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CHAPTER 1
Element 1
Sub-element 1.1:
Learning from incidents
Learning outcome
Explain the purpose of, and procedures for, investigating incidents and how the lessons learnt can be used to improve health and safety in the oil and gas industries.
| Investigating incidents and effective identification of the root causes and making recommendations for improvements | |
| Importance of learning lessons from major incidents, management, culture and technical failures that may lead to such incidents | |
Definitions
► Accident – an unplanned event that results in damage, loss or harm
► Hazard – the potential of something to cause harm
► Risk – the likelihood of something to cause harm
► Residual risk – remaining risks after controls have been applied
► Near miss – any unplanned incident, accident or emergency which did not result in an injury but which could have done
► Dangerous occurrence – a near miss that could have led to serious injury or loss of life
► Damage only – an event which caused damage but has not involved injury to anyone but which could have done
► Outcome – the effect of an unplanned, uncontrolled event
► Minor injury – an injury which does not involve time off work
► Significant injury – an injury which is not major but which dresults in the injured person being away from work or being unable to do their full range of normal duties
► Major injury – an injury which can be regarded as a serious threat to a person’s health and/or well-being
Investigating incidents and effective identification of the root causes and making recommendations for improvements
Why accidents and incidents should be investigated
► To determine their cause
► So that information forthcoming from the investigation can be used to avoid it happening again
Legal reasons for investigating accidents and incidents
► To demonstrate that the company is meeting its legal requirements.
► Employers should be able to make available information regarding the circumstances appertaining to the accident in case those involved in the accident decide to take legal action.
► If needs be, a company can demonstrate to the courts their commitment and positive attitude to health and safety.
Financial reasons for investigating accidents and incidents
► Information forthcoming from an accident investigation provided to an insurance company may well assist in the event of a claim.
► The outcome of an investigation could prevent a recurrence with potential catastrophic results.
► The company can avoid business losses if they take heed of the outcome of an investigation by preventing further accidents or incidents.
► Other costs saved might include the cost of legal action which may be taken against the company; increased insurance premiums; loss of business due to a bad reputation resulting in lost orders.
Other reasons for investigating accidents and incidents
► Establish how and why an accident/incident happened
► Establish exactly what working practices and procedures are
► Discover how exposure to conditions (e.g. noise, cold, heat), or substances (e.g. chemicals, radiation, gases) may affect the health of employees
► Expose weaknesses or faults in production systems whereby a certain scenario of events will expose these weaknesses or faults
► Lessons learned in one department of an organization can be shared with other departments
Benefits from investigating accidents and incidents
► The outcomes of an investigation can result in the company putting measures in place to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents or incidents in the future.
► The development of a health and safety culture within the company: following an investigation, any measures which are put in place as a result of the findings will be more readily accepted by the workforce, especially if they were involved in the decision-making process.
► Managerial skills will be developed during any investigation and these can be used in other departments within the organization.
The investigation team, typical make-up
► Operations team leader
► In the case of an offshore installation, a field or platform safety officer
► In the case of an onshore installation, a senior onshore manager
► Safety representatives
► Area authorities (the person responsible for the area where the incident took place)
► Specialist inspectors
► If it’s a drilling rig, a tool pusher
Knowledge required and training for the investigating team
► Knowing their own roles...
