Oil and gas skills body Opito said yesterday it was studying the competency of offshore installation managers (OIMs) and the effects of potential competence gaps on safety offshore.
The study comes after comments made earlier this month by industry leaders that the shortage of experienced staff was potentially jeopardising the North Sea’s world-leading safety standards.
Opito said expanding the talent pool of seasoned managers able to respond to a disaster on the scale of the Macondo blowout in the Gulf of Mexico or the Piper Alpha tragedy was one of the biggest challenges facing the sector.
Opito UK managing director Larraine Boorman said: “The influence of managerial commitment to safety in the oil and gas industry has been well documented as it plays a pivotal role in the development of a positive safety culture.
“A role integral to this is that of the offshore installation manager, who has responsibility for the emergency command of an installation, as well as the day-to-day management of safety offshore.”
She added that, despite their important role, OIMs had received little attention as a targeted group for research in the oil and gas industry.
Researchers at Robert Gordon University have been commissioned to undertake in-depth interviews with current, former and retired OIMs.
Ms Boorman said: “In an increasingly complex operating environment with joint ventures, the use of contractors and a progressively more global workforce the role of the OIM is vital to the effective management of offshore safety.
“This research will offer a unique in-depth perspective into the role of the OIM and safety leadership and encourage debate around the importance of the role in creating a positive safety culture, and the ways in which this can be encouraged and supported by operators.”
The research findings will be available in May.