Keeping an Eye on the Platform

With hazards ranging from vehicle collisions to explosions and fire, oil and gas companies employ different tools to improve safety.

Cooperation on safety issues transcends competition, says Chris Hawkes, safety director of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP).

As is true of any industrial process, finding, producing, transporting and refining the oil and gas so essential to the global economy are all potentially hazardous activities. When major events occur, such as Macondo in the Gulf of Mexico, they are usually caused by multiple barrier failures in many different areas of engineering, design and operations through to human factors and leadership.

The IOGP is dedicated to spreading the practices that will lead to improved safety. This is particularly important in the 21st century, as ultra-deep water operations, hydraulic fracturing and Arctic exploration become more commonplace.

Field Service Management and Smart Wearables

Technology can benefit workers directly. Dave Hart is Senior Vice President of the field service management company ServiceMax. His company recently launched a Connected Field Service solution which seamlessly integrates IoT machine data with a field service delivery system. This provides service professionals and technicians with real-time proactive information about field assets, delivered via the cloud to their mobile devices. GE Oil & Gas has already implemented such a solution.