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DROPS Forum - Dubai 21st March 2016

The meeting was opened and a hotel safety brief was provided. Around the room introductions were given.  

DROPS Overview – Allen Smith, DROPS

Allen opened the Forum event, welcoming all attendees and offering special thanks to the Event Sponsors: Parker Drilling and Silverdot Ltd.

DROPS membership promotes open, honest sharing and DROPS cannot recommend or endorse any organisation or product. The various DROPS international forums were explained and everyone was encouraged to meet, network and share learnings and best practices.

The current UK Working Groups and Projects were explained in more detail - Human Factors; Maintenance & Inspection; Supply Chain; Backloading Booklet; DORIS; Reliable Securing and the rationalization of DROPS Guidance.

DROPS Training - regular UK Train-The-Trainer sessions are scheduled and the various training courses scheduled for the region were covered.  Allen provided his around the world experiences.

  • In South America, there has been an industry workshop and collaboration with NOC and drilling contractors to engage with them in getting back to basics with dropped object prevention.

  • In North America, Allen has undertaken a variety of field visits, each providing their own unique challenges and learnings. He observed limited exposure to DROPS in the far north of US, where he delivered a sponsored T-T-T course with delegates from the full supply chain.

  • Next on Allen’s itinerary were multiple visits to Sakhalin where they have adopted and fully engaged in a comprehensive DROPS Programme.

  • In Australasia, Allen noted that great use had been made of the information and best practice available to download from the DROPS website. He also observed that this Region works very closely with Local Authorities and other industries, eg mining.

  • In the Middle East, Allen witnessed a great demand for knowledge and information on dropped object prevention and a great emphasis on certification and competence.

  • In Africa, there is a huge demand for training and education but the application of DROPS is very heavily influenced by the Operators which can have positive and negative impacts.

Understanding and preventing dropped objects include common findings from around the world that Dropped objects are still happening and still harming. DROPS calculator is designed to be used before any work is undertaken to define any potential risk during a risk assessment. Also explained were the definitions of DROPS - Primary, Secondary and Safety Securing. Primary fixing includes nuts, bolts, screws etc. Secondary retention includes safety pins, lock wire; locking washers etc. Safety securing includes securing wire; nets and baskets; safety chains.

DROPS Inspection key principles include static/dynamic drop potential; snagging; vibrations; corrosion; securing method; human error etc. The DROPS wheel of identify; assess; eliminate, substitute; control and monitor was shown and several picture examples were shown of items that had the potential to become a dropped object. A Risk based approach slide was described which showed the various DROPS Controls and Best Practices in traffic light format. The audience was reminded that not everyone is aware of a dropped object potential and there are various DROPS tools that can be incorporated into JSAs; safety meetings etc.  

Highlighted were areas to assure leadership is active and engaging with the workforce. These include Supply chain; use DROPS tools correctly to realise benefits; ensure fundamentals are observed.

Identification and Elimination of High Potentials - Lessons Learned - Andy Young, Parker Drilling

Andy opened his presentation with the Parker Drilling commitment to safe operations. He shared the progression of the industry safety culture to highlight that we are more proactive rather than reactive and systematic. The target is always zero incidents and Parker are committed to continual improvement where every employee is charged with capturing and sharing knowledge gained from daily challenges and successes. The statistics of HIPOs and their causes from Parker were shown and HiPOs were 60% of the dropped object incidents. An example of a case study on Hazard Identification was shown whereby Staff conducted a drops inspection and identified 4 unsafe conditions. A senior manager then conducted validation inspection and defined a further 53 unsafe conditions.  

Parker hope that by sharing lessons learned and greater cooperation this will benefit the industry and look forward to networking with the attendees in the region.

The Parker Drilling Presentation is available to download here.

Common Inspection Findings - Gareth Burrows, OES

Gareth presented the OES journey with regards to dropped object prevention and major findings mainly from static dropped objects. Over the last 10 years 1775 dropped objects surveys have been carried out by OES with hundreds of thousands of potential dropped objects found. In 2015 175 rigs were surveyed and 50,405 potential dropped objects were identified.

The most common findings are: 5. Sheave Blocks; 4. Loudspeakers - incorrect use of safety sling and incorrect type of carabiner; 3. Redundant Equipment - includes loose lifting equipment, poor housekeeping; 2. Ladders - includes missing bolts; 1. Strip Lights - nearly 3 times as many findings on a strip light than on anything else - lack of inadequate securing. Although these are the most frequent findings, they are often not the actual dropped objects cases that take place.

Some examples of other findings include incorrect selection of hand tools; poor placement of equipment during maintenance; falling objects from rotating equipment. OES have some basic measures to further mitigate dropped objects. These include  engaging with the rig crew and conducting a meaningful survey; provision of the correct tools for working at height; relocating equipment that is in a strike path; selecting a good 3rd party to set up a dropped objects progress and heightened awareness around not leaving unnecessary equipment in the Mast/Derrick.

Question was raised around water bottles as these are frequently found in different places in this region and any suggestions on what can be used safely would be helpful to members. If you have any effective suggestions please email secretary@dropsonline.org and we will share with the members.

The OES presentation is available to download here.

A DROPS Implementation Story - Vince Fortier, TESCO

Vince emphasised that TESCO are committed to preventing dropped objects through engineering solutions and development of products that reduce or eliminate exposure to personnel. A TESCO Process Improvement Team was put in place in 2013 and they looked at all the incidents that have occurred and came up with an in-house program and standard, they developed and implemented a recognised DROPS program aligned to the TESCO QHSE standards that can be used as a tool for all business units.

Awareness and Inspection Posters for Top Drive and CDS were developed and these highlighted the DROPS risks.

TESCO adopted the DROPS Train-the-trainer programme and highlighted the benefits of competency and awareness when it comes to recognising potential dropped objects.
 
The TESCO presentation is available to download here.

TESCO would like to share the content of their Dropped Object Prevention Program Booklet, please download here.

Our Process to Eliminate Dropped Objects - Kenny Adams, KCA Deutag

KCA manage DROPS though a variety of tasks including audits, hazard hunts, rig visits, DROPS wardens, media lessons; and client partnerships.  

A big area of focus is Supervisors ‘supervising’. This focus is to encourage the supervisors to not do the job themselves but to supervise an individual carrying out the task so the lessons are shared.  Picture books are also a great way to share learnings and develop a best practice with crews. CCTV is also used which has had some success as a verification of areas. A Dropped Objects Inspection Book is also used to enable the identification of a potential dropped object and the findings verified. The KCA DROPS Wardens control zones and take it in turn to engage with the crews. These Wardens are selected daily to rotate the position amongst the crew. Red Zones are effective and have eliminated a number of injuries that could have potentially happened. Dropped objects are still happening and the human factor element is a large risk but the more awareness there is, the better a chance of stopping these types of incidents.

The engagement process is helped by carrying out any toolbox talks etc in the local language and explained in a way that the crews understand rather than a high level procedure. The junior crews are encouraged to take ownership in toolbox talks and not rely on more experienced workforce to deliver the message.

Kenny’s presentation is available to download here.

2015 and ‘NO DROPS’ Campaign Survey Results - Paul Anderson, Seadrill

Paul closed the session with an honest and open summary of Seadrill’s journey and the ‘No DROPS’ campaign initiated in Q4 of 2015. In this process, full accountability for dropped object prevention is embedded in the company culture and all personnel reminded on a daily basis in directives from board level.

An anonymous survey was carried to recognise the Campaign DROPS initiatives.  A detailed list of the initiatives is available within the presentation.  Internal inspections came out as the most beneficial activity from the campaign. Improvements were asked for and a request for Training came out highest. There was already an e-learning and training process undertaken but a different level of training was required whereby small groups were taken out by a trainer and potential incidents and hazards were identified.

The way forward for Seadrill is a DROPS strategy booklet. It‘s designed as a one-stop-shop for the OIM on a rig so that every process and procedure is incorporated. 

Paul’s presentation is available to download here.

A copy of the Seadrill DROPS Strategy booklet is available to download here.

Technip DVD Awareness

Allen showed the audience the DVD recently issued to DROPS members. The audience response was positive and thanked Technip for allowing the DVD to be shared with them.

Way Ahead for Arabian Gulf

Allen noted that there was a very poor representation from the Operators at this Forum. To progress, we need full collaboration between the Client/Operator, Contractor and OEM. A networking session followed on from the forum to allow for open and honest sharing. A commitment from DROPS Global was given to an annual event but the region is encouraged to host regular sessions to share and learn.

A brief questionnaire will be issued by DROPS Global to the members to look at how DROPS can help the region.

The session was concluded, and all participants thanked for their valuable knowledge and sharing of resources.