Over the past several years, industry has made significant advances in our understanding of serious and fatal injuries. Research shows that these incidents have special causes and correlates that distinguish them from less serious incidents. In other words, what works for addressing less severe injuries doesn’t reliably work for preventing life-altering or fatal injuries. These findings apply across industry, but they have special significance in the energy sector, where employees often work in challenging, high-hazard environments.
These findings are especially important to leaders of capital projects (new construction, maintenance or up-grades). By nature, these projects are complex and fast moving. A petroleum industry project, for example, typically follows a multi-phased life cycle supported by several engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors. Projects present meaningfully different safety challenges than those in a more stable operating business unit, such as a refinery. Different phases of a project typically introduce new processes and people. Exposures can change as the project progresses. More often than not, a project means having a culture that is “starting from a clean sheet of paper.” Add to this that most HSE processes and procedures available to team leaders are rooted in operating unit experience, and you can see why so many project teams struggle to apply safety practices effectively.