The BSEE’s regulation requiring oil and gas operators on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to strengthen safety procedures and reporting on safety performance at their facilities has recently taken effect. The new Safety and Environmental Management Systems regulation is expected to help companies meet four principal objectives.
1. Focus attention on the influences that human error and poor organization have on accidents
2. Drive continuous improvement in the offshore industry's safety and environmental records
3. Encourage the use of performance-based operating practices
4. Collaborate with industry in efforts that promote the public interests of offshore worker safety and environmental protection
“As we’ve seen with some recent events, incidents are not limited to a single impact,” says Joe Stough, VP of Innovation Technologies for IHS. “The best practice indicators for safety performance often address preventive, proactive measurements as opposed to lagging safety outcomes that allow companies to only react.” According to Stough, the first thing an off-shore oil and gas company needs to do is develop a comprehensive operations integrity, operational excellence or HSE management system that meets the criteria defined by the American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice for Development of a Safety and Environmental Management Program 75 (API RP 75). If a company already has a structured management system, then it should complete an internal assessment to verify that their management system meets the aspects of the API RP 75. “As safety performance becomes a more vital measure of business performance and even the ‘right to operate,’ shifting to apply leading indicators as a barometer for driving performance will become more important,” he adds.
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers