Managing Risk at Ground Level

Abstract

Guest editorial The term “risk management” is not new to the oil and gas industry, but its meaning continues to evolve to reflect changing challenges. For many, risk management might be synonymous with safety, or taking proper precautions to minimize the occurrence of an incident or unsafe condition. And while safety is a fundamental component of risk management, the concept also incorporates mitigating risks to service quality, productivity, and the environment. Although the majority of companies in the oil and gas industry share a commitment to constantly improving their risk mitigation strategies, the execution is sometimes lacking.  This is supported by statistics showing that the number of total recordable incidents in the United States upstream oil and gas industry has reached a plateau in recent years, despite the industry’s best efforts to lower them (Fig. 1). It is perhaps human nature to take a reactionary approach to changing risk management strategies only after one or more dangerous and environmentally harmful events have occurred. In the past few years, however, operators and service companies alike have been changing their mind-set on risk mitigation by adopting a forward-thinking approach to managing safety, quality, and environmental threats. This requires a fundamental shift in a company’s risk culture. With regard to safety, for example, many companies historically have fostered a compliance-based safety culture—one that stresses safety for the sake of complying with regulatory guidelines or passing an audit. With this mind-set, the ultimate responsibility for safety might fall to one or more health, safety, and environment (HSE) officers, who perform the audits, fill out a checklist, and point out unsafe practices. Soon after the audit is over, however, the temptation to drift back to the old ways of performing work may be too strong to resist. Changing Behaviors A preferred approach, which is gaining traction in the industry, is to build a behavior-based safety culture, one in which each worker is committed to performing his or her work functions with the highest regard to safety, even when no one is looking over his or her shoulder. This behavior-based approach should be supported by top executives, but must start at the ground level, with the rig crews and workshop personnel who are most immediately affected. Achieving this culture begins with empowering employees through a comprehensive training program that gives them the tools and leadership skills to perform their tasks safely, and to intervene when they observe an unsafe act.