BSEE announced improved inspection efficiency

Alan Bailey

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has announced efficiency improvements that will enable increased offshore facility inspection time while also reducing the cost of the inspection program. Starting at the beginning of April, the agency’s inspectors will access offshore electronic records from onshore, thus freeing up more time for physically checking on offshore operations at the 2,200 Gulf of Mexico facilities, while also reducing helicopter operating expenses by 15 percent, BSEE says. The agency says that the efficiency gains can be achieved without any adverse impacts on safety and environmental protections.

The anticipated cost savings are $20 million over three and a half years.

“This approach greatly improves our inspectors’ efficiency, increasing safety oversight at OCS facilities,” said BSEE Director Scott A. Angelle. “Our team developed a smarter, safer strategy that provides more physical inspection time offshore and reduces government costs. This makes sense for the American taxpayer and increases our ability to ensure safe operations offshore.”

- ALAN BAILEY