BSEE issues safety culture policy statement

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, has issued a final version of its safety culture policy statement for offshore oil and gas operations. Rather than being a prescriptive set of mandatory requirements for businesses working in the offshore, the policy presents guidance in the form of some critical values and behaviors that BSEE expects companies to encourage and exhibit. BSEE published the policy statement in draft form in December and has taken into account comments received on that draft.

“The human factor is the critical element in offshore safety,” said BSEE Director James Watson when announcing publication of the policy statement. “Prescriptive regulations can reduce risks to worker safety and the environment, but they alone are not enough. Everyone working in the offshore industry must adhere to a set of core values that places safety above all else.”

The statement encompasses nine characteristics that BSEE sees as essential to an organization’s safety culture: leadership commitment to safety values and actions; procedures for the prompt identification and evaluation of hazards, and for the effective management of risks associated with these hazards; personal accountability for safety and environmental stewardship by all individuals; a focus on safety and environmental stewardship during the planning and control of work activities; opportunities for continuous improvement by seeking ways to ensure safety and environmental stewardship; encouragement for people to raise concerns without fear of reprisal; communications that maintain a focus on safety and environmental stewardship; a culture of trust and respect, with a focus on teamwork and collaboration; and the encouragement of an inquiring attitude that questions how things are done and avoids complacency.

BSEE says that the safety culture policy will work alongside its new rule requiring outer continental shelf oil and gas operators to implement safety and environmental management systems.

—Alan Bailey