In 2012, it’s hard to believe that archaic paper and spreadsheet-based systems are still widely used to handle corporate environment, health and safety management programs, yet this remains a fact of life for businesses around the globe, and the same is no less true in the oil and gas industry.
Of course, many in the industry have championed state-of-the-art EHS management in light of the array of stringent requirements and operational hazards that face oil and gas companies: tough regulatory oversight, costly notices of violations, the constant threat of life-threatening accidents as well as the possibility of brand-damaging spills and releases. Furthermore, oil and gas businesses have been under the microscope in recent years as a result of a number of high-profile environmental disasters and safety infractions. In light of these stakes, it’s hard to understand why archaic EHS systems persist, even among some industry leaders. These systems are contributing factors in the dangerous paradigm of reactive management within the oil and gas sector and the continued reliance on old ways is an increasingly anachronistic means of doing business in the 21st century.