Monday 28 June 1999

Offshore Industry Develops Model Risk Management Tool

A new tool to improve risk management and ensure greater transparency and openness in risk-related decision-making has been developed by the offshore oil and gas industry which, its creators believe, could have application across all industry sectors.

The UK Offshore Operators Associations (UKOOA) new guidelines on A Framework for Risk Related Decision Support sets out a framework which will help managers, not just in the offshore industry, to assess the context of their decisions and prompt them to consider a wide range of factors that will influence the outcome.

The framework also encourages greater transparency by providing the decision-making process with a clear structure and a means to communicate the reasons for arriving at a particular decision.

With regulatory goal setting regimes becoming standard across industry and requiring new and rigorous risk management techniques, UKOOAs decision-making model is seen as leading current trends and is already catching the attention of other industry sectors.

A whole spectrum of factors come into play when making a risk-related decision, said Ian Tope, Chairman of UKOOAs Health and Safety Hazard Management Committee. These factors are not always dominated by engineering principles or by codes and standards. On occasions, the importance of company and societal values must also be acknowledged.

The framework shows how these technical and values-based issues may be balanced to create an integrated decision-making mechanism leading ultimately to better, safer solutions.

James May, UKOOAs Director General, said: The publication of this document is a major step forward for the Offshore Industry. The goal setting regime set out in the Offshore Installation (Safety Case) Regulations has created new perspectives on decision making. A wide range of objectives, views, information and issues need to be considered. This framework will enhance the decision making process, prompting improvement in safety performance. It will also ensure greater transparency by promoting dialogue and engagement with all stakeholders.

Allan Sefton, Head of HSEs Offshore Safety Division, said: The document has been developed in consultation with HSE and the TUC, and is a good example of HSE working with its stakeholders to carry forward key health and safety messages. I welcome the document as a significant contribution to the better management of risk in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Copies of Industry Guidelines on A Framework for Risk Related Decision Support are available here. Cost £30 for members, £60 for non-members.

Note to Editors

1. The UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA) is the representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Its 32 member companies are licensed by Government to explore for and produce oil and gas in UK waters.

2. For a copy of the Industry Guidelines on A Framework for Risk Related Decision Support, please click here.

For more information, please call 020 7802 2400.