| Written by Mark Buzinkay
If there was one single solution to the problem of unwanted errors in high-hazard industries, we would have heard about it. Instead, there are many different things we can do about safety on drill rigs.
Drill rig safety: control-based approach
There are a variety of safety measures that can be put in place in order to make workplaces like those in the oil and gas industry safer. Some of these measures include:
- Improved training for workers on how to safely perform their tasks
- More stringent safety regulations that must be followed by all workers
- The use of safer equipment and materials in the workplace
- Improved communication between workers and management on safety concerns
A control-based approach to safety focuses on implementing controls to minimize the risks of accidents and injuries. This approach often involves improving worker training, enforcing more stringent safety regulations, and using safer equipment and materials.
One of the benefits of a control-based approach is that it can help to reduce the number of accidents and injuries that occur in high-hazard industries. By taking measures to improve training and safety regulations, companies can make their workplaces safer for employees. Additionally, using safer equipment and materials can help to prevent accidents and injuries from occurring in the first place.
Another benefit of a control-based approach is that it can help to improve communication between workers and management on safety concerns. By having better communication, workers and management can be more aware of workplace hazards and take steps to avoid them.
By taking these measures, it is possible to significantly reduce the number of accidents and injuries that occur in high-hazard industries. But is it enough? The reality shows, it is not (e.g. old mustering solutions like the analogue T-card system).
It is not because it is a control-based approach. Safety experts know it because they realize how damaging it is. We always tend to blame individuals, finding who is responsible for this error this time, and often replacing that person like you might replace a defective part in a machine. Whenever there was an incident or unwanted event, we often wind up saying, well, we're going to increase policies and procedures or clarify policies and procedures. The right control-based approach is very mechanistic. It works great with machines but not so well with humans.
Drill rig safety: Learn-based approach
There is another approach how to mitigating risks and errors in a highly hazardous environment. Let's call it the learn-based approach. Looking at the control-based approach is easy to understand. Instead of eliminating failures, the learn-based approach is going to focus a lot more at least on expanding successes and finding out how. These things get done successfully, safely, efficiently, and profitably, and cloning those successes rather than trying to eliminate every failure.
And instead of blaming individuals, we're going to focus more on improving our systems, following the (wise) rule to be kind to individuals and ruthless on our systems.
So the learning-based approach would say instead of expecting perfection, we're going to expect humans to be humans. And instead of increasing compliance, we're going to try to increase resilience, the ability of our systems to withstand and come back without damage after.
But how do you create a learn-based culture?
First of all, you need to learn and feel safe taking risks in team meetings. That's called psychological safety. Psychological safety is the belief that you're not going to be punished, humiliated, or shamed for speaking up with controversial ideas, challenging questions, inconvenient concerns, or honest mistakes.
So here's a practical step for psychological safety after an error. Instead of saying Joe failed to do X, whatever it was like Joe failed to, ask this question instead: "What did Joe do, and why did it make sense, at least at that time, for did Joe to do what he did right?"
The learn-based culture can help oil rig safety in a number of ways. First, it can help create a more positive and productive environment where employees feel safe to take risks and voice their concerns. Second, it can help improve systems by finding out what works and cloning those successes. And third, it can help increase resilience by making our systems more able to withstand and come back from errors.
Learn more about HSE offshore
Drill rig safety - it's the culture
It has been said that culture eats strategy for breakfast. In other words, no matter how well-planned and implemented a safety strategy may be, an unsafe culture will ultimately undermine it.
Safety culture is the product of an organization's values, attitudes, beliefs, policies and practices regarding safety. It is the sum total of how safety is managed within an organization, from the top down and the bottom up.
An organization with a strong safety culture prioritizes safety over other objectives and empowers employees to speak up about unsafe conditions or practices without fear of reprisal.
On the other hand, a weak safety culture is one in which safety is seen as a secondary concern and where employees are reluctant to speak up about unsafe conditions or practices for fear of reprisal.
A strong safety culture is essential for any organization that wishes to operate safely. It is crucial in high-risk industries such as the oil and gas industry, where the consequences of an accident can be catastrophic.
Further reading: Using transponders in an emergency mustering
FAQ
What is the fundamental variation between a control-based approach and a learn-based approach in terms of drill rig safety?
The control-based approach relies on risk reduction by improving regulations, training, and using safer equipment. It focuses much on compliance and often lays the blame on individuals if some error happens. It also tries to eliminate mistakes by using controls. This works in the case of machine-like precisions but mostly fails when it comes to human error. In contrast, the learn-based approach shifts the focus from the control of failure to scaling successes. It considers human nature and its fallibility, creating a resilient culture that enables the systems to bounce back after setbacks. It neither seeks to blame the individual but looks into why an error occurred and how to replicate success to ensure the lessons are learned. Punishment gives way to learning, which then enables better safety.
In what respect does the learn-based approach contribute to the drill rig safety culture?
It focuses more on a learning approach to safety culture, where workers are allowed to make mistakes or raise their concerns without being threatened by any kind of punishment. This model opens lines of communication between workers and management, allowing the organization to learn from their failures and successes alike. Since the focus is on understanding how systems failed rather than blaming individuals, companies can configure resilient processes to handle human error better. This will also enhance continuous improvement because personnel will be more open to contributing insights and ideas on improving safety and efficiency during operations in hazardous environments like drill rigs.
Takeaway
The learn-based approach in safety is all about learning from mistakes and successes, and using that knowledge to improve safety systems. This approach focuses on finding out what works well and replicating those success stories, rather than simply trying to eliminate all failures.
This kind of thinking can lead to a more positive culture around safety, where instead of expecting perfection, we understand that humans will make mistakes – but that our systems can be resilient enough to withstand them, even during emergency mustering. Psychological safety is key to this kind of culture change, as it allows team members to feel comfortable speaking up with new ideas or concerns without fear of punishment or humiliation.
So, after an error occurs on an oil rig (or anywhere else), instead of immediately placing blame, the learn-based approach would be to ask what led to the error and how we can prevent it from happening again. This kind of thinking can help us improve our oil rig safety systems and make them more resilient in the face of mistakes.
Dive deeper into one of our core topics: Personnel on board
Sources:
(1) https://safetyculture.com/topics/drilling-safety/
(2) https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/safety-alerts/safety-alerts/working-with-drilling-rigs
Note: This article was updated on the 11th of October 2024
