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SUMMER EDITION
HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT MAGAZINE for Oil & Gas industry
2016
THE NEXT STEP IN
SAFE
WORKING
MAINTAIN AND OPTIMISE KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOR page 16 In this issue:
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HOW IMPORTANT IS COLLABORATION?
HARMONISATION BY REGISTRATION
VENKO OFFSHORE
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20
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SAY YES AND ACT ACCORDINGLY
WHY HARMONISATION...
A GOLDEN ORGANISATION
and more...
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Foreword
HSELIFE MAGAZINE ON ITS OWN TWO FEET Dear reader, We’re receiving a lot of requests from Oil and Gas Industry organizations wanting to tell their own company story in HSElife Magazine. We therefore decided to expand the magazine’s playing field. This means that from now on, HSElife Magazine will stand on its own two feet and that organizations will be able to contribute to its huge success. As you know, HSElife Magazine is a means to inform you about the latest developments within the Oil and Gas Industry, specifically on safety, health and environment. We will continue doing this, but the color palette of the magazine will be different – figuratively speaking. We invite you to claim some space in the magazine and tell your own story, so that we may deepen even more safety, health and environmental issues. Please contact us in order to discuss possibilities. Send an email to info@hselifeunio.com You can find the digital HSElife Magazine issue at hselifeunio.com. Do you want to get this digital version for free? Send an email to the above mentioned address. Kind regards, Pier van Spronsen The WAT Group
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How important is...
COLLABORATION? 4
DREAM! “We may all have come in on different ships, but we're all in the same boat now,” Martin Luther King once said. Oftentimes, lip-service is being paid to collaboration but it remains difficult to act upon. Organizations keep on treasuring their own way of working and they don’t really want to adjust or change the status quo. How important is collaboration? We posed this question to Shell’s Piet van Dam.
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If you really want to work safely, then you have to work together
“If you really want to work safely, then you have to work together. Especially in these stormy times, working together is of crucial! We all have our different background and experiences but if we are open to it, we can learn a lot from each other. At the end of the day, we all want the same thing – that our people can do their daily job with pleasure, safely, healthy and with consideration to the environment. In the field as well as at the office where plans are made.”
The essence of HSElife UNIO Working together and learning from others are the essence of HSElife UNIO, Piet says. “We’ve already achieved a lot with HSElife UNIO but there’s a lot more to gain. In the world around us more than enough information is available for our use. In the Netherlands as well as abroad. HSElife UNIO wants to put that information to use in a clever and simple way. We don’t have to invent and develop everything ourselves. In this way, we can both work more safely AND save money. In the past, NAM has spent many hundreds of thousands Euros on the development and maintenance of materials. Thanks to cooperation, this amount has been reduced to a few ten dozens of thousands Euros.”
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Learning from Incidents together “We all should learn from incidents that happen in our industry. The learnings should be shared openly. Like we have done with that terrible accident at Warffum in 2005,” Piet says. “One of the many learning points was that our HSE information proved to be too difficult for the shop floor. Another important lesson we’ve learned is that we need to focus on process safety as well as personal safety. Thanks to HSElife UNIO, we have now simplified danger, risk and control measures on many subjects. Moreover, we’ve followed up on many subjects regarding process safety within the HSElife UNIO materials. Within Shell, I’ve been closely involved in several Process Safety related Reflective Learning videos. In the near future, we will link these to the HSElife UNIO website's web part ‘Learning from Others’.”
Keep it simple There is a flood of information out there and it is therefore essential to have clear information available. Working more safely AND save money… It can be done! Examples of means of communication are the HSElife UNIO website, apps for mobile phones and tablets, the HSElife Magazine and the Newsletter. All of these are means to share information within your organization and will help to get the information in the right place at the right time. It is crucial that the information reaches the man on the shop floor. In this effort we should use different means of communication. The new HSElife Academy is the perfect next step, creating the possibility to inform the people on the shop floor directly.”
A challenging future “Due to the low oil price and restructuring of our industry, times are challenging, but at the same time full of opportunity,” Piet says. “We can save an enormous amount of money by working more closely together and by simplifying –also enabling us to work more safely. In the Netherlands as well as abroad! Especially now, it is time to let go of your pet subjects and to work together with others towards simple solutions. Together with all Operators, the industry, interest groups and –last but not least- the Contractors working for us.”
Piet van Dam is Operational Safety Manager Upstream at Shell. He has been involved in this harmonization project for ten years. First within the context of NAM’s ‘A Way of Living’, now as HSElife UNIO coordinator.
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Harmonisation by registration
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We proudly present:
Learning and Registration System In optimizing HSEQ policy within organizations, harmonization can be of great added value. Maarten Liebreks (Corporate Quality Coordinator at Total) played an important role in the realization of LARS – HSElife UNIO’s e-learning and registration system. The positive experience with the existing system EPITS became one of the premises for the development of the new LARS.
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A nice working system “For 12 years now we, at Total E&P Nederland, have been using EPITS to our satisfaction. This system’s strength is that not only does it register qualification of our own employees but also of our contractors, worldwide and at any time. When we started to help HSElife UNIO to think about standardization of HSE requirements, we actually weren’t prepared to abandon this system. Unfortunately, due to copyright limitations our system could not be matched to the HSElife UNIO system. After thinking this problem through, the WAT Group came up with LARS –a system carrying the same functionalities and positive features as EPITS does.”
Oversight and insight benefits HSElife UNIO pays a lot of attention to ‘lessons learned’ in order to have all partners benefit from these. Maarten: “LARS offers oversight and insight not only into Total specific training programs but also into HSElife UNIO harmonized training programs. Whenever a learning update is required, LARS gives our users direct access to the required training. In addition to our periodic training programs, I like HSElife Academy as a way to distribute training programs throughout the year in order to maintain the right level of knowledge. All this can be linked to the LARS system. I hope that the system will be well received in the field and that everybody will start using it. We can make further harmonization possible by having all branch related companies work according to the same safety standards using the same training and registration system.”
LARS Learning & Registration system • Accessible on any device, anytime, anyplace • Insight into employee qualifications • Employability scheme always at hand • Possibility to take any training program at any moment
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VENKO OFFSHORE successful in substantial project
Correlation between safety, quality and efficiency 12
For some years now, Venko Offshore has been working on an impressive project for ONEgas. Within this project, the company works across a total of 35 NAM/Shell platforms. Director Tom Herok says “We paint these platforms from head to toe. A complete refresh, think conservation and scaffolding and insulation activities.”
A substantial project with fixed prices per square meter agreed upon in a contract, including a 5 year guarantee from Venko Offshore. Within a project like this, doesn’t productivity tend to get the upper hand? Tom: “Not at Venko, that’s for sure. On the contrary – it has proven to be one of the safest projects we have done up till now. Moreover, efficiency and quality are of a very high level. This makes me very proud of our employees and all others involved!”
Collective result This ONEgas project has not only been successful thanks to the subcontractors but also to the client’s mindset, Tom explains. In order to achieve the same success with other projects, Venko, together with the client and the subcontractors, has analyzed the success factors and has visualized these factors in the image on page 14:
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FM Barge Campaign 2 YEARS RECORDABLE FREE
(Since 2-12-2013)
Contributing factors; Onshore support
Client focus - Commitment and support of HCO, HMI and OCM. - Open culture with
- YTT morning call’s.
Continuity in execution
- Interfaces with team. - Dedicated project team.
- Fixed crew.
ONEgas .
- Familiarity with
- Offshore safety officer
operations and T&E. - Team spirit, trust and respect.
Participating culture - Daily offshore morning huddle. - Safety away day’s. - Kick-off and lessons learned sessions.
Tom: “When management and supervisors create the right working environment and conditions for our people to do their job safety, quality and efficiency will benefit. Everything relates to everything. This Barge Campaign proves that one cannot do without the other.”
Thanks! “I want to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has contributed and still contributes to this great project and the fantastic milestone of recordable free since 2 December 2013!” - Tom Herok
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ISLAND HOPPING Spring is in the air. Summer holiday planning is in the make. What are we going to do? Where are we going this year? To Rundumhausen? Will we catch a last minute trip to the unknown? Or will we try out island hopping?
Mmm – island hopping. Immediately this brings to mind the island culture I often encounter within organizations. So in fact, I’ve already been hopping from island to island many times. Does this mean I’m having a never-ending holiday? Well – not exactly. This kind of island hopping certainly doesn’t feel like vacation. It feels more like flogging a dead horse. It’s every man for himself. Small companies within an organization, all inventing the wheel all over again. What a waste of money, because the wheel and thread have been invented long ago. So for me, no island hopping this year. I want to spend my money in a useful way. I want to work together. Work together on safety, achieve something together, think harmonizing. Who wants to pay a lot of money when it’s not necessary? Because that’s the difference between working together and every man for himself. The first costs little money and the latter a lot. Why is it that we still aren’t prepared to create something together, to achieve something together? How do we get off that island? Pier van Spronsen The WAT Group
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A
GOLDEN organisatiON Safety culture from within
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ONE
Starting this summer, Oranje-Nassau Energy will begin using ONE Academy. An initiative that has been realized in close cooperation with Pier van Spronsen of the The WAT Group. Oranje-Nassau Energy Operations Director Peter Nieuwenhuijze holds high expectations of the Academy: “All of us should strive for a golden company. In order to reach that goal we should challenge each other, learn from each other’s mistakes and experience the advantages of a safety culture.”
Safety culture in our DNA “Internally, we’re organizing our company more and more on the principle of our ‘safety culture’. A good example is our intranet of which ONE Academy will be a part. Our employees are constantly reminded of safety. This way, we’re creating a culture from within. We don’t force anything upon our employees, we let them experience it for themselves. Only then can a culture become part of our DNA,” says Peter.
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By keeping up the level of knowledge and challenging each other, safety will become an intrinsic part of our culture To learn, to develop, to challenge ONE Academy challenges Oranje-Nassau Energy employees to maintain their level of knowledge and behavior – for instance, by turning reported incidents into real time learning moments. What went wrong and what would you have done in this situation? Peter expects a lot from his employees: “Within the Academy, employees can earn different levels of which gold and platinum are the highest safety levels possible. We expect all employees to at least earn and keep the gold level. We will be introducing the Academy through a campaign in order to emphasize this requirement. By keeping up the level of knowledge and challenging each other, safety will become an intrinsic part of our culture, thus creating a golden organization together.�
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Development through standardization Thanks to the The WAT Group, an online learning environment such as the ONE Academy can be available for every organization. The wheel doesn’t have to be invented over and over again. Peter: “In my opinion, ‘standardization’ is the magic word here. Learn from each other, use the lessons to your advantage and keep on developing further. External contributions such as the Academy can support the standardization. But nothing is for free – as an organization, you really have to want it. The focus on safety should be part of the company culture.”
Maintain the right level of knowledge and behavior ONE Academy has been developed by The WAT Group and is a variation of the HSElife Academy, an instrument to help maintain knowledge and behavior which was introduced by the The WAT Group. The ONE Academy offers training modules on safety aspects that can be used branch wide as well as aspects specifically designed for Oranje-Nassau Energy.
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Profit from harmonization
Say YES
and act accordingly! 20
During the months of March and April, the Contractor Focal Points discussed harmonization and communication. During these training / info days and discussions on the phone a great many thoughts were being exchanged. And these thoughts proved to be fairly unanimous: the LARS and HSElife Academy initiatives found a lot of support. The same can be said about the optimization of HSElife UNIO internal and external communication. All these activities will contribute to further harmonization, Contractors agree. In other words: a wholehearted YES to speaking the same language. But saying YES and acting accordingly appear to be two different things in practice… Also where harmonization is concerned, unfortunately. Harmonization by and among Operators seems to be a far cry. How is this possible, when any harmonization initiative is being greeted with a lot of enthusiasm? Indeed, how can this be when everyone involved is saying YES wholeheartedly? Maybe it’s to do with a lack of action or interest, or people can’t be bothered? But why not invest some time and profit forever afterwards? Such a small effort! Because harmonization will lead to: • Efficiency • Significant cost reduction • Effective communications • Optimizing of processes and information • Reducing the number of incidents • A better cooperation between Contractors. During the training days, we already heard a wholehearted YES. Now, let’s all say YES and ACT ACCORDINGLY!
For more information read the short summary on pages 22 and 23.
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SUMMARY OF HSELife UNIO info DAYS FOR contractor focal points INCLUDING INVENTORY held from 1 – 22 March 2016 in Klarenbeek. (Reactions March 2016, 75% of the number of participants), in total 50 participants have registered to participate in the Info Days for Contractor Focal Points. The remaining 19 Focal Point participants who were not able to attend due to other engagements were informed by email and were offered the opportunity to react. After week 13, all involved have also been approached by phone.
Current info HSElife UNIO site + update to HTML5: All are unanimously enthusiastic about the site update to HTML 5. 6 Contractors have indicated they will participate in the testing HTML 5 working group.
LearNing And Registration System (LARS) The registration system LARS is being welcomed as a positive addition to HSElife. It’s a very practical feature that LARS can be linked to other registration systems so that organizations can combine LARS with their own system.
HSElife Academy HSElife Academy is considered to be a system with which safety awareness can be increased and which enables the user to spread the training program over a longer period of repetition and will therefore help to save money. The application of the Ranking System within the Academy should be an option. Regarding the question about the possibility of adding other languages such as Slavic languages, a positive answer was given.
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Suggestions for the communication path • Personal visits in order to explain HSElife UNIO action planning etc. • More attention for the subject during Toolbox Meetings • More information for the target groups • Default page for the industry • Information should be USEFUL • People availability (timing) • Make information available for information screens • Structured information via email • Materials such as posters and brochures • Documentation to be used for communication to others for personal use • 3 industry wide campaigns a year • Guaranteeing HSElife UNIO for the future
General comments • more commitment, speaking the same language, more interest for harmonization at all participants • Operator complexity is increasing relating to Contractors (harmonization?)
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S I y h N O W nisati o ? t m n r a ha import so We posed this question to a number of Contractors. But also we asked them about obstacles and the significance of harmonization to their organization.
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Anne Boersma, Assistant Director at C. de Wolff Konstruktiebedrijf B.V.
“What you want to achieve with harmonization is that everybody conveys the message clearly and unanimously. Take working at heights, for instance. According to Labor legislation, every point higher than 2,5 meters is considered working at height. This is the common Dutch law. However, some principals deviate from this and use their own guidelines. Therefore, our mechanics sometimes don’t know with which requirements to comply. This way, people in the field get confused – for they have to comply with all rules and safety issues. Another example: one principal requires people to wear orange colored safety clothing, another prescribes yellow safety clothing and yet another doesn’t require anything at all. You’re constantly putting people on the wrong track. The only thing I want to demonstrate is that you create unsafe situations when you don’t speak the same language. You can compare this to the confusion of tongues in Babel - everybody speaks but nobody understands and everyone gets confused. Don’t try to invent the wheel over and over again for your own company. Start using the things that already exist and have proven their worth.”
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S I y h W nisatiON o ? t m n r a a t h impor so
Joining forces Most risks principals are subject to are comparable despite the fact that every company has their own house rules, Anne says. “At most locations, you work with pipelines under pressure, with inflammable or toxic gasses and liquids. Those dangers are all over. At all locations we work there are heights and confined spaces. However, a lot of principals use their own HSE year plan or action plan. For example, one focuses on working safely at heights and proposes extra measures. In the same period, another focuses on falling objects and yet another feels that in this same period extra effort should be put on how to identify risks. Our principals expect us to actively participate in their additional safety issues by training and certificates. Those certificates are of a limited validity. This could mean that you would have to get those certificates every other year. In my opinion, principals should join forces – meaning they should campaign on certain issues jointly, as the industry as a whole. This would save an enormous amount of money. An additional advantage would be that subcontractors, especially those working for multiple principals would not be buried under safety issues information.”
Don’t underestimate people “Sometimes, our men have the misfortune to have to watch 5 safety instructions or videos a week because at that time they’re working for 5 different principals at 5 different locations,” Anne says. “This is not very motivating to them. Our mechanics obviously think that working safely is very important but in fact they just come to do their job. Don’t underestimate people. It’s fine to feed them safety information but an overkill doesn’t do anyone any good. Think about your own kids. Pushing them constantly doesn’t help.”
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Open and honest communication “When working together on harmonization, it’s important for both principal and executing party to have a mutual respect and understanding. They should try to meet each other halfway when differences of opinion occur on how the work should be done. In order to do this safely, it is important to us that some leniency can be found within the sometimes very strict rules and instructions. An open and honest way of communicating is key. We are the executing party and we cannot just blindly follow mandatory instructions that may increase the risk of the work. For the problem often is that theory and reality are not the same.”
Thanks to harmonization, everybody conveys the message clearly and unanimously. Cooperation When principal and Contractor discuss the work and make agreements, those responsible for the actual execution are often not involved, Anne indicates. “The people who actually execute the work should be involved because especially in complex situations practical knowledge is necessary to be able to really make a thorough judgment. Talking about harmonization there is a world to be won in aligning the design with the practical implementation. For instance, it would be a good idea for the industry’s Operators to compare their working process protocols to see where they match. And to do so in cooperation with the executing parties.”
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Koen Backer van Ommeren, QHSE & Technical Support Manager at Control Union Industrial Inspections
“If you are to achieve uniformity, you have to harmonize. You will create greater clarity for the man in the workplace. This is essential for a safe working environment. You see that this is a challenge for industry throughout the world. Some countries choose to harmonize through the use of very strict rules. That creates a kind of uniformity. Other countries have deregulation, so there are fewer rules imposed by central government. Where safety guarantees are concerned, the government makes industry step up to the plate. This gives rise to a situation in which rules and procedures are interpreted in many different ways.”
Flexibility “We carry out inspections, and our inspectors work at many different companies. They are constantly being confronted with different safety issues and training courses. These all have the same goal, to create a safe working environment. But each company does things in a slightly different way. If this becomes an unthinking habit, it can obstruct harmonization and is, therefore, counterproductive. Harmonization means searching for consensus and, at a given point in time, forcing an issue and saying: OK, this is how we are all going to do it. While that may not be entirely in line with the programmes you've already developed, this should not be the prime consideration. If you really want to harmonize, then you have to be flexible. At the end of the day, it should not matter which plant you are working in. Safety is inherent to the industry. Constantly giving people different signals is also a major safety risk.”
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S I y h W nisatiON o ? t m n r a a t h impor so
Harmonization means searching for consensus
Basic condition for cooperating on harmonization Koen thinks that if you really want to cooperate on harmonization, you must also be prepared to reach some sort of consensus. “Even if something might not be one hundred percent the way you want it, you must find a way to accept this. The bar is set high everywhere; the difference is entirely in the implementation. There must be a willingness, at some point in time, to harmonize common themes and training courses. That means that everyone must accept solutions that are not totally in keeping with their own standard. We are a subcontractor, and our people must constantly keep fifteen different safety training courses up-to-date to enable them to work with all of the Operators. In my view, this does nothing to promote safety. These training courses all say the same thing. So, if you could offer a single, harmonized, training course, it would be a major improvement. That would achieve much greater progress, in terms of safety.”
Everyone working towards the same goal Koen says HSElife UNIO ensures that harmonization remains alive and well. “This is a difficult subject. It always has been. It seems that Operators are still basing their reasoning on the old framework. Even after embracing HSElife UNIO’s basic training course, many Operators still give additional training courses. Maintaining the old situation like this stops us from making progress. Many people work in different sites, and often at different plants. These are the people who have the most to gain from uniformity. I am confident that this will succeed. But this will only happen if everyone works towards the same goal. It is important for people to understand that harmonization sometimes means doing things differently, rather than sticking to the familiar methods your organization has always followed.”
Control Union Industrial Inspections performs inspections on all kinds of technical plants and materials. Koen Backer van Ommeren states that “Our inspectors provide heightened safety levels. We regularly subject the condition and operation of these plants and materials to competent scrutiny. Our inspections are not just about issuing pieces of paper. We share ideas to ensure that our inspections are performed as efficiently as possible. This also enables us to present the inspection results to our customers in the most comprehensible way possible. Customers need to know where they stand, and what points need to be addressed as a matter of priority.” www.controlunion.com 29
Den Hartogh Liquid Logistics is a logistic service organization specialized in bulk liquids logistics. Bert Schreurs: “In an innovative way, we share our ideas and thoughts with our clients so that we can offer them clever solutions to their benefit. We find it important to build a long term relationship with our clients.” www.denhartogh.com
Bert Schreurs, Operations Manager at Den Hartogh Liquid Logistics
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“Cooperation in safety harmonization should be a must within our industry. For the man on the shop floor, unambiguous rules and procedures lead to a simpler, clearer and therefore safer way of working. Oftentimes, the man on the shop floor works for several Operators and at different locations. In his working environment he is being confronted with a variety of rules. These rules serve the same goal and are semi equal, but every Operator has their own highlighting and expressions. Or, while one Operator summarizes the topic in one sentence, the other uses a whole page. This results in a flood of rules and instructions being poured on the shop floor by the Operators. A good example of harmonization is the Law on Road Traffic. If this law wouldn’t have been harmonized nationally, an enormous chaos would be created on the roads notwithstanding all rules and procedures. Many things would not be clear and –more importantly- many more people would become the victim of a road accident.”
S I y h W nisatiON o ? t m n r a a t h impor so Reducing the volume of rules It’s obvious that the many rules and instructions overlap resulting in a lack of clarity for the man on the shop floor, Bert says. “An unambiguous approach will lead to a significant reduction of rules and procedures which will increase safety. We always tell our people: Work safely or don’t work at all! For this reason, we have implemented a number of important rules throughout our company. For instance, our drivers don’t do any sampling. It is prohibited to unload ADR class 3 and GI 33 inflammable liquids using outside air supply (compressor). The same applies to inflammable liquids being transported under a temperature higher than the ignition point of these liquids.” Although the last mentioned is permitted under the ADR legislation, we take this legislation a step further in order to create a safer working environment for our employees.
Harmonization will lead to more clarity and a safer way of working Cooperation “If we want to cooperate with each other, we need to agree on the goals we want to achieve. In my experience, this is something that is being acknowledged by both Operators and Contractors. In the end, we all want to work safely so that everybody gets home safely by the end of the day. Through HSElife UNIO, important steps are being taken to reach harmonization. However, it does mean that the Operators need to make choices if they want to work unambiguously. It’s a question of give-and-take, of making sure we all speak the same language and of communicating better and clearer. This will result in ‘First Time Right’ and also in a safer sector. An additional advantage –especially in this era- is the cost reduction aspect.”
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René de Wit, QHSE Manager at Well Services Group
“In our case, the most important advantage of harmonization is efficiency and cost reduction. We work for different Operators. Every time we go to an Onshore or Offshore location, we are required to follow an introductory training on location. This means that our people have to sit in a room for half an hour or even a whole hour to watch a video or listen to a presentation they have seen or heard many times before. The video or presentation details may differ slightly from one Operator to another, but they send the same message. Take the differences between Operators regarding their safety requirements on working at heights or use of protective gloves and the different permit-towork systems or, not in the last place, very different safe work procedures. There are no common standards and these differences cause us to spend a lot of time in work preparation and execution. Besides, it is frustrating for our people to have to look at the same training material over and over again and to adapt to other working regulations. Sometimes, a specific Operator requires them to take the training not on location but at a training center. We have to schedule their time only to have them getting the same information they have already received two weeks before at another Operators’. This costs time and therefore also money.”
Safety culture The differences between Operators may also have to do with the large differences in the Operators’ approach to creating a safety culture, René thinks. “Some Operators have an elaborate system of rules in order to secure the desired safety level while other Operators take a more practical and pragmatic approach. I don’t mean to say that they have a lower level of safety awareness. They just take a different approach to safety. Many Operators who work internationally would also like to work more practically and pragmatically but are dependent on the standards that apply to all their companies worldwide. Such standards are usually based on the weakest link – for instance, like countries not having a culture of thinking and acting independently like we are used to in the western world. And this worldwide required uniformity regarding their own safety management system sometimes collides with the strive for harmonization.”
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S I y h W nisatiON o ? t m n r a a t h impor so Time saving and efficiency Harmonization results in clarity and uniformity, says René. “Our people are able to work according to the same rules everywhere and use the same procedures, checks and forms. They can rely upon the fact that they are compliant with their work at all times and that other Contractors follow the same system. They don’t have to search for the right way to perform a job. No more insecurity and confusion but saving time and working efficiently – also when working together with other parties on location.”
When you’re always imposing mandatory ways of working upon your people, you reduce their own independent thinking capabilities to zero. Stimulating independent thinking According to René, having the same approach to creating and maintaining a safety culture is an important basic condition for working together on harmonization. He gives an example: “Within our company, a practical and pragmatic no-nonsense safety culture reigns. On our yards you don’t see many warning signs. We obviously do place the legally required signs and equipment like emergency lighting, emergency exits, emergency showers, fire extinguishers etc. However, we’re relying on our people to know when to take extra safety measures because they have learned to always be aware and thinking – as a second nature. That they’re obligated to wear a helmet when they are in the vicinity of hoisting activities, for instance. With us, it’s not a standard requirement to wear a helmet when you are on the yard. Our philosophy is: think for yourself – do you think it would be wise to wear a helmet, to use gloves when you’re repairing something? We place the responsibility of judging the safety of a situation in the hands of our people themselves, rather than fixing every situation with numerous procedures and rules.
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In my opinion, Oil and Gas Industry employees in general have a high level of safety awareness – especially compared to other sectors. Our people are sufficiently equipped to judge if in certain situations a checklist should be used, for example. When you’re always imposing mandatory ways of working upon your people, you reduce their own independent thinking capabilities to zero. What we want is to stimulate their independent thinking capability. Ergo, we put more emphasis on safety awareness and less on creating numerous rules. An example of harmonization therefore is also to discuss present and future safety culture aspects, what they mean in regard to the difference between various safety regulations and how to handle those.�
Having the same approach to safety culture is an important basic condition for working together on harmonization
WhynIiSsatiON o tant? harm r o p m i so 34
S I y h W nisatiON o ? t m n r a a t h impor so HSElife Academy “HSElife UNIO has introduced HSElife Academy. This is a very useful tool to keep people’s safety awareness up-to-date. I think that’s a great development. I can see that Operators are enthusiastic about it. When Operators and Contractors together start using the Academy it will be a new step forward to harmonization. Improving information sharing between Operators and Contractors to enhance mutual cooperation should be the next step, as far as I’m concerned. Supplying transparent information, easily accessible to both parties – for instance concerning the employee’s educational level as well as certification and equipment inspection status.”
The Well Services Group offers a range of capital intensive services to the international Oil and Gas Industry, the Petrochemical Industry as well as the Energy sector on and offshore. For example, with its Coiled Tubing, Slickline and Nitrogen Services, WSG is active in the field of maintenance and stimulation of oil and gas wells as well as cleaning and testing of oil and gas transport pipelines. René de Wit: “To us, flexibility is of great importance – we are all but rigid. When a client calls us on a Friday afternoon concerning a problem at the North Sea, that same afternoon our people will head for Den Helder in order to eventually solve the problem at the Offshore location. I’m very satisfied with and proud of the working attitude of our colleagues in the field. They regard a client’s problem as their own, I’ve noticed. That is not just doing your job – it speaks of true commitment!” www.wellservices-group.com
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YOU R E B M REME ET!? Y S I TH ne gazi e ma f i l HSE y 2012 ar
Janu
TO CHANGE PEOPLE USE ONLY A SMALL PART OF THEIR MENTAL ABILITY FOR CHANGES IN ORGANISATIONS TO SUCCEED. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE COULD INCREASE THAT CAPACITY? IT WILL CHANGE THE WAY WE ACT. THIS ALLOWS US TO QUICKLY RESPOND TO CHANGE AND HAVE FASTER RESULTS.
Toine Simons Beerschot & Simons
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CHANGE IS THE RULE Our society is changing constantly and rapidly. Because of the knowledge we gain over the Internet, our purchasing behavior and that of businesses change. Or the way we communicate and exchange information. Also old success factors for business don’t have eternal life.
CULTURE CHANGE Because of changes, businesses and organisations have to constantly adapt the way they work, their services, their innovations and products to these new demands. In other words a lasting change that focuses on an open culture where communication is central. This means that we address each other in honoring agreements, a focused attitude and being customer focused. This way you get an innovative organisation that grows and flourishes. One you want to work at.
PREJUDICES ABOUT CULTURE CHANGE “Culture change takes years and is not easy.” This is what we hear in most companies we advise on implementation of changes. Then you have actually tackled the biggest problem. After all, you don’t know how much energy and intelligence people have to change at short notice. Many people initially offer resistance if they have to change. They find it hard and think that the organisation simply can’t change. You often hear “this is who we are” or “these are the facts.” People think you can’t just change and book new and better results. In practice, many companies talk about change and new desired behavior and have meetings about these subjects. They go under their magnifying glass. But ultimately little happens. This strengthens most people in their opinion about change. Therefore there is no room for new thoughts and insights. And that’s just what’s needed.
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TO CHANGE QUICKLY
THE OLD IS GOOD BUT NEW IS BETTER We see the absence of change if people are not thinking in new ways. Organisations attempt to implement change from the old ways of thinking and behavior. This is an obstacle when a new way of thinking is necessary if you want to quickly respond to environmental change. If changes are absence, organisations start sending behavior more, whilst other behavior is desired. But nothing is as ineffective as sending to behavior if you don’t know what thinking underlies the behavior. If you want to change quickly, you need to facilitate new ways of thinking. The key is to use old thoughts and barriers as the driving force for new ways of thinking and acting.
SHIT AND SHINE? People move by two things: shit or shine. In other words, either there is great danger to people or they have great desires. In both cases, it’s important that people are aware of the need for change. A lot goes wrong here. For example, managers who send the wrong signal to their staff. Managers preach messages about loss, significant cuts or dismissal while simultaneously drive in a new lease car. But often the exemplary behavior of management is contrary to the desired change. Yet it’s important that there’s a sense of urgency and that management propagates this clean and clear. Regarding the principle of Shine, it’s much more complicated to change people from their desire. The desire for an optimal work experience, customer service and meaningful work is present, but not manifestly. So you can’t appeal to that. Yet there’s not much left if people don’t feel the urgency to change (Shit) is high.
HOW CAN YOU QUICKLY IMPLEMENT CULTURE CHANGE? The main starting point is to see things in a different way, but also to think and act in a different way. In other words, if you want to achieve new and better results, the staff has to show new behavior. The new behavior is due to thinking differently and this is due to seeing things differently. To be able to see things in a different way means that people should first look at their own beliefs. Are these beliefs effective or ineffective for change? For example, someone believes that implementing culture change will take a long time. The point here is not whether this is true or not true, but if it stops him or truly sets him in motion.
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TO CHANGE QUICKLY
When talking about culture change, we should use the barriers that people have as a driving force. From there you should facilitate a new way of looking at things. You have to make people aware of the contribution they can make for change to take effect. Not “I have seen many changes, this one will also pass.” But “What can I contribute, although I know it’s the same all over again.” Nor “Communication is a two way process, and if the facts are different, I let it be.” But “I am responsible for the quality of my communication, I want to be responsible and who wants to follow my lead?” This seems naive, but it will eventually give results. And people will experience the meaning of their commitment more.
THE TEN MOST IMPORTANT STEPS TO TAKE IN CULTURE CHANGE 1. Make sure that the sense of urgency is clear and communicate it well. 2. Make agreements with management about exemplary behavior. 3. Don’t do long researches into the reasons why implementing previous changes failed. People often have a good idea of what’s wrong. This you’ll find out during an interactive session. So you don’t have to do research. 4. We keep a lot under the table because we fear that we will get into trouble if we are not honest. That’s why we often conceal things that really should be uncovered. So if you want to take change to the next level, you should be honest in order to solve problems. 5. People do want change but they have many obstacles. In other words, make sure you bring out the barriers that prevent change from happening. These barriers are often stronger than the desire to change. 6. Find out what you can change beforehand and quickly deal with it. 7. Determine which barriers live in people’s conviction. Use these barriers as a driving force and show that they can prevent change from happening. 8. Visualise people’s desire to collaborate, communicate and implement. Make them aware that by obstructing, their desire can not be fulfilled. 9. Check together which new ways of looking at things and which new beliefs you can achieve over old barriers. 10. Make agreements about it and make people accountable for bringing solutions. Make them accountable for communicating also.
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for industry, by industry HSElife is a forum for those working in the oil and gas industry. HSElife focuses particularly on those working wherever HSE is really an issue or really should be an issue: on the shop floor. HSElife magazine is published by: The WAT Group B.V. P.O. Box 23 7380 AA Klarenbeek The Netherlands +31 6 462 95 25 6 (7, 8) www.thewatgroup.com On this issue worked Thera Idema, Mariëlle Dolman, Stéphanie van Stockum, Janine IJssel de Schepper, Bob Janssen, Marjou Janse, Veselin Raznatovic, Pier van Spronsen, Marc van Baasbank, Piet van Dam, Peter Nieuwenhuijze, Maarten Liebreks, Bert Schreurs, Koen Backer van Ommeren, Anne Boersma, René de Wit and Tom Herok. Please e-mail any comments about subjects discussed in this magazine to info@thewatgroup.com attn. Janine Ijssel de Schepper. Articles may not be taken from this publication within the meaning of Article 15 of the Netherlands Copyright Act.; © The WAT Group B.V. 2016