Step Change in Safety, the UK’s flagship offshore safety initiative, has announced changes to its leadership team, with two new co-chairs: Martin Ellins of KCA Deutag and Ken Robertson of Shell U.K. Limited.

The moves follow both the recent retiral of Talisman Energy’s John Forrest and the decision of Schlumberger’s Gordon Ballard to step down. Both had been co-chairs since 2009.

New co-chair Ken Robertson is asset leader CNNS with Shell U.K. Limited, has been with Shell for nearly 30 years and has a wealth of global experience. Ken has been involved with the Step Change in Safety leadership team since 2009 and became co-chair of the Helicopter Safety Steering Group when it was formed in August last year. He holds a B.Eng in chemical engineering, is a member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers and holds a European Engineer (Eur Ing) title.

Martin Ellins, country manager UK with KCA Deutag, has over 35 years of experience in the worldwide oil and gas industry, including as a representative on the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) safety council. He also joined the Step Change leadership team in 2009 and was a member of Step Change’s Workforce Engagement Workgroup. Martin is a Chartered Engineer, fellow of the Energy Institute, and a board member on the International Association of Drilling Contractors (UK Chapter).
 
With the new co-chairs at the helm, Step Change in Safety’s immediate focus is on two main areas. These are: continuing to reduce the number of hydrocarbon releases; and improving safety culture, with an emphasis on competence and the role of human factors in accident causation.

Ken Robertson said: “Step Change in Safety is seeing a real effort by member companies to commit to the agreed 50% reduction in hydrocarbon releases. Some have built this target into their future business plans and some of the top performing companies have agreed to share some of their successful methods with the wider group.

“The role of Step Change is now to support these efforts, facilitate the sharing of analyses of the root causes of incidents and develop ways to collectively move forward.”

Martin Ellins believes the role of the workforce will be vital in Step Change’s efforts to foster an improved safety culture. He said: “The oil and gas industry values the input of our workforce into safety and we know that a fully engaged and involved workforce is one of the most crucial factors in creating a safety culture. 

“This year we will launch a workforce engagement survey tool to enable workforce engagement to be assessed at work sites. We believe this will greatly help managers to drive positive changes in how they communicate with the workforce and encourage a constructive safety culture in staff.”

Dave Nicholls, Step Change safety manager, welcomed the appointments, saying: “We are delighted that Ken and Martin have accepted the roles of co-chairs as their contribution and commitment have always been first class.

“Their experience, drive and passion for safety will no doubt continue to be a valuable asset for the Step Change leadership team, helping us towards our long-term goal of making the UK the safest place to work in the worldwide oil and gas industry.”

Step Change in Safety comprises industry, trade unions and regulators to prevent people getting hurt in the UK oil and gas industry. Its goal is to make the UK the safest place to work in the worldwide oil and gas industry. Visit www.stepchangeinsafety.net for more information.

For more information contact Chris Walker on 01224 577279 or email cwalker@stepchangeinsafety.net

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