The Department of Labor states that on-the-job fatality rates are seven times higher for oil and gas extraction workers than all other industries. The only solution to this serious problem is proactive compliance with a comprehensive safety and health management program. Continual risk identification, analysis and policy enforcement are the keys to keeping workers safe and avoiding operational downtime.
Risk Assessments Hazards in oil and gas industry are divided between safety and injury dangers and health and illness hazards. Front-line supervisors should work with safety managers to conduct risk assessments that are founded on historical experience, analytical methods and field knowledge and judgement. A risk assessment will ask three basic questions for each possible event: what can go wrong, how likely will it occur and what are the impacts. Both qualitative and quantitative answers offer unique value. Safety planning and risk assessments require that everyone involved understands the objectives, the methods, the resources required and how the results will be applied. Standard Evaluation Methods A risk assessment generally involves four basic steps: hazard identification, frequency projection, consequence assessment and risk evaluation. Hazard identification methods include literature research, safety audits, periodic walk-throughs and what-if brainstorming. Popular tools include FMEA, HAZOP and HAZID. Frequency assessment methods include fault tree, event tree, human reliability and common cause failure analysis tools. Consequence assessment methods include source term, aquatic transport, atmospheric dispersion and blast and thermal radiation models. Popular evaluation methods include risk profiles, indexes, matrixes and density curves. The Hazard Identification (HAZID) Technique HAZID is a safety tool to describe activities that identify risks and associated events. Offshore petroleum facilities often use HAZIDs to identify potential hazards to personnel, such as injuries and illness, to the environment, such as spills and pollution, and operational issues, such as delays and production losses. Offshore petroleum leaders often use the HAZID technique to analyze operational procedures on vessels and machinery. A HAZID planning session will involve an interdisciplinary team that includes those who have experience with facility design, such as engineering, and facility operation, such as veteran employees. Together, they will use checklists to methodically brainstorm and identify potential hazards associated with each part of the system. A what-if analysis uses subjective questioning to ponder potential performance problems and their consequences. For example, if an intake air filter is blocked, this will reduce the air flow through the compressor, which will consume more energy and lead to functional inefficiencies. The solution is through monthly inspections and scheduled filter replacements. Contact us today to learn how Accupoint can streamline your safety, compliance and risk assessments processes. Contract management and review are important, and often neglected disciplines. According to research done by the independent International Association for Contract & Commercial Management, good contract management practices could improve profit by 9% of annual revenue. Contracts can leak, costing money through outdated pricing, or misunderstandings and breakdowns in communication that lead to losses.
Contract review is the process for determining customer requirements prior to the supply of a product, and proof that the organization has the ability to meet the defined requirements. Contract review should be part of your company's business management. Attention must be paid to the requirements related to products, supply and management of information. Your company will determine the specific needs of the customer including delivery and post-delivery activities, such as warranty and maintenance services. You also need to consider requirements that are not explicitly stated by the customer, but are still necessary. You need to know any regulatory requirements that apply to the product. Before your company commits to a contact or order, or any changes to existing contracts you need to consider several factors including:
Communication is also critical to success. You will need to determine effective means of communication in relation to product information, contracts, order handling, feedback and complaints. This is all part of your customer relations management processes and determining customer requirements. If contract review is ever done offsite, you need to link the activities to your on-site quality management system. You must conduct risk analysis before committing to a contract. Consider whether taking on additional obligations will affect your supply chain, for example. Manufacturing risk analysis will help you assess your ability to effectively provide the specified product. Do you have the resources needed to fulfill the obligations? Can you meet timing demands? Are there additional developments costs and investments? Look at potential failures in processes, including suppliers. Is there solid potential for increased profits? Considering all of these factors will allow you to enter into contracts that are efficient and effective, which is good for your bottom line. For more information on how Accupoint can help improve your contact review process, contact us today. The petroleum industry requires dangerous work. Protecting personnel from injury requires rigorous monitoring and training protocols and scrupulous attention to reporting, prevention and data analysis when an accident occurs. Here are three fundamental concepts to keep in mind when designing an effective injury management program:
1) Know your hazards. Most injuries in the petroleum industry fall into one of two large categories: safety-related injuries and health-related injuries. Safety-related injuries include those related to:
Health-related hazards include:
Be aware of where each of these may appear in your site or team workflows and make sure preventive and responsive protocols are in place to deal with each. 2) Manage your risks. A robust risk management program has the following 7 steps:
3) Design a program that works. Effective injury management programs must satisfy the following requirements:
If you adhere to the guidelines above when designing and refining your injury management program, you will be able to anticipate problems more effectively and resolve them more efficiently. For more information on how Accupoint’s web-based solution can help you improve your injury management program, please contact us today. |
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