BackDROPS FORUM - Stavanger, 1st June 2011
Greg Reid opened the Forum and gave a Safety Brief and introductions were made.
DROPS Update – Greg Reid, DROPS Global
MEMBERSHIP: Delighted to welcome following new members - Thiess Degremont (Australia), Gulf (Qatar), Dropsafe (Hong Kong), Linjebygg Offshore AS (Norway), Rig Inspection Services PTE (Singapore), Apave Rope Access (Macedonia). Greg highlighted that the membership of DROPS has now reached over 100 members globally. New members are always welcome and for further details, please contact admin@dropsonline.org
DROPS INTERNATIONAL: DROPS Asia just held their Forum on April 6th in Singapore. Their minutes are published on the website in the Minutes and Latest News Section.
DROPS USA forum held on May 3rd. Thanks to Shell for hosting this event. Campaign in USA now reinvigorated.
Following on from the inaugural DROPS Forum in the Middle East, Qatar Shell kindly sponsored the ME forum on May 19th in Doha. Huge success and plans already underway to move ahead. See minutes on this website.
DROPS Training and Awareness has recently been undertaken in USA and Canada and in the Middle East in Oman (desert well sites), Dubai, and Saudi. Enquiries are being addressed for Sakhalin and NW Australia.
Next DROPS Forums: Tuesday 28 June in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Please email secretary@dropsasia.com for more details.
SAFETY ALERTS: As ever, please send us details of any relevant safety alerts or flashes. Send to admin@dropsonline.org
2010 SUCCESSES:
- Website restructured (www.dropsonline.org)
- DORIS database built, trialled and launched
- Our second Rogues Gallery was installed
- Electronic DROPS calculator released and a DROPS Calculator iPhone App
- Four new best practices were completed and published for download from DROPS Website, including DROPS Restricted Access Areas (Red Zones), DROPS Pre-Task Checks, Common Standard for DROPS Inspection and Survey and Safe Use of Tools and Equipment at Height Best
- We published a useful Subsea Dropped Objects Matrix
- Developed new DROPS poster set and refreshed historic poster sets
- Produced Winter Awareness posters in English, Norwegian and Dutch.
There was a request for a calculator for Subsea Dropped Objects and this is something that we can look into.
2011 ACTIVITIES
New Focus Groups for 2011 will look at:
- Overhaul and Upgrade DROPS Training Programme (also to include more marine, production, and automated systems content)
- Develop a New Start / ‘Green Hat’ DROPS induction pack
- Develop a DROPS Safety Meeting template and pack
- DORIS Focus Group will continue from last year.
Some Quick Hit Topics for 2011 include:
- Pre-task Checklist identifying DROPS hazards in extreme conditions
- Definitive guidance on sheave / snatch block secondary retention
- Broaden DROPS contacts/membership and explore further cross-industry exchanges
- Exploit opportunities to use the kindly donated static content from Shell Wells Dropped Object Prevention Awareness Campaign. In other regions, Focus areas include DROPS interfaces and input with construction yards, translating DROPS products into other languages.
If anyone wants to be involved in any of these focus groups, please contact admin@dropsonline.org.
PSA Update – Johnny Gundersen
The PSA are the Norwegian regulatory authority for technical and operational safety, including emergency preparedness, and for the working environment. They look at all incidents/accidents and this includes dropped objects in the Norwegian sector. Several reports have been written on these topics and are available on the The PSA website .
Johnny presented a set of statistics and provided a commentary that highlighted:
- An upward trend in dropped objects occurring during lifting operations
- Some Operators are performing better than others with regard to number of dropped objects
- There have been no deaths since 2002 due to dropped objects but there have been 85 injuries to date
- The progress shows that there is an improvement but there are still heavy items being dropped
- Drilling and maintenance activities still have a high level of incidents.
In summary:
- There are still a high number of dropped objects
- Crane operations are still proving to be a challenge
- We need to keep up the focus on dropped object prevention as we still have incidents that are hurting personnel.
Follow this link to download the presentation.
Challenge Regarding Fall of Load – Vetli Tveiten, Statoil
Vetli gave an updated presentation and overview on the Safe Rig project. There were some recurring dropped object incidents with regard to elevators in 2009/2010. Statoil were advised by the PSA to take action and they have introduced safer lifting and pipe-handling in the drilling and well areas. As part of the Safe Rig project, Statoil undertook a gap analysis on around 3000 pieces of equipment.
Through four sub-groups, Statoil worked closely with contractors to specifically look at Technical barriers, Organisation barriers, Operational barriers and Competence & Training.
Working with the OLF, proposals were made for improvement of operational standards/industry standards. EN13155 will be updated to include elevators. Progress and achievements on these 4 projects to date were described. All lifting equipment included elevators, lifting subs, running tools etc. The Safe Rig collaboration has proposed some recommendations for update to relevant standards, and hopefully by 2012-2013 they will be incorporated and revised accordingly.
If you wish to get further clarification on this project then you can contact Vetli directly by email here. Follow this link to download the presentation.
Securing Slings – Barney Raku-Evans, Clampsafe
Barney told us about the Clampsafe Cobra that removes the need for bulldog clamps etc when securing slings on tubulars. This is a multiuse clamp made from stainless steel and comes in a variety of sizes customised to customer requirements. These clamps have undergone some load tests and currently are used in projects in Africa, Stavanger and Western Australia. Some pictures of the clamp in use were displayed and ease of use and benefits described. A short video of the clamp in use was also shown and a variety of clamps handed out for attendees to view. There was some feedback given and an opportunity highlighted to make some changes at the design stage of a new product. DROPS do not endorse any product but if you wish to get further details on this clamp,please visit the Clampsafe website.
DORIS – Allen Smith, DROPS Global
Allen gave an overview on what the UK HSE has registered on dropped object statistics and highlighted the similarities to the Norwegian PSA. He went on to explain the purpose of DORIS which is to provide a breakdown on dropped objects, both actual and potential incidents. We saw an overview of how the database works and the statistics that are currently available. Indications from the data gathered currently show that Other Operations is the highest area of concern, followed by Drilling and Maintenance. Other Operations will be looked at by the DORIS focus group and further clearly defined. Top 3 causes of actual recorded incidents are Failed Fixtures and Fittings, Inadequate Securing and Corrosion. The Consequences currently indicate that there was the potential to have 23 fatalities in the past year in the North Sea.
To make this database a success, all members are encouraged to use the database for inputting their data.
If you would like to upload your own data to DORIS and require secure member log in details, please email doris@dropsonline.org for a unique user ID and password. You should note that only one full user access ID can be registered per member company per region.
Dropped Objects, as seen from an HSE Manager’s Desk – Soren Jeppesen, Maersk Drilling
Soren’s presentation focused on the challenges faced in achieving the goal of Zero Incidents. With regard to dropped objects, Maersk identified that 8 out of 10 incidents involved dynamic items that were being handled. They looked at the measures we have in place to combat dropped objects, including design, hardware, equipment / tools and systems / processes. They identified that the “gap” and challenge to achieving zero incidents fell to Human Factors.
We must maintain our existing controls but we now need to focus on human behaviours, to understand why we continue to make mistakes, to identify barriers and controls to prevent and mitigate against them and to ensure individuals have a better understanding of risk and consequence.
In pursuit of this, Maersk have introduced a number of new measures:
- Created a new “Human Factors” role / position
- Introduced rig management KPIs and award systems
- Improvied Leadership and Compliance training
- Introduced“Just Culture” and transferred responsibilities back to individuals
- Improved business intelligence and safety management tools.
Follow this link to download the presentation.
Our Progress – Hugo Halvorsen, SFS
Hugo explained that SFS are a forum that develops best practices and recommendations for safer working. They have created a sub-group for lifting and crane operations where dropped object prevention is a key consideration and focus. Hugo noted that the SFS website holds a number of safety movies that can be downloaded. The movies are based upon real incidents and they cover a range of safety subject matter including several that feature dropped objects, working at height etc.
Hugo circulated copies of the SFS booklet “Best Practice Dropped Object Management Rev 02”. He advised that Rev 03 of the booklet was presently being prepared and that the new issue, expected later in 2011, would include updates from Statoil’s Best Practice which is also presently under review. Visit the SFS website or email post@sfs.no orew-sfs@psk.no
NEXT DROPS FORUMS:
Tuesday 28th June 2011. Ho Chi minh City, Vietnam.
Contact DROPS Asia Secretary to register.
Wednesday 14th September 2011. The Marcliffe at Pitfodels, Aberdeen, UK.
Contact DROPS Secretary for more information.