and site selection being an important factor. But while
every business aims for minimal environmental impacts
and zero-accident projects, in reality very few large
international projects are completed with this success
rate. This is the area where greatest improvements can
be made and there is always scope to further reduce risks
and mitigate potential damage. This article outlines the
most important areas to focus on.
Senior management commitment to HSE
One of the most common causes of substandard
HSE performance is not affording health, safety and
environment the same level of importance as schedule
or cost. Management teams may question the time and
funding put into HSE planning, training, certification,
inspections and audits but this investment is vital to a
high standard of HSE performance. No reported incidents
means that this investment is working and needs to
continue – using it as a reason to reduce costs or HSE
activity will quickly undo any progress in this area and
expose your business and employees to greater risk.
Competency
Personnel involved in pipeline construction projects
have all been selected for their skills and are all
qualified. But, when every pipeline is unique, personnel
will not necessarily have been trained to identify and
address the project-specific risks they are likely to face.
Environmental and social specialists cannot be fully
familiar with every pipeline project location; engineers
are not necessarily good at risk identification and near
miss reporting; mechanics do not necessarily know how
to work safely at heights; and electrical personnel may
not know how to enter a confined space safely solely
because they have 20 years of experience.
If your project is offshore, are all team members
involved familiar enough with maritime industry-specific
health and safety hazards? Do they know enough
about risks and the environmental commitments of the
project, and can they ensure those commitments are
implemented?
Project developers should work on the basis that
training is required in all project phases, particularly in
respect of construction. Projects vary greatly and people’s
work experiences are unique (and hard to objectively
verify). Set a bar, allocate a budget, and train. Then
refresh.
Contractor risks
Finding a contractor that can undertake the project
to specification on both a tight schedule and a tight
budget, is already a major challenge, and compatibility
of the operator’s and contractor’s attitudes to HSE can
sometimes be overlooked in the selection process.
While major world operators and construction
companies in this heavily regulated industry are held
up to its highest HSE standards, their contractors’ and
subcontractors’ performance is often overlooked as
construction companies are expected to take the lead
in this field. However, with environmental incidents and
health and safety accidents resulting from contractors’
activity remaining the most frequent category in this
sector, HSE needs a high priority throughout the supply
chain and effective leadership is required at every level.
Pre-contract audits are time-consuming, costly and
can result in having to go back to the market if the first
carefully selected contractor does not pass the HSE audit.
But making prior HSE performance a critical selection
criterion at contractor selection phase is a management-
level responsibility, and it is the job of the HSE lead to
get this message across.
Project procurement and HSE teams should work
together on developing and incorporating HSE-related
clauses into the contract, making sure suppliers and
contractors know that they are bound by these terms.
Monitoring contractor performance by establishing
measurable indicators and collecting statistics, conducting
frequent monitoring and inspections and analysing the
information received is critical to getting all contractors
to work to the standard of the industry’s best operators
and ensuring individual projects are not compromised.
Management systems
The importance of a systematic approach on fast-paced
large-scale projects should not be underestimated.
Investing resources into a robust HSE management system
before construction commences is a highly effective way
to identify, assess and manage risks, thereby avoiding
or minimising adverse HSE impacts. Ideally, the system
should meet the requirements of recognised international
standards, such as ISO 14001 (environmental) OHSAS 18001
(occupational health and safety) and IFC Performance
Standard 1 (environmental and social management) and be
tailored to manage project-specific risks.
Then, the way that HSE information is fed into
the wider decision making process by the HSE team is
crucial. Setting and regularly reviewing key performance
indicators at both company and contractor level is
one way to help ensure that everyone retains focus on
this area throughout the project. More broadly, non-
confidential, transparent HSE reporting is a useful way to
analyse and learn from mistakes before they escalate and
seriously damage the project’s HSE standing.
Risk assessment
Risk management processes on large-scale construction
projects often boil down to just making sure the risk
assessments are done, while they should, in fact, be much
more comprehensive.
The management framework should address effective
communication of risks up and down the management
chain. It should involve means of identifying inappropriate
and unsafe behaviours early, before they become
environmental incidents or result in accidents and injuries.
96
World Pipelines
/
FEBRUARY 2016
