Simplifying work practices could save millions

The UK oil and gas industry could release more than five million man hours each year if the sector standardized and simplified safety practices.  

The sector could recover as much as one hour of work per day per person at worksites through tackling the unnecessary duplication of common elements of control of work processes.  

With roughly 150 manned installations in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS), the average persons on board (POB) is 120 and, typically, 80% of these are contractors, representing 96 people out of 120. 

It’s hard to put a true cost to complexity and this is by no means an easy fix but when we run the numbers the opportunity is huge. If we assume the worst-case scenario and the 96 contractors are required to use both the clients and their own systems, then we can begin to see where the efficiency drops and the costs quickly escalate.

From an efficiency perspective it offers up the prospect of releasing some 35,000 man hours per installation every year.   When you run that across the UKCS with approximately 150 manned assets, the prize is over five million man hours.

When taking an average offshore hourly rate of approximately £65, this one hour costs the industry as much as £341,640,000 per year.

Although this number is significant, that’s just the efficiency prize at a worksite level.  When we look at the costs associated with developing, maintaining and training our bespoke systems it’s even harder to put a number on it.

In terms of additional costs for training alone, we estimate that we are spending millions every year training and re-training people in fundamental safety systems that in essence deliver virtually the same outcome but look different.

Step Change in Safety led the introduction of MIST training through the introduction of the OPITO standard in 2009 and the program is already at the center of what we do, but its value can be further maximized through simplification. 

Standardizing and simplifying common elements like toolbox talks, point of work risk assessments and behavioral observation cards was deemed to be the least contentious allowing a very rapid development and deployment.  Industry buy-in is critical for this to succeed.

The recent success and delivery of the Category A Emergency Breathing System (EBS) and implementation of the CAA’s passenger size recommendation industry-wide demonstrate what is possible.  

We learnt a huge amount from these projects both in terms of delivery and cost efficiency, and the intent is to build on this with the identified components in the first phase.  It won’t happen overnight and there is no quick fix here, but we are determined to work towards the hypothetical one hour.

Our work is directly linked to deliverables from the Scottish Government and Energy Jobs Task Force, and is supported by Oil and Gas UK.  Rather than trying to achieve deployment at an organisational level, the proposal is to deploy at a worksite level to ensure that everyone transitions to the new systems at the same time.  

With an ambitious timeline of delivering the first three elements by early Q3 2016, the pilot sites are already engaged, and they represent a good cross section of operating assets and infrastructure. 

Again, it’s not so much about improving individual procedures, but about streamlining work processes to make them simpler, more engaging and sustainable for all.  

Simplification represents a major step towards cost efficiency and collaboration. Standardizing procedures throughout the energy sector will help eradicate the current confusion and complexity surrounding safety initiatives. It would also eliminate repetition, reducing costs and, ultimately, help keep the workforce safe. 

Les Linklater joined Step Change in Safety in 2012. He has more than 20 years' experience in the oil and gas industry and previously worked in various topside and subsea technical roles for operators, contractors and service companies. Linklater has used his technical experience and passion for developing people to build practical and sustainable training, development and competence solutions in contractor and sector skills environments.