A new landmark regulation from the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has taken effect requiring oil and gas operators on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to strengthen safety procedures and reporting on safety performance at their facilities. Many operators may need help complying with the new Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) regulation in order to maintain their licenses to operate, according to Scott Lockhart, vice president-EHS & Sustainability Solutions for IHS (NYSE: IHS).
The new SEMS regulation was imposed by BSEE, the successor to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, which was established in the wake of an April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. SEMS requires operators in the OCS to comply with 13 different program elements in order to ensure the safety of their employees and the environment.
“This is the most significant change to safety regulations impacting offshore operations in a decade. While many companies with operations on the OCS maintain strong risk management programs, SEMS requires them to establish an even higher standard for documenting their critical safety indicators,” said Lockhart. “Fortunately, the new SEMS rules are right in line with requirements from OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and other industry standards that IHS has helped our onshore clients manage successfully for many years.”
SEMS is modeled after voluntary guidelines developed by the American Petroleum Institute’s Recommended Practices #75, which established primary standards, including safety work practices, hazard analysis, change management, auditing, incident investigations, training and operational procedures1. SEMS is expected to help companies meet four principal objectives:
1. Focus attention on the influences that human error and poor organization have on accidents;
2. Drive continuous improvement in the offshore industry's safety and environmental records;
3. Encourage the use of performance-based operating practices; and
4. Collaborate with industry in efforts that promote the public interests of offshore worker safety and environmental protection.
“To control unwanted events, offshore operators need to develop the necessary expertise, experiences, judgment and proactive initiative within their workforce to properly implement and maintain an effective operational risk management program,” continued Lockhart. “BSEE has pushed accountability for controlling risk higher up the chain of command. As a result, many of our customers recognize that it is imperative to ensure their operational processes are compliant with the new regulations, and to incorporate SEMS as part of their enterprise sustainability management strategy.”
Until now, many companies have continued to address risk management challenges with legacy information systems, spreadsheets and manual processes. However, SEMS reporting requires data collection and aggregation processes that far exceed the capabilities of those traditional approaches.
The IHS Operational Risk Management Solution™ enables accurate, efficient SEMS reporting by providing a flexible combination of world-class enterprise software, rich information content and deep expertise in both industry and technology. IHS helps companies standardize risk management processes and create a common language for risk across their organization so they can better understand risk factors and improve their safety, health and environmental management processes.
For information about EHS and sustainability solutions from IHS visit www.ihs.com/ehs-sustainability
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IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of information and insight in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape, including energy and power; design and supply chain; defense, risk and security; environmental, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability; country and industry forecasting; and commodities, pricing and cost. Businesses and governments in more than 165 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS employs more than 5,400 people in more than 30 countries around the world.
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1 Safety and Environmental Management System, Sutoon Technical Books 2007, http://www.stb07.com/regulations-standards/safety-environmental-management-system.html
