“The industry has continued last year’s achievement of reducing the lost time injury frequency rate to 1.5 lost time injuries per million hours, a 6% reduction on 2005 figures,” Shell Development Australia chief operating officer Chris Gunner said when presenting APPEA’s annual safety awards at this year's Adelaide conference.
“But the APPEA awards are not just based on the numbers, but also on the initiatives designed to improve safety culture and safety outcomes in our members’ Australian and international operations. We also acknowledge the essential role that contractors play in this industry – in 2006 they worked 53% of the total hours.”
The Safety Performance Award was given to Esso Australia for its outstanding safety performance and contributions to safety innovation.
“Esso took the long-term company vision of ‘Nobody gets hurt’ and turned it into a personal focus of ‘I won’t get hurt today’ by introducing ‘Every minute risk assessment’,” Gunner told the conference.
“They also provided a mechanism for employees to create personal safety objective safety contracts, time out for safety, hand safety meeting materials, an alignment of contractor safety initiatives, a safety leadership course, involvement of the workforce in senior safety meetings, and even a community safety program ‘Going solo’ targeting probationary drivers.”
Esso also won the Safety Innovation Award. The company analysed its root causes of commonly occurring workplace injuries, finding that they mainly involved a single person contacting a stationary object while crossing the workplace, not while performing routine maintenance activities. Esso’s “Every minute risk assessment process” includes practicing the scanning of an environment and consciously identifying hazards.
The judges also gave an honourable mention to Beach Petroleum in recognising its development of an internet-based induction system that let small sites with limited personnel consistently induct their employees and visitors. With the system in place, the company has achieved a full year of operations without a medical treatment or lost time injury.
The International Association of Drilling Contractors Drilling Safety Award for onshore operations was given to Parker Drilling Company, its eighth award in 11 years. TransOcean received the award for offshore operations.
In addition, APPEA noted that three companies had completed 2006 without a single lost time injury – Atwood Oceanics Australia, Nabors Drilling International and Nabors Well Servicing.
In August in Perth, APPEA will be facilitating a major new event that will bring together the Health and Safety Representatives Forum, a National Safety Conference and a Safety Leadership Forum, including chief executives from all of Australia’s operating companies and from contractor organisations.
