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DROPS Forum - Aberdeen, 27th April 2017

DROPS UK Forum Minutes
Marcliffe Pitfodels, Aberdeen

The meeting was opened by Greg and a safety brief was delivered. Round the room introductions followed.

Membership

Since last Forum, we are delighted to welcome the following new DROPS members:
The Linde Group – USA
Aibel – Thailand

It is important that all members keep their DROPS Focal Point contact details up to date. Please notify changes to admin@dropsonline.org

DROPS North America

Quarterly meetings (Forum style) continue and a major Regional Event is being planned for Q4.
Workgroup developing a common standard reference document for DROPS linking to DROPS guidance and best practice. Formal draft expected in May.
Initial work started on potential DROPS Calculator upgrades and commitment from Chapter to assist DROPS Global with review of Red Zone best practice and more.

DROPS Saudi Chapter

DROPS Saudi Arabia Steering Committee established with remit to initiate a DROPS campaign in the region, identify and adopt best practice and share output with broader DROPS community.
Regular meetings, forums and communications – first regular Newsletter “DROPS Digest” issued and available to view here.
Workgroup will assist in translation of DROPS material (Arabic, Hindi and others).

DROPS Oman Chapter

DROPS Forum on May 21st in Muscat (supported by Oxy Oman) – full details here.
Forum intended as a springboard for DROPS Oman Chapter.

DROPS Asia Chapter

Planning in early stages for a DROPS Forum in India later in the year (details to follow).
A programme of training / train-the-trainer is being developed for the Asia Region and dates / venues will be posted on the website in due course.

DROPS Norway

Planning our annual Norwegian Forum for September.
Looking for member support with a venue (Stavanger/Bergen) and volunteers or suggestions for presentations / demonstrations, particularly with Regional interest. If you can assist, please contact admin@dropsonline.org

International DROPS

Interest expressed in Forums and/or Regional Workgroups / Chapters in Azerbaijan (BP), Qatar (Shell) and Argentina (SNA).
Supporting Shell Dropped Objects Awareness Event in Netherlands May 9-11.

2017 UK DROPS Forums

The next UK DROPS Forums will be held in Aberdeen on September 19th and December 7th. These will be held at the Marcliffe Hotel, Aberdeen.


DROPS Training

Since last forum, UK DROPS Train-the-Trainer sessions have been held at Silverdot’s offices and further UK dates are scheduled and posted on website. 
Training recently been held in Middle East and Trinidad.
Further training imminent in Middle East, including TTT on May 22nd in Muscat, Oman to coincide with Oman DROPS Forum.
See Training section for details of all scheduled training or contact training@dropsonline.org for further information.

DROPS Networking and Collaboration and Marketing

Continuing dialogue with IRATA. David Thomas will present on behalf of IRATA today and reciprocal arrangement will be made in due course. Moving forward, we will explore collaborative opportunities and mutual exchanges. Already identified potential common benefits around training. Associate DROPS membership to be formally extended to IRATA. 
Invitation accepted from Marine Safety Forum for DROPS to present at their All Members Meeting on May 25th in Aberdeen.
Invitation accepted from IADC to sit on distinguished panel focused on preventing dropped objects at their annual HSE&T Europe Conference in Amsterdam in September.
DROPS to participate in review of “Dropped Objects” section of OGUK Best Practice for the Safe Packing and Handling of Cargo to & from Offshore Installations. Relevant section can be viewed here.
Review meeting 10th May – any comments to admin@dropsonline.org before that date. We will request copies of, or access to, next revision for DROPS members.
Discussions with General Manager of G+ (Global Offshore Wind Health and Safety Organisation). Very positive prospects for working together. Further dialogue next month. G+ updating their guidance on work at height including “Falling Objects” section. The current guidelines can be viewed here. Wind Energy Industry events also being reviewed.
Further dialogue with Siemens in pursuit of approvals to share the Turbine Dropped Object video. Unfortunately copyright lies with a training company and not Siemens.  Siemens have a current dropped object prevention campaign and wish to continue dialogue and exchange with DROPS – presentation later.

DROPS Marketing

DROPS marketing materials available to all with Banners, Presentations, Posters, Snakes n Ladders, Literature, including latest DROPS Resource Guides, available to support your event. All requests to admin@dropsonline.com

DROPS Focus Groups

Reliable Securing: Formal draft of DROPS USA’s standard reference expected next week. SfS now updating their booklet and we have potential new content submitted as well.  End of May deadline for all new input – thereafter to Review Team for finalisation. 
Later, New Focus Groups will seek volunteers and initial direction. These will be (1) DROPS Winter Campaign and (2) Broader Industry Engagement by DROPS.
Volunteers for either Focus Group should email admin@dropsonline.org
As a “Quick Hit” – we invite ideas for our new DROPS Awareness poster suite – discussions later.

Presenters and Presentations

Many thanks to our Presenters and those who have submitted presentations today.
Thanks also to Concept Productions for hosting an information stand. For further details, visit www.conceptproductions.co.uk or contact Lynn Llewellyn (lynn@conceptproductions.co.uk
If you wish to nominate a presentation or demonstration for consideration at a future DROPS event, or if you have an alert or lesson learned to share, please contact admin@dropsonline.org

Best Practice – Aerial Lift Equipment – TUTUS LLC

TUTUS have developed a protective screening product to protect against falling objects from mobile elevated work platforms. Reiterating that DROPS does not endorse any specific products, Greg gave a brief product overview from the information supplied by TUTUS. The full product details are available here

TUTUS also submitted a proposed generic Best Practice for “Guarding Tools, Equipment and Parts in Mobile Elevated Work Platforms” which can be viewed here. It was agreed that the proposed best practice should be passed to the Reliable Securing Review Team for consideration for potential inclusion in the current update of the Guidelines. David Thomas of IRATA also offered potential industry body specialist contacts on the subject that will be given to Review Team.

DROPS – A Dropped Object Awareness DVD – Kevin Pope, KCA Deutag

Kevin presented a DVD created by KCA Deutag in collaboration with Diamond Offshore, Rowan Drilling, Stena Drilling and the production company Concept Productions. Kevin noted this was a cost effective way to share a number of ideas and concepts. The DVD features several actual dropped object scenarios that have occurred in the last 12 months – one incident featured from each of the contributing companies. A powerful message is delivered making it an ideal tool for safety meetings, general awareness campaigns etc. The DVD is also available in Russian and Arabic Translations.
The DVD has kindly been made available to DROPS members for their internal use, on the understanding that the product is not distributed or exchanged for commercial gain. A download access link will be sent to the registered DROPS Focal Point of each member company. Copies of the DVD will also be included in the next DROPS Campaign Pack update.

“Stop the Drop” Campaign – Siemens

Siemens shared details of their most recent “Stop the Drop” awareness campaign. The campaign features a comprehensive “info-graphic” banner  and this has been supported by monthly teaser posters over a 3 month promotion. The banner and posters can be viewed here.
Siemens have agreed to keep DROPS abreast of their dropped object prevention measures and an invite will be extended for them to attend/present at a future forum.

Tubelock System Video – Global Gravity

Alistair Tong gave a brief introduction to a product video for TubeLock, with the permission of the system owners – Global Gravity. The system has been developed to improve the safety and reduce the frequency of tubular handling for all sizes and lengths. Delegates are interested to know more of the client base and the product. DROPS will extend an invitation to Global Gravity to attend / present at a future Forum where they can respond directly to questions from the floor. 
The video can be viewed here.

“You Can’t Blame Gravity… Striving to Improve” – David Thomas, IRATA

David presented an overview of IRATA - the leading worldwide organisation for rope access, promoting the highest standards and working practices for members. His presentation included a work and safety analysis based on IRATA Member incident report submissions, including dropped objects. An overview of the incidents reported in 2016 highlighted a broad range of dropped objects and an equally broad range of resulting injuries, though thankfully no fatalities. Like DROPS, IRATA are exploring opportunities to collaborate with other bodies and organisations across industries and it was agreed that both organisations should endeavour to openly share and work together for mutual benefit. David’s full presentation is available to download here.

Focus Groups & Quick Hits

Members were and are invited to participate in either of the two new Focus Groups, as follows:

Winter DROPS Campaign - Following members have volunteered: Shona Innes (Northern Offshore), Lewis Kerr (Highland), TBA (KCADeutag Sakhalin), Gillian Marr (Expro).
Further volunteers sought – please email secretary@dropsonline.org to assist this Group

Broader Industry Engagement DROPS - Following members have volunteered: Neil Moir (Bloxwich); Billy Jackson (Balfour Beatty); George McPherson (BP); Allan Davies (Cape)
Further volunteers sought – please email secretary@dropsonline.org to assist this Group.

Suggestions/Ideas were invited for the new poster suite being developed as a quick hit and the following were some of the suggestions put forward for consideration:

Where dropped objects strike the body - top ‘hits’
Wrong PPE, poorly prepared – would you trust?
Line of fire / deflection
Beyond the drill floor – roads / factories / farms…
Domestic scenario – what if the object was an infant?
Domestic scenario – family loss
Drop weight analogies by height – mouse/elephant, mobile/phonebox
Static versus Dynamic
New hazard introduced
Pinball table
Hazard Hunt pile
Root cause (snake)
Risk normalisation
Injury/injurer – points of view
Marine
Contents of dropped objects, eg overboard discharge
Variants of the DROPS logo, eg it is falling
Infants dressed as workers (in offshore gear / PPE)
Tag line: “Never stop to prevent a drop”
Physical Prop/demo item.

Open Floor and Any Other Business

Greg thanked everyone for their participation and invited the attendees to offer any issues for further discussion in the open floor session.  

Next meeting

Date:     Tuesday 19 September 2017
Time:     0930 -1200
Venue:  Marcliffe Hotel, Aberdeen
Host:     DROPS Global Steering Committee Members