Twelve months ago Step Change in Safety leader Les Linklater was staring down one of the toughest safety adaptation challenges in the sector’s recent history.
This OTC he’s finally come round the bend but insists the industry’s “call to action” remains the same.
Step Change in Safety played a critical role in adopting the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) recommendations around the introduction of a new breathing apparatus and the size and shape of passengers.
“The past year has allowed Step Change to come of age. We led the passenger size initiative and have continued our work on asset integrity among other issues,” the safety leader said.
The organisation led the way in training thousands of offshore workers for the helicopter changes.
He added: “We are the first region in the world where we have gone through the process of measuring the offshore workforce. There’s a huge amount of learning we have to offer anyone who wants to go down a similar path.
“There’s a rightful sense of achievement that this industry should have after bringing in a new system. Training some 80,000 people on it was a phenomenal task which was later followed up with a major passenger shape and size project.”
However he cautioned the changes were the byproduct of a devastating accident.
Linklater said: “We’ve been exploiting oil and gas for 50 years. We have not found new ways to hurt people, just new people to hurt.
“The call to action remains the same. It’s about being a good safety leader, leading from the front and being able to take people with you.”
The safety leader insisted a year on from one of the industry’s most cumbersome challenges to date its work was not finished.
He said: “I believe 2015 will be a much, much more complex safety challenge because of the operating environment we’re in.
“We have the backdrop of decreased oil price and the industry is doing what it can to set-up for long-term sustainability. We have to continue as an industry to foster the right safety culture because that’s what ultimately will get us to through the next 50 years.
“It’s easy to save money but you have to save money well.
“It’s an opportunity for us to move forward, reinforce and recognise this ongoing commitment for improvement.”
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