Performance Improvement Through Collaboration

Process Safety Matters

The EHS Insight team had a great week in Amsterdam at the 2014 International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) Drilling HSE&T Europe conference in September. We always enjoy the chance to see our existing clients, make new contacts and take advantage of an opportunity to expose our brand. However, one of the most important benefits from attending a conference like this is the quality of presentations given by industry experts.

The keynote address from Steven Newman, CEO of Transocean, highlighted the importance of collaboration in taking the drilling industry’s safety practices from ‘good to great’. He spoke of the tendency to accept what has worked well historically rather than adapting and improving to meet the needs of a modern workforce.

Newman called for increased emphasis on process safety in addition to personal safety, which most companies master early on. This approach to performance improvement encourages management to investigate good behaviors, patterns, and practices as often as the negative.

“Good focuses on failure whereas great is success-oriented. Good is an obligation mindset, where
we do things because we have to. Great is an empowerment culture where we do things because
they’re the good things to do.”

The next level in management maturity involves sharing lessons learned with others who have similar operational risks. “We simply can’t be successful standing alone as single entities in our industry.” Collaboration, concluded Newman, will be the key to unlocking greatness.

One example of industry collaboration we see often are the various accomplishments of the committees that comprise the IADC. Working together, the representatives of multiple companies often devise strategies for improving business performance.

Read more about Steven Newman's thoughts on this topic at  http://www.drillingcontractor.org/transoceans-newman-collaboration-will-take-industry-from-good-to-great-31067.