DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post

**casinobonusa** · 04-05-2010, 02:53 PM

Tony Hayword, BP CEO, was treading the fine line between taking responsibility for this disaster and passing the buck.

$75 Million will barely cover the cost of morning coffee for the work crews. There's a bill being worked in congress that would raise that cap to $10 Billion, but there's a question of whether or not it could be applied retroactively.

Rachel continues to make the point that drilling technology is expanding, but safety technology isn't keeping the same pace.

Sadly, I think the same could be said of so many things when it comes to safety.

I work in the Safety Sector for the petroleum industry. Or maybe I used to work there, because I have not seen a job in over 4 months (and it was a brief stint). Oil companies will do two things whenever they go into a bit of financial problem: cut down on exploration (why look for more if you can't sell what you already have?) and cut down on safety.
In my experience, I very frequently arrive at projects (I am free lance) and am told "whatever you say, we will do it. We believe safety is very important". Then I propose changes (and sometimes downright shutdown of operations when they are very unsafe) and they tell me "oh, but we can't shut down. We will lose a lot of money. Do the best you can, but let the contractor work".
That is the day I become a Safety Reporter, start covering my lower status equine (this happens so often that we have the acronym CYA as accepted in the industry) and just report what happens (and will happen).
The internal philosophy of ALL companies is that you are responsible for the Safety and Environmental performance of your contractors. I have worked extensively for and with BP, and if they now try to pass the buck, it is a direct violation of their HSE Policy (which I have read, countless time). In fact, BP must have had what is called a CLIENT REPRESENTATIVE (that is what I do) in that rig, and BP is therefore as liable as any other company involved in this incident.
Last: $75 million is a huge, HUGE amount of money safety wise. I am very comfortable to say that it would be at least three times the global safety budget of a company like BP, Shell or EM. Most companies operate their entire safety budget in the mid 7 figures. But now that they have to undertake reparation of all this ecosystem, they will claim they do not have the money, and well, "accidents happen".
Google "Pyper Alpha Oil Rig disaster" for a brief course on improper safety management.

04-05-2010, 02:53 PM	#9
casinobonusa Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 596 Senior Member	Tony Hayword, BP CEO, was treading the fine line between taking responsibility for this disaster and passing the buck. $75 Million will barely cover the cost of morning coffee for the work crews. There's a bill being worked in congress that would raise that cap to $10 Billion, but there's a question of whether or not it could be applied retroactively. Rachel continues to make the point that drilling technology is expanding, but safety technology isn't keeping the same pace. Sadly, I think the same could be said of so many things when it comes to safety. I work in the Safety Sector for the petroleum industry. Or maybe I used to work there, because I have not seen a job in over 4 months (and it was a brief stint). Oil companies will do two things whenever they go into a bit of financial problem: cut down on exploration (why look for more if you can't sell what you already have?) and cut down on safety. In my experience, I very frequently arrive at projects (I am free lance) and am told "whatever you say, we will do it. We believe safety is very important". Then I propose changes (and sometimes downright shutdown of operations when they are very unsafe) and they tell me "oh, but we can't shut down. We will lose a lot of money. Do the best you can, but let the contractor work". That is the day I become a Safety Reporter, start covering my lower status equine (this happens so often that we have the acronym CYA as accepted in the industry) and just report what happens (and will happen). The internal philosophy of ALL companies is that you are responsible for the Safety and Environmental performance of your contractors. I have worked extensively for and with BP, and if they now try to pass the buck, it is a direct violation of their HSE Policy (which I have read, countless time). In fact, BP must have had what is called a CLIENT REPRESENTATIVE (that is what I do) in that rig, and BP is therefore as liable as any other company involved in this incident. Last: $75 million is a huge, HUGE amount of money safety wise. I am very comfortable to say that it would be at least three times the global safety budget of a company like BP, Shell or EM. Most companies operate their entire safety budget in the mid 7 figures. But now that they have to undertake reparation of all this ecosystem, they will claim they do not have the money, and well, "accidents happen". Google "Pyper Alpha Oil Rig disaster" for a brief course on improper safety management.
	Quote