Proforma Safety Blog

Proforma Safety On Macondo Well Response Vessels; BP Prepares for Bad Weather

Posted by proforma on July 22, 2010  |  No Comments

Because of brewing storms, BP has installed a cement plug in a relief well that’s been drilled to within about five feet (1.5 meters) of the damaged Macondo well. Senior Vice President Kent Wells told reporters on a conference call that BP may be required to evacuate crews. See details on Bloomberg.

Proforma Safety HSE advisors are monitoring crew activities on the response vessels controlling the Macondo well to ensure safe operations.

As of July 20, 2010, Proforma Safety has recorded 178,560 man hours worked without an LTI, LTA or DAW case. More than 6,000 hours have been logged by Proforma’s HSE advisors.

Another Welder Dies While Performing Hot Work

Posted by proforma on July 14, 2010  |  No Comments

We’ve learned that there’s been another fatality associated with “hot work” — a welder in Colorado, who died while welding on a storage tank containing flammables at an environmental remediation company in Englewood. We recently covered the CSB’s efforts to eliminate such accidents.

Floorman Killed on Monkey Board in Avoidable Accident

Posted by proforma on July 1, 2010  |  No Comments

A floorman was struck in the abdomen by either the drill pipe or winch wire and later died of his injuries. In this report, the cause was attributed to a number of factors, including poor communication, lack of competency and inadequate risk assessment.

Ergonomics: The Next Workplace Safety Battleground

Posted by proforma on June 30, 2010  |  No Comments

Will ergonomics become the next battleground between business and the Administration in workplace safety enforcement? This article on Human Resource Executive Online talks about the possibility of an increase in the scope of compensable injuries. Some believe new standards may be in the works.

CSB Approves Recommendations for Preventing Explosions

Posted by proforma on June 30, 2010  |  No Comments

The Chemical Safety Board has issued 18 recommendations to OSHA, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and other agencies that are intended to prevent explosions and fires resulting from using fuel gas to clean or purge gas pipes. These recommendations evolved from its investigations into the Kleen Energy plant explosion and the ConAgra Foods plant explosion. Both explosions were attributed to natural gas released during the installation and commissioning of new piping.

CBS recommends that OSHA pass regulations prohibiting the use of natural gas for pipe cleaning and the venting or purging of fuel gas indoors. IN addition, it urges OSHA to require companies to provide workers and contractors with appropriate procedures and training.

See this moving video put out by the Chemical Safety Board on the Dangers of Hot Work.

Can we continue to develop our natural resources safely after the Deepwater Horizon?

Posted by proforma on June 21, 2010  |  1 Comment

On April 20, 2010, the United States and the oil and gas industry suffered the worst tragedy we have possibly ever faced with the Deepwater Horizon. Not only did we lose 11 lives, but we now are faced with an environmental disaster of untold proportions.

Which raises the all important question: Can we continue to develop our natural resources safely?  The challenge we face today is no different than NASA’s in sending a person to Mars. In the world of ultra-deep water exploration and production, we too are outside of our engineering comfort zone. We still are striving to understand and manage pressures, temperatures and reservoir dynamics. 

Through my experience, I’ve learned that we have come a long way in the past few years in achieving safer operations and in our understanding of what influences people’s safety. Today we have many processes that — if utilized correctly and with consistency — can prevent accidents from happening. The problem lies in the way we manage our business. To read the full article, click here.

Proforma Safety Participates in BP Thunder Horse Undersea Manifold Replacement

Posted by proforma on June 20, 2010  |  No Comments

announced in April that it was replacing undersea manifolds serving the platform. This maintenance has been planned for more than a year, is likely to result in a cut in annual production by about 10,000 barrels of oil and gas equivalent per day.

Thunder Horse has a 96 percent rate of “reliability” since starting up June 2008, according to BP’s Thunder Horse deputy operations manager Wissam Al Monthiry in this recent article. subsea manifold failures due to hydrogen embrittlement

Proforma Safety Helps Serimax Achieve Safety Records in Port Fouchon

Posted by proforma on June 20, 2010  |  No Comments

Since October 2008, Serimax Yard in Port Fouchon, LA, and as of June 23, 2010, they’ve achieved a total of 1.36 million man hours without a Loss Time Accident (LTA) or Lost Time Incident (LTI).

API posts new page on website dedicated to Deepwater Horizon and aftermath

Posted by proforma on June 19, 2010  |  No Comments

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has published a new page on its website with information relevant to the Deepwater Horizon and safety standards and practices for the industry. Follow progress with the challenges to the moratorium on the site, environmental impacts, and what’s being done to mitigate them.

Lessons Will Be Learned from the Deepwater Horizon

Posted by proforma on June 6, 2010  |  No Comments

The Deepwater Horizon is a tragedy first and foremost because of the loss of 11 lives, but also because of the continued impact on Gulf of Mexico residents, wildlife, property and businesses, and on the companies, employees and shareholders associated with the spill, including BP, Anadarko Petroleum and Matsui Oil Exploration (minority partners), Transocean, Halliburton and Cameron. All are facing scores of lawsuits for damages and liabilities.

The reputation of BP has sunk precipitously and the affects will be felt by the nation and the energy industry for many years.

Wall Street Journal  reported that “BP made choices over the course of the project that rendered this well more vulnerable to the blowout.”

Shareholders have sued the board of BP Plc for failing to monitor safety and exposing the company to liability.

Some Deepwater Horizon workers said that safety was paramount for BP and Transocean. But two workers have charged the companies with cutting corners on safety and neglecting maintenance in favor of higher profits.

On June 1, global jitters sent the Dow dropping nearly 100 points  upon news the U.S. Government has initiated a criminal probe.

In his 30-Day Safety Report, Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, has called for aggressive new operating standards and safety requirements.