Team meeting.
Step Change in Safety, which seeks to make the UK the safest place to work in the worldwide oil and gas industry. The Leadership Team comprises industry, regulators, trade unions and the workforce.
During the visit to Oil & Gas UK the US team heard about the work of the Well Life Cycle Practices Forum (WLCPF), which was established by the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG). The forum helps industry to share and build good practices around well design, construction and completion.
OSPRAG itself was established in the UK in 2010 in response to the Macondo disaster and completed its work last year. The group also gained an insight into the UK sector’s asset integrity key performance indicators; part of arrangements for monitoring and measuring major accident risk contributors.
The learning process is very much a two-way thing between the US and UK teams, according to Robert Paterson, Oil & Gas UK’s health and safety director.
“The goal-setting safety regime of the UKCS has been in place and has matured since Piper Alpha and is generally regarded as being world class<” he said. “There is a big focus on workforce involvement and the importance of an effective ‘safety culture’ among workers offshore.
“Likewise, we have learnt much from the Americans and as part of continuous improvement, we continue to implement much of this learning for the long term through bodies such as the WLCPF.”
The US team want to learn about good safety practices that have been developed overseas and may be applicable to the Gulf and other US drilling and production efforts, said MacKenzie for the CSB.
“This visit has proved very insightful into the way offshore safety is managed in the UK,” she commented. “We are particularly interested in learning about systems that have been developed overseas for the reporting of lagging and leading safety indicators for major accident prevention.”
