April 2020

Today more than ever safety is a key priority for oilfield workers across the globe. As lockdowns keep many from traveling and the oil price collapse leads to further cost reductions, companies have had to adapt at an unprecedented pace to respond to new challenges including remote working, project delays and managing teams from afar. Ensuring your workforce is equipped with the required tools and knowledge has never been more paramount. Below, we hear from PetroEd on how on-line distance learning can provide cost-efficient, consistent and customizable solutions in these uncertain times.

In the face of extraordinary economic circumstances enveloping the global oilpatch, maintaining the industry’s safety agenda will remain a top priority. But achieving this goal will not be without its challenges.
New ways for delivering and managing safety education for a wide range of industry stakeholders must be considered: Can we achieve the same level of safety performance by using educational methods other than conventional instructor-led training, generally regarded as the high-cost alternative?

As internet-based technologies continue to streamline virtually every operational aspect of the modern oilfield, the proposition of offering on-line safety education, also known as eLearning, to supplement conventional instructor-led training presents a credible solution in a low-cost operating environment.

A logical starting point for introducing this learning modality is with ‘awareness-level’ programs where educational outcomes focus more on knowledge than skills.

IADC RigPass® is an example of such a program that derives its curriculum from combined industry safety experiences accumulated over several decades. A feature of RigPass is that educational materials conforming to the curriculum can be delivered and maintained entirely through the Internet. Importantly, the integrity of the educational process is managed through a unique, on-line credentialing platform provided by the IADC.

Moving basic safety awareness programs on-line not only reduces costs, but can also bring unexpected benefits to companies that embrace the concept.

• Consistency: Because end-users are accessing the same identical program worldwide, individual variances in instructor delivery are completely removed.
• Centralized content management: As safety regulations change, these changes are immediately reflected in the learning material being distributed to the user-base.
• On-line systems that deploy content can also track individual user metrics such as test scores and time-in-course. This information offers management greater insight into organizational performance and can also identify areas requiring additional instruction.
• The use of multimedia in communicating key safety topics supports visual learning styles and helps transcend language barriers.
• Localization: eLearning can be readily translated into many languages. RigPass is currently available in Spanish and is being translated into other ‘oilfield’ languages.
• Customization: Safety instructions attending to specific geographic regions, equipment and operator policies can still be ‘built’ around a core safety awareness certification like RigPass. Using the US Gulf of Mexico as an example, the end-user can earn a RigPass certificate then take an online SEMS course which is an additional requirement for this region…all from a single sign-on!

Maintaining the momentum of worker safety established by the Industry over the past 100 years is an imperative. Procedures that promote safe operating practices for petroleum extraction activities have been carefully articulated through educational awareness programs such as RigPass. Adherence to curriculums that preserve and communicate these ‘lessons learned’ are therefore critical to maintaining the industry’s safety record. While on-line programs will not fully replace the ‘hands-on’ dimension of safety instruction, organizations that incorporate eLearning into their programs will not only reduce costs, but realize additional benefits that have the potential to further improve worker safety.

Related Article: The importance of Local Content at a time of crisis – What Covid-19 will teach the industry