North Dakota has witnessed a meteoric rise in drilling since 2006. This activity has not come without controversy. An oil pipeline explosion and an oil train derailment are just a couple of the black eyes that mark the region. Bakken crude has been involved in at least eight major incidents in the past year.

Harold Hamm, chairman of Continental Resources Inc., urged attendees of the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference to emphasize safety in the Bakken Region. Hamm’s company has operated in the region for over 25 years and they were the first to use horizontal drilling on a Bakken well.

There are large groups of people who want to shut down operations in the Bakken region and one more accident would not look good. Hamm refers to the region as in “the crosshairs.”

This situation is easily relatable to other areas of the country and world. People are wary of accidents and they want to mitigate the risks. An effective way to mitigate risk is to implement a system to help manage compliance requirements. Accupoint provides solutions that help organizations manage compliance requirements in the oil and gas industry.

To learn more about Accupoint’s solutions visit accupointsoftware.com or call (800)563-6250.

Not too long ago, only large companies could afford the advantage of software to improve production, efficiency, and safety. The high price tag resulted from the nature of on-site software. Not only was the price for the product high, but also clients were charged fees for service and training on the software that could dwarf the cost of the product. This structure prevented many budget-conscious firms from purchasing software that could benefit them.

Times have changed.

The increased availability of SaaS (Software as a Service) applications have made it possible for companies of all sizes to achieve the benefits that were once only attainable by larger firms. On-site software has the distinct disadvantage of requiring installation whereas SaaS requires no installation because it operates in the cloud. This eliminates the need for additional personnel expenses to manage an on-site system. SaaS applications also do not require the frequent maintenance that is common with its on-site counterparts.

The SaaS model is ideal for firms that choose to operate in a cost-effective manner. You may have thought about software for your business but quickly dismissed it because of perceived costs. If your firm could benefit from a software application, don’t assume that it won’t fit your budget.

For more information on how Accupoint's flexible, cloud-based platform can provide your organization with a cost effective alternative to manage your compliance management systems visit Accupoint or call us at (800)563-6250 to learn more about our SaaS applications.

There are some people in the oil and gas community that believe poor processes, not personnel, were the cause of the Macondo incident. Don’t count Kevin Lacy, former BP vice president for drilling and completions, as one of those people. In the past, Lacy has raised concerns about the way the oil and gas industry looks at people and processes. Lacy spoke at DecomWorld’s 3rd Annual Offshore Safety Conference and his speech can be read here.

A natural response to catastrophic incidents is to blame inadequate processes. However, as it turns out, most processes for offshore sites are adequate. The training of people is the true catalyst for controlling risk. If employees were trained to gain proficiency as opposed to passing a test, there would likely be fewer incidents.

Currently, there is a culture of “This won’t happen” among well site employees. This mentality is dangerous because frontline employees need to be prepared in order to mitigate risk. Industry leaders are fighting to change this mentality to “This will happen, but how do I make sure it won’t happen to us?” This change in philosophy acknowledges risk and establishes the conduct necessary to mitigate it.

Employees are more likely to heed safety requirements if they feel that management is sincere in their pursuit of risk management. Often times, safety initiatives are pushed down from the top, but with little conviction from management. If managers are present at well sites, a sense of credibility is projected to the frontline workers. This has proven to be an effective way to make sure the pursuit of higher production and cost reductions do not compromise safety.

Changing the cultural elements of these well sites can be a complicated task. It is necessary to have a system in place that helps manage safety and training. Accupoint’s cloud-based SAM solution allows you to manage employees from anywhere at anytime. SAM ensures that all of your training and competency management documents are stored in one secure location.

To learn more about Accupoint’s SAM solution visit accupointsoftware.com or call (800)563-6250

If you are looking to update your API Spec Q1 standards to the 9th edition, you are likely coming to grips with the numerous changes that your organization will be required to make.

The transition can be cumbersome if your organization does not have the proper system in place. Manual and paper-based systems can often be unorganized and disjointed, which can lead to redundancies and inefficiencies.

With the June deadline for 9th edition fast approaching we believe that deploying a comprehensive, cloud-based system like InterLink will help manage the implementation and management of API Spec Q1. InterLink’s intuitive user-interface allows you to monitor your data, documents, and metrics from anywhere at anytime.

Don’t let compliance exhaust your resources. Let InterLink save your organization time so you can focus on your core competencies.

If you want to ease the burden of compliance and increase efficiency, visit accupointsoftware.com or call 800.563.6250

Increased activity in the Bakken field of North Dakota has sparked greater demand for its crude oil. The Bakken field does not have the pipeline infrastructure to support the transportation of large quantities of crude oil. This region is heavily reliant on the use of rails in order to ship the crude oil to the port facilities on the east coast of the United States.

The increase in rail activity has raised some safety concerns for the oil and gas industry and the surrounding communities. A train carrying Bakken crude oil was involved in an accident last year that killed 47 people. This incident, along with a few others, has brought increased attention to the safety of these rails.

In April, the NTSB hosted a panel on rail safety with attendees including service providers, consultants, manufacturers, and the API. Attendees collaborated to discuss topics such as risk management and emergency responses to spills. The forum provided insight into possible changes and areas for improvement.

In response to the recent safety concerns, the Department of Transportation will require railroads to notify emergency responders when oil shipments travel through their states. Trains carrying more than one million gallons of Bakken crude oil need to notify emergency commissions within 30 days of the shipment. Thought leaders in the industry feel that measures like this will decrease the likelihood of another railroad disaster.

Safety regulations will constantly change and update in the oil and gas industry. To see how Accupoint’s solutions help organizations in the oil and gas industry manage evolving safety requirements visit accupointsoftware.com or call (800)563-6250.

After the Gulf spill of 2010, we realized how valuable an organization’s goodwill can be. Goodwill is not a figment of our imaginations or some useless feature that our organizations possess. It is one of your organization’s most valuable assets and it should be listed on your balance sheet.

Earning goodwill is extremely difficult and requires patience and time. However, losing goodwill can happen overnight, if your organization is not careful. Poor practices and safety concerns can put your goodwill in serious jeopardy.

Bryan Salerno, director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, recently spoke at the inaugural event for the Ocean Energy Safety Institute. He said that some firms need to go “back to fundamental engineering.” He also remarked about how regulators are increasing their focus on risk-based approaches in order to prevent future disasters.

To help facilitate a risk-based approach and ensure that your organization maintains and increases its goodwill, it is important that you have a system in place. To see how Accupoint’s solutions can help mitigate risk and protect of your firm’s goodwill visit accupointsoftware.com or call (800) 563-6250.

Shell Oil Co.’s vice president of health, safety and environment, Dwight Johnston, thinks he has found the key to offshore safety. Shell has experienced a decrease in injuries since they implemented a program to improve the quality of life for its workers on its offshore facilities.

Shell’s “Care Councils”, which consist of workers from various disciplines, meet to discuss how to improve the facilities where workers live for two or three-week stretches.

The workers on these offshore facilities are either working, eating or sleeping while offshore. Johnston feels that if you give employees a comfortable bed that it will translate into a more well-rested, and ultimately safer worker. Shell has supplied foam mattresses to offshore workers and has already experienced four straight months without an injury.

These “Care Councils” seem to be an effective way to increase safety and improve employee morale. Shell plans to continue “Care Councils” and expand into areas such as which workers get priority on the helicopter rides home for family events.

To see how Accupoint can improve organizational safety and efficiency visit accupointsoftware.com or call (800) 563-6250.

The world's most advanced industry certification standard for oil and natural gas service providers, API Specification Q2, is being fully implemented, ... read more

The updated API Spec Q1-9th edition has raised a number of questions. One of the most frequent questions is what constitutes a critical supplier and how do we verify that their QMS conforms to our internal requirements?

Let’s start by answering what a critical supplier is. Basically, the term “critical” is defined by your organization. If your organization cannot survive without this supplier then this supplier should be considered “critical.” These suppliers should play an integral part in the production of your finished product. Keep in mind that “critical” can also refer to the amount of money that is spent with this supplier. It is important that we regularly evaluate our suppliers to insure that their quality, delivery and response performance meet our internal benchmarks.  Maintaining supply chain performance is essential to your bottom line, as well as compliance with Spec Q1-9th edition requirements.

Next, let’s look at how to verify that your suppliers’ QMS conforms to the requirements of your organization. You need to outline the specific certification(s), if any, required of your suppliers.  If you require certification, then you can rely on the results of a third party auditor to verify that an acceptable system is in place.  If you plan to handle supplier audits internally, then you will need to develop site-specific criteria for each supplier.  After your initial audit, you will need to conduct regular surveillance audits to verify continued acceptability of the supplier system.

Supplier management is one of the key components of the 9th edition requirements.  It is important that your organization maintains a comprehensive supplier management program with the ability benchmark performance metrics.

To find out about how Accupoint Software can help you with effective supplier management programs, as well as the other requirements of Q1- 9th edition, call 800.563.6250 or visit our website at www.accupointsoftware.com.