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BP, Houston Contracting set safety milestone for pipeline construction Recent construction projects on North Slope completed with record breaking improvement in safety performance By Randy Brutsche PNA Contributing Writer
BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. and its union contractor, Houston Contracting Co., have pulled out the stops to ensure that an accident-free workplace is no accident.
During the 2001 pipeline construction season, they achieved a safety performance of only one recordable incident and zero day-away-from-work cases just as the project is breaking the 250,000 man-hour mark. That puts the incident rate at about 0.8 and zero, respectively, per 200,000 man hours.
In comparison, during the 1998, 1999 and 2000 pipeline construction seasons that included Badami, Alpine and Northstar, with a mix of contractors performing more than 1 million man hours of the same type of work, the incident rate was nearly identical for those three years at eight recordable incidents and one day-away-from-work case per 200,000 man hours.
But Ian Livett, manager of engineering and projects for BP’s shared services technical, won’t use the word “remarkable” to describe the results.
“It’s not surprising that (the safety performance) happened,” Livett said. “It didn’t happen by accident. It happened because of a lot of hard work and dedication from everyone who really wanted it to happen.”
Tim Pine, a construction engineer contracted to BP by Udelhoven Oilfield Services, said, “This job record has its roots in what the company has done for the last 10 years.”
Tom Stewart, chief of Alaska’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration agrees. “They have a tremendous safety group,” he said. “They spend an inordinate amount of money on safety training.”
“We don’t look at them unless they have an accident or we receive a complaint,” Stewart said. “With our limited resources, and their report record being so far below the national average for that type of work, we don’t focus on their issues.”
Better than national averages not good enough Better than national averages not good enoughPrior to the pipeline construction season of 2001, word came down from BP’s London headquarters that the safety performance of its Alaska pipeline construction operations would have to improve. While some said that BP’s Alaska safety performance was in the fourth quartile of BP operations worldwide, the fact remained it was better than the U.S. national average.Backing the safety talk with money Livett said BP held a meeting last November with the winning pipeline construction contractor, Houston Contracting Co., to discuss ways to improve safety performance.
At that meeting, Livett said that BP was intent on achieving a step change in the safety performance of its Alaska pipeline construction activities. He also said BP was willing to sweeten the pot, above the winning bid amount, for additional safety programs and people. He asked Pat Egger, North Slope division manager for Houston, what those additional measures might be.
“I had just returned from touring other oil and gas construction sites and I knew what I wanted,” said Egger. “One was a safety proctor, an individual assigned to roam over the construction area and monitor and modify construction behaviors toward thinking, acting and being safer. The other was a physician’s assistant, a first line of care for medical attention, to be stationed in the middle of the construction area.”
Livett said that BP agreed to fund an additional $500,000 in safety programs and positions for the $25 million to $30 million 2001 pipeline construction season. Factors leading to outstanding results One of the most talked about factors was the foremen’s safety workshop held each year prior to construction. The two-day meeting includes not only contracting staff but nearly all the foremen who will work on the project. Pine said “(the contracting staff) are not the ones deciding to lift something or directing others to lift and move things.” He stressed the importance of the foremen, who are on the job minute-by-minute, sitting face to face with upper management from both the contractor and the client to discuss the safety realities of the job. “We get a good cross germination of ideas,” said Egger.
People interviewed for this article hesitated to point to any one thing that made the difference. But they all said that the results achieved during the 2001 season were no more than the fruits of safety program efforts from years past. As Pine said, “There is no magical silver bullet.” However, four things stand out.
First, the safety program is filled to bursting with tools to make the work place safer. According to Egger and Alan Jones, Northslope Health, Safety and Environment manager for Houston, more than 550 hazard recognition “red cards” have been turned in so far during the 2001 pipeline construction season. “It is a vehicle for every craft person to turn safety concerns into management,” Egger said. “We wanted a safety program built on input from the field,” said Jones.
More than 350 safety and environmental task assessment cards have been turned in. According to Jones, whenever a job changes, either because the direct task has changed or because a piece of equipment has changed, a SETA card is used for the foreman and crew to talk about the new job.
Job hazard analysis cards document the known hazards with each job. The JHA cards are constantly used and updated in the field.
Second a physician’s assistant was just down the road. According to Mike Katyryniuk, a project manager for BP, that helped many simple eye irritations end with a quick flushing and not escalate into a more serious problem due to neglect. Also, he said, the close knit relationship that developed between the craft workers and the physician’s assistant helped non-job related injuries be treated as such and not recorded as on-the-job injuries.
Third, according to many, the incentive program worked very well because it was focused at the level of interchange between the foreman and his crew of up to 20 workers. The individuals doing the work — the eyes, hands and backs at the greatest risk of injury — were rewarded instantly for identifying and formally documenting hazards and for thinking, acting and working safely, and they were recognized at weekly safety meetings for those same efforts.
Jones said a committee of craft workers was formed to meet once a week evaluate the red cards, by number, without names. They paid out $100, $50 and $25 each week for the top three hazard recognition red cards ranked by the significance of the hazard. Every valid card was also entered into a monthly lottery drawing for $1,000, $500 and $100 cash awards.
According to Jones, the incentive program included raffle ticket drawings for a four wheeler and a snow machine. Only the foremen and the craft workers were eligible for the raffle. Individuals could win a chance by working on the project for at least 100 hours and could earn additional chances to win by correctly answering the weekly safety question, by submitting “red cards” and by other ways of demonstrating safety awareness.
“Suddenly we have every set of eyes looking for hazards,” said Egger. “It becomes a competition for some of them but it’s a good competition because that’s what we want. It’s motivating folks in the direction we want them to go.”
Fourth, and according to many the most important, both the safety proctors, Mike Tomsha and Rory Burke were outstanding at their jobs. They are respected and have worked the same trade union positions they were tasked to interface with. The safety proctors were also armed with cash to reward positive behavior by an individual or work crew. And finally, the safety proctors were empowered to meet with upper management and implement specific programs to target unsafe trends.
Editor’s note: Randy Brutsche of Documentation Works is a photojournalist. One of his clients is BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. He can be contacted at 907 688-3190.
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