An oil and gas worker, who lost his thumb in an incident offshore eight years ago, has launched a new service to highlight “normalised risk” in the sector.
Kevin Scott lost 40% of the function of his right hand when his thumb was pinned against a steel column in 2010 on a northern North Sea platform during an operation to lift a water injection pump.
The 37-year-old, who lives in Aberdeen, said the incident came as a result of “normalised risk” – or complacency – and is now aiming to highlight the issue through a new consultancy service.
Mr Scott hopes it will help organisations become more vigilant in weighing up risk.
He said: “I went through months of therapy as it had a big impact both physically and psychologically.
“I developed post-traumatic depression and I tried to get back into work in 2011 but I failed miserably.
“For the last seven years I have built myself up from a trainee in health and safety to an advisor.
“I have told my story a few times now and each time the impact was tangible so I decided to set up my own company.”
In the time since the incident, the 37-year-old has worked as an advisor on health and safety for several oil and gas firms.
Since recently starting his own business he has been hired by Aker Solutions on Equinor’s Mariner platform to direct construction HSE advisors amid a major hook-up project.
One part of the new service is supporting companies’ operations, while the other is helping firms understand the impact a serious incident takes on workers and their loved ones.
He said: “We’ve all seen the notices on the canteen safety board and discussed at safety meetings but you don’t really know what happens to these individuals and the toll it takes on them and their families.
“The recovery time and the pain and the trauma that puts friends and family through, you really have to understand the whole journey we go through.
“That’s the sort of thing that the industry needs to understand, what that looks like.”
Mr Scott said he put himself “in the firing line” as many others still do in the construction and offshore industries.
He said: “Unfortunately I put myself in the line of fire because it was the first time I had done that job on the platform.
“It’s the mental and the physical side but also the awareness that every day in construction people put themselves in the line of fire because they think it will never happen to them.
“The message is about getting people at all levels of an organisation to think ‘what if’ and not be left thinking ‘if only’ when it comes to weighing up risk.”
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