Think of safety, remember Piper Alpha. Lord Cullen’s groundbreaking report laid the foundation for a new era of safety in the oil and gas industry.
His landmark inquiry paved the way for better practice and more meaningful communication in an industry still reeling from the devastating aftermath. Now 25 years later we mark and remember that fateful day. What better way to honour the memory of the 167 lives lost than to recommit ourselves to the pursuit of the highest standard of safety?
This relentless journey has never been more relevant. Even in my role, I’m still taken aback. I think when you’re so focused on the overarching, bigger picture it can be easy to forget the names and faces you’re doing it for.
But it took me just one 10 minute conversation to remember.
I was recently at a prep meeting for our workforce involvement day, which will run alongside the Piper25 conference. We were trying to whittle a rather hefty workforce engagement survey down to a just quick top 10 questions. We wanted to make it simple – an express service. Something people could quickly jot down their thoughts and return.
I enlisted the help of one of our members to make the final cut. This particular man has experience for days on end. He was there for Piper Alpha. He’s seen how its legacy has reshaped the industry, workplace culture and the role he has to play today. He’s honed and perfected his skills for decades.
I watched as he sat meticulously ticking off question after question. Our top 10 list was quickly overflowing. Each question provoked him to say things like “this one is really important to someone working offshore now”, “we have to have this one”, “this goes with that other one”. Soon the entire survey was inked with our scrawl.
Then it hit me. It was for people like him that we do this for – people who have dedicated the better half of their life working, enhancing and sustaining our industry. He’s the reason why we can’t cut corners, try to condense what can’t be condensed and why 25 years on we’re still talking about safety.
To do anything less than our best, no matter how repetitive, long or laboursome it may seem, would be a disservice to him.
The legacy of Piper Alpha continues to affect our offshore workforce. We have to regard it as more than just history. It must be a constant reminder that we still have to guard against complacency.
Lord Cullen’s report transformed the way we work, but for the sake of every employee in the North Sea today there is still progress to be made. The same hazards that existed then still exist now. Through continued workforce engagement in improving our process and personal performance we can mitigate these. So we might have more than 10 questions to be filled out. It may take longer than we hoped.
But I know it’s worth it.
Les Linklater is a team leader for Step Change in Safety.
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