End-to-end AI-powered solutions: the future of pipeline integrity

Bonney Hodges, Energy Operations Director, ISN, USA, answers some questions about risk management for contractors in the oil and gas sector.

Why is contractor management so important? Leveraging contractor management practices can assist businesses in the oil and gas sector in a multitude of ways. Contractor management platforms act as a centralised location for organisations to access relevant information and resources that may affect their businesses, including written safety policies, security and compliance requirements, virtual training courses, and metrics related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG). Best practices contractor management also enables businesses to participate in client roundtables and other networking discussions to help drive improvement across the industry, and help companies implement best practices derived from data analysis and industry benchmarking.

Operator qualifications (OQ) change frequently in the pipeline industry, and effective contractor management monitors these changes in regulations, and ensures that all affected businesses update their policies and procedures to adapt to the changes. By leveraging contractor management software, oil and gas businesses can ensure they are adhering to regulatory requirements and offering the most up-to-date trainings through partnerships with education foundations, such as NCCER®, NACE®, or OQSG®.

With oil and gas in mind, how do you approach risk management in an evolving risk landscape? The best way for an organisation to approach risk management in the oil and gas sector is through

risk assessment, education, and the training and certification of workers. As the risk landscape of the sector evolves, it is necessary that workers have the most up-to-date knowledge on best practices, safety and compliance training, and OQs related to liquid and gas pipelines. It is critical that organisations provide access to high-quality pipeline training by industry subject matter experts, and that they stay aware of new training courses as the industry landscape changes. Ultimately, this education will help create safer oil and gas worksites, and increase worker competency.

How can data affect contractor performance? Transitioning to a contractor management software can help organisations gather accurate data on serious injuries and fatalities (SIFs), incident management and ESG criteria more effectively. Through the analysis of data, organisations can identify trends and unveil underlying risks from incident assessments, and as a result, can better understand potential causes of SIFs in the workplace.

Organisations are continuing to use data analytics to assist them from a risk management perspective in implementing preventative measures. The leading indicator insights from the data analysis help organisations pinpoint specific activities or equipment that are putting their employees at risk, and attempt to mitigate the problem through a datadriven approach. With more data available, risk management professionals can leverage predictive analytics models to prevent future incidents. Ultimately, data analysis enables organisations to improve their performance by adjusting workplace practices and procedures to protect themselves with a stronger safety culture.

What is the significance of company culture? How can contractors work to improve safety culture? A company culture that prioritises safety in the workplace is critical to reducing injuries in every industry. The development of an effective safety culture is founded on awareness, commitment, and empowerment of organisations and individuals. Organisations must ensure that all personnel have appropriate training and support to identify safety risks and express any concerns they may have. This can significantly reduce the amount of employee risk in the workplace.

Organisations can work to improve their safety culture by receiving feedback directly from the workforce through comprehensive perception surveys. While productivity is essential in the oil and gas industry, organisations must prioritise safety. Online surveys can help organisations assess their safety culture values and implement actions to improve their safety culture.