A good way to address these potential dilemmas is through communication with other industry professionals on best practices, new technologies and lessons learned. Each year, API hosts multiple conferences dedicated to creating a culture of safety. This year alone, API hosted the 2007 Offshore Operations and Safety Conference and has three more conferences scheduled for November—the Storage Tank Conference and Safe Tank Entry Workshop, the IT Security Conference and the Contractor Safety Conference.

Each of these conferences, while targeting a different audience,
incorporates the following three concepts:

SHARING AND LEARNING
An example of sharing best practices is seen in the proceedings from this summer’s Offshore Crane Conference. Working on offshore oil platforms is dangerous and challenging work, but Pride’s Bryan Sanchez, Rig Manager on the BP rig Thunder Horse, gave a presentation on their impressive safety record and the steps they take to maintain it. Since 2004, over 23,490 Safe Personnel Lifts (281,804 people) have been lifted between crewboats and Thunder Horse. As a result, there has been zero crane downtime associated with critical path operations.

Given the complex nature of offshore work, this safety record is something that Pride is clearly proud of. True to the culture of safety, it is also an accomplishment that they wanted to share with conference attendees, along with their best practices. Through best practice sharing, you can learn techniques and methods to improve safety from industry colleagues with similar concerns and regulatory issues.

At the 2006 API Storage Tank and Safe Tank Entry Conference, attendee feedback indicated that the most beneficial sessions were speaker panels with time dedicated to questions and answers from the audience.For the 2007 conference this November 13 – 16 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, additional time has been dedicated to “Ask the Experts” sessions. With access to the largest pool of subject experts in the industry, API conferences are recognized for their strong educational content. At the 2007 Offshore Crane Conference in July, the panel of regulatory experts included a speaker from the Health and Safety Executive Office of the United Kingdom. Iain Paterson, HM Principal Inspector for the Offshore Division, added an international perspective. The 2007 Contractor Safety Conference will also offer ample opportunities to discuss lessons learned and challenges facing the industry.

IMPROVING
Safety doesn’t belong to any one company. It is meant to be shared, learned, improved and shared again. Improving your safety record by implementing best practices from other companies is encouraged at API conferences. With several methods to improve existing safety, many API conferences highlight emerging trends, such as behavioral-based safety. This school of thought teaches that by discouraging at-risk behaviors, accidents can be prevented before they occur.

NETWORKING
The opportunity to share ideas and discuss challenges is a great way to build relationships with colleagues and recognized industry professionals. While the content of the conference itself is the main draw, the opportunity to meet potential suppliers or customers should not be ignored.

Additional views previously shared during an API conference include:

• Prevention is the most important safety strategy.
• Routine operations should be viewed as critical.
• Consequences control behavior.
• Positive feedback is themost effective means of creating change.
• Safety standards are minimum requirements: feel free to exceed them.
  

The cost of not emphasizing safety can include lost operating time, costs, injury,
and in the worst case scenario, death. With prevention being the most effective safety strategy, we hope to see you soon at an API safety conference.