| Different
cultures – different risks
Although there is less advanced
technology, more manual work and more people involved in operations,
oil-drilling rigs in South-East Asia have fewer accidents than those
in the North Sea. Why?
Contact:
Ferdinand Männle,SINTEF
Materials and Chemistry.
Tel: +47 22 06 77 41
email: ferdinand.mannle@sintef.no |
This approach is the basis for a research
project at SINTEF. A preliminary study has already been carried
out in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. The researchers talked with
the authorities and oil companies, and interviewed employees in
a host of professions on the rig West Pelaut off the coast of Brunei.
Several employees had experience from both the North Sea and Asia.
The statistical basis to claim that safety is better taken care
of in South-East Asia is limited.
Therefore, the project is based to a large
extent on specific data from companies that operate in both Asia
and the North Sea, such as Transocean and Smedvig. To an extent
there are comparable statistics that support the impression that
safety work in South-East Asia functions better than in the North
Sea. For instance, this is shown in reports from the International
Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OCP).
“The material we have raises questions
about several aspects of the practices in the North Sea. It touches
on both political and cultural aspects,” says project head
Gunnar Lumvik from SINTEF. “As the countries are so different,
the transmission value is not obvious. Most important in this project
is to understand the other countries’ methods of running drilling
operations and work environment, health and safety and utilise the
best of these to improve safety in the North Sea.”
STABILITY
The notions of stability and continuity are central in this work.
While many drilling assignments in the North Sea are of short duration,
the contracting companies in South-East Asia have long-running contracts
with their operators. Offshore workers also stay longer in the same
positions. For workers in Brunei, this means that they work closely
together and get to know each other well. Periods of 15-20 years
as a ‘roughneck’ are not unusual, something that totally
clashes with Western wishes and expectations of career advancement.
The management is also more involved in the
daily operations onboard. In Brunei, the platform manager tries
to come out to the rig at least once a week. In the North Sea, the
management is seldom out, something that can be explained by the
long travelling times. One of the things that researchers want to
investigate more is about being present on the job, both physically
and mentally.
“In Brunei,we have noticed that there
is close contact among the people on the rig. Management on all
levels, from the foreman to the platform manager, are present in
the process they are employed to manage,” says Johan E. Ravn
from SINTEF.
“For example, a drill manager onboard
West Pelaut says that he spends 95 percent of his working day out
together with the drilling team. That is in complete contrast to
what he experienced in the North Sea. Only a tiny amount of the
day here was spent outside.”
SAFETY IN PROCEDURES OR PRACTICE?
In the North Sea, there are vigorous and detailed sets of regulations
governing the activity. This is also grasped in the individual operations
onboard. In Asia, there are less comprehensive laws and regulations
and more delegation of responsibility to operators and contracting
companies.
“The West’s methods of thinking
about safety involves a transfer from action to regulation. We are
attempting to prevent unwanted incidents by means of rules and procedures
rather than direct management,” says Ravn.
The project ‘A cultural approach to
work environment and safety’ will continue until 2005. Increased
concern about safety in the North Sea means that many believe that
the thing to do is to learn from the counterparts in South- East
Asia. The project is the property of the Norwegian Ship Owners’
Association. The project’s steering group comprises representatives
from the Norwegian Oil and Petrochemical Workers’ Union and
offshore contracting companies Smedvig, Maersk and Transocean. The
Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Ship Owners’
Association are financing the project.
Åse Dragland
|
