To understand its workplace safety culture and identify potential opportunities for improvement, Orion Drilling Company began a partnership a few years ago with The REACH Group to study the behaviors and performance...

Identifying whether an employee can technically perform his or her job is straightforward, but identifying non-technical skills, such as leadership, can be much more difficult. Because leadership can be a vague term, with many possible interpretations...

When certain tasks become more common and routine in drilling operations, the job safety analysis (JSA) process may become less efficient, said Brian Tucker, President-Drilling Services at Pioneer Energy Services. To ensure that the company is setting achievable expectations and that it is giving crews the proper tools to mitigate hazards, Pioneer decided to examine its pre-job planning process. In this video from the 2016 IADC HSE&T Conference on 3 February in Houston, Mr Tucker explains some of the changes the company has made to its pre-job planning process ­– including the introduction of new job safety worksheets – and the outcomes of those changes.

In 2012, Nomac Drilling looked beyond equipment, experience, loyalty and leadership and established the Rig Crew Development Program (RCDP) to focus on competency. Over the past several years, the program has helped to speed up the learning curve for new-to-industry employees and the promotion process for high-potential employees. It has also improved safety and efficiency and reduced turnover, Nomac Drilling Director of HSE Michael Stephens said at the 2016 IADC HSE&T Conference on 2 February in Houston. Watch this video with Mr Stephens as he discusses the RCDP and the results that have been achieved.

During a panel session held at the 2016 IADC HSE&T Conference on 3 February in Houston, Eduardo Salas discussed the role teamwork plays in creating a culture of safety. In this video, Dr Salas, Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Rice University, outlines some of the challenges to building a strong team. These include the sense of uncertainty that employees feel during a downturn, fear of reporting an incident and a tendency to put oneself above the team. However, a company’s leadership can help create an environment in which teamwork thrives.

Alarms are indispensable during drilling operations, but when personnel are flooded with alarms, it’s easy to overlook for disregard some of them. IADC is seeking drilling contractors to address gaps between standards addressing alarm protocols for alarms on drilling control systems..

Every year, the Wildlife Center of Texas (WCT) treats more than 10,000 injured, sick or oiled wild animals. Treatment includes emergency trauma care, long-term rehabilitation, conditioning for release and, finally, return to the wild. Sharon Schmalz, Executive Director of the Wildlife Center of Texas, spoke at the 2016 IADC HSE&T Conference, held 2-3 February in Houston, to educate drilling industry professionals on the work required to save these animals. Watch the video with Ms Schmalz to learn about the WCT Oiled Wildlife Response Program, as well as the WCT’s work to rehabilitate brown pelicans affected by the Breton Sound 51 Oil Spill last year in the Gulf of Mexico.

Diamond Offshore Drilling and GE Oil & Gas have announced a first-of-its-kind contractual service agreement (CSA) that transfers full accountability for BOP performance to GE. In this model called Pressure Control by the Hour...

Cyber risks are increasing on a daily basis in the offshore industry. A potential attack could arise from a multitude of vulnerabilities, such as from an employee’s malware-infected USB drive or from an improperly protected internet router. “The threat is unlimited,” Lt. Cmdr. Josh Rose with the US Coast Guard (USCG) said at the 2016 IADC HSE&T Conference in Houston on 2 February. “There are statistics out there that people have been hacked for seven to nine months before they find out. That’s pretty staggering when you think about someone walking around your oil rig for seven to nine months before you realize they are not supposed to be there.”

Schlumberger and Cameron International Corp jointly announced that the European Commission has cleared their proposed merger without any conditions following a Phase 1 review.