| The
last cowboys of the sea
While security on Statoil’s
oil rigs gets top marks, there were Wild West conditions on board
the boats in the company’s service.
 |
Concentration
is the be-all and end-all for able seaman Arne Sandvik.
Contact: Rolf Bye, Studio Apertura, NTNU
Tel: +47 73 59 63 33
Email: rolf@apertura.ntnu.no
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| Photo: Paul Sigve Amundsen |
The stern of the 95-metre long vessel shoots
high into the air before diving down into the waves again. We are
in the Tampen-area, northwest of Bergen, and a ride on this supply
boat, dubbed the Viking Energy, feels like a rollercoaster ride
in slow motion. At the gunwale four metres above the deck able seamen
Arne Sandvik and Gunnar Amland are waiting at the stern for the
hoses from Kvitebjørn, one of Statoil’s oil rigs.
The hoses transfer drinking water and diesel
fuel to the rig from the supply boat. Rough weather in the North
Sea has forced the hardy Viking Energy to dock in Bergen for four
days – a change from its normal routine of shuttling between
land and the oil rigs. At five in the morning on a Friday, Statoil
orders the crew to get ready for departure. The wind is about to
subside, and it may be possible to get some work done by the afternoon.
Just a few years ago a storm would not be enough to keep the boat’s
crew from their journey to the rigs. Now, first mate Eivind Kallevåg
and his colleagues on the bridge keep constant watch on the charts
that continuously record wave height and wind velocity.
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Photo: Paul
Sigve Amundsen
From the bridge second mate Paul
Atle Toft is responsible for boat and crew alike. |
PERILOUS WORK
The crews on supply boats and the vessels that move oil rigs perform
hundreds of tasks every day that demand their full attention, if
accidents are to be avoided. The able seamen on board the Viking
Energy are completely aware of this. The weather conditions are
tricky, and the crew is fully concentrating on keeping their balance
and avoiding being struck by the heavy couplings that connect the
hoses. From the wheel house, Kallevåg supervises the work
and listens to the radio communication between the crane operator
on the oil rig and the able seamen on deck.
“This is the most risky of our tasks.
The waves cause the boat to tilt up and down by several meters in
only a few seconds, making it hard for the crane operator to determine
how far down to lower the hose,” he explains.
 |
Photo: Paul
Sigve Amundsen
Hundreds of tons of cargo to be
hoisted onto the rig. |
ENTER THE RESEARCHERS
For a long time, Kallevåg and his colleagues were known as
the ‘last cowboys’. They had the dubious honour of belonging
to the group of workers with the highest rate of injures in the
Norwegian oil and gas industry. The bleak statistics showed 12 consecutive
years of fatal accidents.
The number of injuries and collisions between
vessels and rigs had also increased dramatically over the course
of a few years, until Statoil decided it was time to reverse the
trend in 2002. By 2004, the red numbers have almost disappeared
. Instead of asking engineers to solve the problem, Statoil hired
researchers, educated in psychology and social anthropology, from
Studio Apertura at NTNU. The assignment given to Trond Kongsvik
and Rolf Bye, along with a PhD student from Marintek, Lisbeth Hansson,
was concise: reduce the injury statistics as quickly as possible.
“Several studies have shown that about
80% of all transportation accidents are caused by human error. For
us the first step was to talk to the employees. We also studied
the statistics carefully before carrying out a survey about work
environment and conditions.”
The survey response from the crew of all
35 vessels was strong, and the researchers immediately identified
several problem areas. Heightened demands from Statoil to increase
efficiency turned out to be one of the greatest challenges to safety.
In the year after the study was completed, Statoil initiated a number
of actions to fix the security problems:
• An additional mate was put on duty
each shift, ensuring two navigators on the bridge at all times
• All supply boats were required to
dock and rest one day a week
• Stricter regulations were imposed
on noise levels
• Statoil and the various shipping
companies agreed to meet regularly
Two years later, after another survey, the
attitude towards Statoil as an employer had already changed dramatically.
From ranking as the worst in security of all the oil companies on
the Norwegian section of the Continental Shelf, Statoil now claimed
a place in the lead.
“Often, when security is on the agenda,
the inclination is to resort to technical gadgets.We approached
the problem by cooperating with the people who are affected by it,
and assessed the situation from a more organizational point of view,”
Kongsvik explains.
The two researchers have kept in constant
contact with the ‘owners’ of the problems found in the
logistical chain. The pair has arranged conferences where the parties
have evaluated the results of the survey and have come up with possible
solutions to improve the situation.
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Photo: Paul
Sigve Amundsen
A tired cowboy rests his head and
feet between battles. |
A PINCHED FINGER
Viking Energy was built on commission from Statoil, when the debate
about security was at its most heated, and was launched in April
of 2003. It has become a model supply boat, both in terms of its
technical solutions and comfort. It runs so quietly that you can
hear your neighbour think. The survey showed that the crew considered
lack of sleep one of the greatest risks to security. A shift rotation
based on a continuous 6-hour-on, 6-hour-off schedule, as well as
noise from propellers and rough weather, never allowed for enough
rest. “On a boat where I worked previously, tests proved that
even our cabins were noisy enough to require ear protection,”
says second mate Paul Atle Toft.
He has worked as second mate for years, but
has never experienced any serious incidents first hand. He claims
this is due to luck rather than good work conditions.
“We used to work two days in a row
some times. For the last few hours you’d simply feel deliriously
drunk. Now there are more boats, fortunately, and more people to
do the work.”
There are no horror stories from Viking Energy’s
first year at sea, but most of the men know what it means to risk
their life on the job. Captain Einar Svendsen had second-hand experience
with the last fatal accident on one of Statoil’s boats. Even
though he was off duty when a colleague was killed, he found it
tough to get back to work because he knew the colleague well. He
is very pleased that his own safety reports have registered a pinched
finger as the most serious injury on board.
IMPROVED ATTITUDES
Security on oil rigs has been strong for a number of years. Last
year, the vessels that service the rigs reached this same level
of security. Thormod Hope is director of safety alert stand-by,
maritime operations, and air transport for Statoil. He admits that
the communication between Statoil and the boats was so bad that
the company didn’t know what kinds of problems caused many
of the accidents.
“From experience we knew that problems
with safety often originate from work conditions in general, but
we had never asked for any feedback from the crews on the boats,”
Hope explains. Statoil’s safety project is planned for completion
by the end of 2004, and the last questionnaires on work conditions
are currently being sent out.
THE PRESSURE IS OFF
On deck, the able seamen are finishing up with the hoses. For the
most part, they feel safe at work, but today none of them are pleased
with the conditions.
“It’s not great standing on the
stern in weather like this, especially not when the crane operator
isn’t among the best,” says Arne. One hundred and containers
are now due to be hoisted from the deck onto the oil rigs. The crew
on Viking Energy know that some of the equipment needs to be delivered
fast, but instead of increasing the work tempo for just a few boats,
Statoil has hired extra boats to make up for lost time. According
to the last study, which dates from 2002, most crew members regarded
security as the first priority at Statoil. Still, many felt that
the company pressured boats to work even if conditions were bad.
A new survey was carried out in 2004, but the data is still being
analysed. Captain Svendsen says he sees that security has truly
become a prime concern at Statoil.
“In ninety percent of the cases the
oil rigs call the operation off. Ten years ago there was much more
pressure to go for it and keep trying, even if we thought it wasn’t
safe. I think we have a good dialogue with Statoil, and today there
is never a problem if we say we must wait. It seems like there has
been a change in attitude.”
Elin Fugelsnes
| COLLISIONS
AND INJURIES |
| • In 1996,
there was one collision between vessel and rig. Four years
later the number had risen to 12. For the last three years
the number of collisions has again dropped to one per year.
• The number of injuries doubled from 1996 to 2001,
from 13 to 26. In 2003, the number dropped to 12.
• Since 2001, there have not been any fatal accidents
or debilitating injuries. The number of injuries re quiring
first aid was also halved from 2001 to 2003.
• EA psychologist and a social anthropologist from
NTNU have contributed to putting safety first again.
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