Abstract

Notwithstanding goodwill, good intentions and good attitude on all sides, the relationship between the client and his contractors often acts as a blockage to the further improvement of safety performance. Removing this blockage represents a golden opportunity to achieve the next significant breakthrough in safety performance by enhancing and maturing the relationships and mutual understanding between the different companies in an operation, and at all seniority levels. Though demanding much personal effort, especially from managers, it is a low-cost high-impact approach. Technical performance will also be enhanced by the same process.

Contractors need to develop and propagate their own safety identities, apply their own solutions and totally believe in what they are doing, albeit in full cooperation with their clients. But this in turn demands that the clients understand and respect the needs and contribution of the contractors and sub-contractors, as well as their own limitations.

Today

The exploration and production industry has come a long way in managing safety and in reducing the number of deaths and injuries suffered by its workforce.

In terms of superlative, consistent, public safety-reporting, the drilling business, as represented by the members of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), stands out, not only from the rest of E&P and most individual companies, but from the rest of heavy industry in general. Since it is also in many respects at the front line of E&P risk, it is legitimate to use drilling as a touchstone for safety trends within the E&P industry as a whole.

In terms of its steady reduction in accident frequency over the last 30 years, the drilling business, and hence the entire E&P industry, can take considerable satisfaction from the trends.

It is also impressive to compare recent drilling figures with those of other heavy industries where data is available ...