BSEE publishes draft safety culture policy

As a follow up to various recommendations in response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, or BSEE, has published a draft “Safety Culture Policy Statement” that would apply to businesses operating on the U.S. outer continental shelf. The agency wants public comments on the policy statement by March 20.

“The Safety Culture Policy Statement is at the core of BSEE’s guiding principle of safety at all levels, at all times, because every offshore operation — no matter when or where it is performed — carries with it some degree of risk,” said BSEE Director Jim Watson. “From the boardroom to the control room, this policy pushes us all to a safer offshore environment.”

BSEE defines a safety culture as “the core values and behaviors resulting from a collective commitment by leaders and individuals to emphasize safety over competing goals to ensure protection of people and the environment.” And the policy statement says that a robust safety culture includes characteristics such as leadership behavior demonstrating a commitment to safety; prompt identification and resolution of safety issues; personal accountability; work processes that maintain safety; continuous learning; an environment conducive to people raising concerns; effective safety communications; a work environment of trust and respect; and a culture encouraging an inquiring attitude rather than an attitude of complacency.

The agency cites the nuclear power industry and the safety culture policy of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC, as providing a strong foundation for a similar approach for outer continental shelf oil and gas operations. A 2011 report on Deepwater Horizon commented that, following the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979, the nuclear industry had made huge improvements in its safety culture, helped and influenced by the NRC policy.

—Alan Bailey