www.wipro.

com

Safety and Health Management

System in Oil and Gas Industry

Neha Chauhan
SAP EHS Consultant
Table of contents
03 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1. Introduction

03 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2. Industry Overview

04 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3. Hazards related to Oil and Gas Industry

04 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3.1 Safety and Injury Hazards

05 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3.2 Health and Illnesses Hazards

06 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4. Managing Occupational Safety and Health Risks

06 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4.1 Risk Management Process

07 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5. Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS)

07 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5.1 Features of OSHMS

08 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5.2 Components of an effective OSHMS

09 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5.3 Benefits of OSHMS

09 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6. Conclusion

09 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� References

10 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� About the Author

10 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� About Wipro’s Energy, Natural Resources, Utilities and Engineering &
Construction (ENU) Strategic Business Unit

10 �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� About Wipro Ltd.

1. Introduction
Safety and health management is one of the vital constituents of Oil and Gas industry activities because most of the operational conditions, chemicals and

end products (hydrocarbons and other compounds) associated with Oil and Gas production are well-known to pose serious safety and health threats to

the workers.

2. Industry Overview:

Upstream
Midstream
Exploration and
Production Transportation,
Downstream
Storage and
Marketing Refining, Sales and
Distribution

Fig.1.Segments of Oil and Gas industry

On 25 August 2012, an explosion caused by the ignition of a leaking gas at and injured 16 others2. The explosion caused the Deepwater Horizon to

the Amuay oil refinery, which is part of the Paraguana Refinery Complex, burn and sink, resulting in a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico,

killed 48 people; primarily National Guard troops stationed at the plant, considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the world, and the

and injured 151 others1. largest environmental disaster in U.S. history2.

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion refers to the April 20, According to the report developed by the NORA Oil and Gas Extraction

2010 explosion and subsequent fire on the Deepwater Horizon semi- Council; In the US, during 2003-2008, 648 oil and gas extraction workers

submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) killed 11 workers were fatally injured on the job, resulting in an occupational fatality rate of

3
29.1 deaths per 100,000 workers – eight times higher than the rate for all well-being is essential. Health protocols and periodic medical checkup

U.S. workers. Nearly half of all fatal events in the Oil and Gas extraction should be pre-defined and done for every worker depending on the job

industry resulted from highway crashes (29%) and workers struck by and work area type to identify possible deviations from the normal health

objects and equipment (20%)3. and to confirm that necessary counteractive actions are taken in advance.

The above alarming incident data clearly emphasizes the need for an This paper outlines the key safety and health hazards associated with the

effective occupational safety and health management system that upstream, midstream and downstream segments of Oil and Gas industry,

integrates safety and health concerns into a daily routine. including the significance, features, components and benefits of an

effective Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS)

People working in Oil and Gas industry are exposed to various risk
for the industry.
factors. Hence continuous monitoring of their working conditions and

3. Hazards Related to Oil and Gas Industry

Hazards in Oil and Gas industry can be divided into two broad categories: 3.1 Safety and Injury Hazards
• Safety and Injury Hazards
Workers in Oil and Gas industry are generally susceptible to the following
• Health and Illnesses Hazards safety and injury hazards

Safety and Injury Hazards Possible Causes

• Often the roads leading to well sites lack firm shoulders and other
Motor Vehicle Accident safety features4
• Fatigue due to long driving distance and long working shifts

• Workers being struck by, entangled, or crushed by tools, machinery

Contact Injuries
or other objects

• Presence of highly combustible hydrocarbons

Fire and Explosions
• Presence of oxygen/ignition source

• Frequent need to work at elevations

Slips,Trips and Falls
• Uneven Surface
• Improper use or non-availability of fall protection systems

According to NIOSH, confined space refers to a space which by

design has5:
Confined Space • Limited opening for entry and exit
• Unfavorable natural ventilation
• Not designed for continuous employee occupancy
Examples of confined places in Oil and Gas industry are storage tanks,
pipelines, silos, etc.

4
3. 2 Health and Illnesses Hazards

Workers in Oil and Gas industry are generally susceptible to following ergonomic hazards (manual handling activities, repetitive motions, awkward

agents which lead to various health and Illnesses hazards: chemical postures); and psychosocial hazards (overwork, odd working hours, isolated

hazards (toxic, corrosive, carcinogens, asphyxiates, irritant and sites, violence).

sensitizing substances); physical hazards (noise, vibration, radiations,

The following table identifies the potential health effects from key
extreme temperature); biological hazards (virus, parasites, bacteria);
processes in Oil and Gas industry:

Segments Key Processes Agents Possible Health Effects

Upstream • Seismic Survey and • Pathogenic microorganisms • Infectious and parasitic diseases
evaluation (e.g., Hepatitis A, Cholera,
• Infection transmitting vectors
Typhoid fever)
• Exploration and drilling
• Drilling mud
• Cumulative trauma disorders
• Development and
• Petroleum products
production • Chronic obstructive pulmonary
(Hydrocarbons)
disease
• Decommissioning
• Radioactive sources
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Chemicals and additives
• Dermal and eye issues
• Metals (Pb, Cd, Mn, etc.)
• Spinal disorders
• Extreme temperatures
• Neoplasms/Cancer
• Silica/Asbestos
• Heat Stroke
• Noise/Vibration
• Stress
• Mechanical
• Sleep deficits
• Ergonomic
• Noise induced hearing loss
• Psychosocial
• Drug and alcohol abuse

Midstream • Pipelines • Petroleum products • Dermal and eye issues

(Hydrocarbons)
• Transport and storage • Pulmonary disorders
• Dust from filing and scaling (from
• Marketing • Gastrointestinal disorders
cleaning of pipes and tanks)
• Neoplasms/Cancer

Downstream • Product Refining • Petroleum products • Dermal and eye issues

(Hydrocarbons)
• Petro chemicals • Gastrointestinal disorders
• Treatment chemicals
• Sales and Distribution • Neoplasms/Cancer
• Metals (Pb, Cd, Mn, etc.)
• Noise induced hearing loss
• Silica/Asbestos
• Solvents
• Noise/Vibration

5
4. Managing Occupational Safety and Health Risks

The aim of occupational safety and health risk management is to identify Business processes in Oil and Gas industry are very complex. Hence it

and assess safety and health hazards existing at the workplace and to is essential that a systematized approach should be used for managing

define appropriate control and retrieval steps. occupational safety and health hazards. Its solution model can be based

on the PDCA Cycle:

Plan
Do
• Strategic HSSE
Roadmap • Risk & Injury
• Work Flows Management
• Objectives and Targets • Health & Illness
• Key Priorities Management
• Training & Assessment
• Regulatory
Compliance

Act

• Management
Review • Monitoring
• Actions for • Modeling
Continuous Check
• Trends
Improvements
• Performance Indicators
• Audits

4.1. Risk Management Process

As stated earlier, risk management is crucial for preventing work related • Job safety analysis: It is a process of systematically evaluating certain

injury and illness. It includes: jobs, tasks, processes or procedures and eliminating or reducing the

• Identifying the risks risks or hazards to As Low As Reasonably Practical (ALARP) in order

• Evaluating and prioritizing the risks to protect workers from injury or illness6

• Implementing preventive/protective measures to control the risk • Workplace inspections and audits

• Change management - identification of new hazards, introduction of

There are a number of circumstances in the Oil and Gas industry where
new equipment/process, or regulatory needs
a proper risk management process is essential. For example:

6
Generally Risk Management Process in the Oil and Gas Industry Involves the Following Key Steps:
• Identify persons
taking part in the risk
management process
• Gather health and safety
information pertinent to
Oil and Gas Industry
• Define strategy and
workflows as per
the business/legal
requirements
PLANNING
RISK
IDENTIFICATION
• Regular review and
updating of risk
assessment
• Define and Implement
• Evaluate the risk arising from
preventive measures MONITOR
each identified hazard
to eliminate or AND REVIEW
• Identify existing minimize the risk of an
precautionary measures incident/accident
and what went wrong
• Determine what kind of
injury or ill health might RISK
occur CONTROL
• Rank the risks on the basis FOLLOW ON
of severity ASSESSMENT
RISK • Ensure that
ASSESSMENT implemented control
RISK
measures are being
RECORDING
used and are effective
• Reassess the efficiency
of preventive/control
• Record the findings measures
of risk assessment for
defining control measures,
audit, internal review,
regulatory purposes

• Identify possible safety and health

hazards within workplace through
work area inspections, previous
accident/ ill-health records, etc.

5. Occupational Safety and Health Management System (OSHMS)

The insinuation of implementing an occupational Safety and Health Also, Guidelines on Occupational Safety and Health Management

Management System at all workplaces came into limelight, when ‘Global Systems (ILO-OSH 2001) provide national/organizational framework

Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health: Conclusions’ were adopted for occupational Safety and Health Management Systems8. As per these

by the ‘International Labour Conference’ at its 91st session, 2003. guidelines, the OSH management system should contain the main

The Strategy advocates the application of a systems approach to the elements of policy, organizing, planning and implementation, evaluation

management of national OSH systems7. and action for improvement8.

5.1 Key Features that Should be Fulfilled by an Efficient Safety and Health
Management System are as Follows

• It should ensure safety of different operational sites by correctly • It should help in managing site inspections, permits, violations, lessons

mapping the business processes, risks, and controls involved in all the learned and best practices execution for Oil and Gas sector

three segments (upstream, midstream and downstream) of Oil and • It must be well documented (strategies and action plans) and should

Gas industry be easily understood and readily available to all the workers

• It should enable workers to follow consistent health and safety practices

7
5.2 Components of an Effective Occupational Safety and
Health Management System

Occupational Safety and Health Management System is one of the Following key components should be encompassed in an active

critical factors whose successful execution confirms operational safety in occupational Safety and Health Management System:

upstream, midstream and downstream segments of Oil and Gas industry.

Sl. OSHMS Health protocols

Requirements
No Components Occupational Medical appointments
9 Health Injury/Illness management
Health and Oil and Gas Company’s vision and
1 Management Drug, alcohol and other medical
Safety Plan approach towards Health and Safety
testing
Organizational hierarchy
Identification of new hazards
2 Administration Key details of persons responsible for
Management Introduction of new equipment
managing health and safety plans 10
of Change Process change
Proper demarcation and management New regulatory requirements
of workplace according to processes,
activities, design, etc. Disaster management/Emergency
Work Area response plan for all the potential
3 Worksite inspections Emergency
Management 11 predicaments based on predictive
Implementation of best practices Response Plan risk analysis
and lessons learned from the past Alarm system
experiences at workplace
Comply with the obligations under
Set of systems and processes for Compliance
12 pertinent local/national/global H&S
managing Health & Safety risks Management
regulations
Job Hazard analysis
H&S Risk Track capabilities/skills of workforce
4
Management Hazard ranking/risk matrix
Competency Trainings for employees, contractors
13
Corrective action plans Management and visitors
Risk control levels analysis Assessments

Inventory Maintenance of hazardous substance Content Management of SOP, SDS, Health and
5 14
Management database Management safety documents

Calendar management Contractor Managing and coordinating activities

15
Management of contractors
Role assignments - Involving and
Task and
informing workers, safety officers Rehabilitation Tracks number of compensation days,
6 Workflow 16
and others about their roles and Management rehabilitation information of workers
Management
responsibilities, allocated tasks, etc.
Automated notifications Relevant report generation from
Statistics, health and safety data
H&S Performance and monitoring of H&S 17 Reporting and Interactive dashboards for higher
7 Maintenance activities and corrective action as Dashboard management view and decision
Systems needed making

Recording, processing, investigation, Audit and review programs to check

Incident reporting and root cause analysis of Audit and and improve the effectiveness of
8 18
Management any reported incident/accident/near Review implemented Safety and Health
miss/safety observations Management System

8
5.3 Benefits of Occupational Safety References
and Health Management System
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguan%C3%A1_Refinery_Complex
• It enables Oil and Gas industry in performing hazard identification,
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_explosion
risk assessment and implementing various control methods

3. Draft National Oil and Gas Extraction Agenda - August 2010: For
• It ensures well-being of all the employees and thus contributes to a
Occupational Safety and Health Research and Practice in the U.S. Oil
more inspired, and performance driven workforce
and Gas Extraction Industry - Developed by the NORA Oil and Gas
• Regular risk assessment process helps in frequent tracking and
Extraction Council
monitoring of health and safety indicators (both leading and lagging).
(http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/comment/agendas/oilgas/)
• Reduced costs associated with accidents and incidents
4. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/programs/oilgas/projects.html
• Improved regulatory compliance
5. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/confinedspace/
• Implementation of OSH management system gives competitive
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_safety_analysis
edge and improves relationships between stakeholders, such as
7. GLOBAL STRATEGY ON OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND
clients, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, suppliers, employees
HEALTH: Conclusions adopted by the International Labour
and unions
Conference at its 91st Session, 2003

6. Conclusion http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_protect/@protrav/@

safework/documents/policy/wcms_107535.pdf
Given the perilous nature of the Oil and Gas industry, the need
8. Guidelines on occupational safety and health management systems
for implementation of an efficient occupational Safety and Health
(ILO-OSH 2001)
Management System is important for improving safety and health
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/afpro/cairo/downloads/
performance. Many countries have extensively participated in it by
wcms_107727.pdf
making strict and obligatory OSH standards and legislations. For example,

on 10th June 2013, the EU adopted a Directive on safety of offshore oil 9. http://ec.europa.eu/energy/oil/offshore/standards_en.htm
and gas operations9. The new directive sets clear rules that cover the

whole lifecycle of all exploration and production activities from design to

the final removal of an oil or gas installation9.

Because of the regulatory compliance pressure, the principal responsibility

of ensuring operational safety and sustainability is placed on the Oil and

Gas industry.

OSHMS not only provides a systematic and synchronized proactive

approach to managing occupational health and safety risks, but also helps

in defining strategies for implementing control actions, performance

substantiation, resource mapping and competency management.

Moreover it also helps in enhancing organization’s brand image in today’s

competitive scenario.

9
About the Author
Neha Chauhan is a SAP EHS Consultant in the HSSE Practice of Energy and Utilities Vertical at Wipro Technologies. She has around five years of industrial
and research experience, with a specialization in Environment Health and Safety Management, Regulatory Compliance and Toxicological Risk Assessments.
She has given Solution Consulting to various Chemical and Oil and Gas companies for their Health & Safety and Compliance Requirements.

About Wipro’s Energy, Natural Resources, Utilities and

Engineering & Construction (ENU) Strategic Business Unit
Businesses across the globe, over the last decade, have established us as a trusted partner to address their business challenges using our deep industry

domain competency and technology expertise. We have over 6600 dedicated consultants serving businesses in the oil & gas, mining, water, natural gas,

electricity, engineering and construction industries. Having a strong relationship with over 40 large customers spread across Americas, Europe, India, Middle

East, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the ENU SBU has been continuously investing in building competencies to help our customers do business

better. In 2011, Wipro acquired SAIC’s Global Oil and Gas business unit, reinforcing its focus on this industry. We understand your business, to help you

do business better.

About Wipro Ltd.

Wipro Ltd. (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company that delivers solutions, to enable its clients do business

better. Wipro delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 degree view of “Business through Technology” - helping

clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognized globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioner’s approach to

delivering innovation and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro has a workforce of 140,000 serving clients across 57 countries.

10
11
DO BUSINESS BETTER
NYSE:WIT | OVER 140,000 EMPLOYEES | 57 COUNTRIES CONSULTING | SYSTEM INTEGRATION | OUTSOURCING

W I P R O T E C H N O L O G I E S , D O D D A K A N N E L L I , S A R J A P U R R O A D , B A N G A L O R E - 5 6 0 0 3 5 , I N D I A . T E L : + 9 1 ( 8 0 ) 2 8 4 4 0 0 1 1 , FA X : + 9 1 ( 8 0 ) 2 8 4 4 0 2 5 6 , E m a i l : i n f o @ w i p r o . c o m
North America South America United Kingdom Germany France Switzerland Poland Austria Sweden Finland Benelux Portugal Romania Japan Philippines Singapore Malaysia Australia China South Korea New Zealand

© WIPRO LTD. 2013

“No par t of this booklet may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording and printing) without permission in writing from
the publisher, except for reading and browsing via the world wide web. Users are not permitted to mount this booklet on any network ser ver.”
IND/BRD/OCT 2013 – DEC 2014