Winners Announced at UK Oil and Gas Industry Safety Awards 2015

The winners of awards celebrating the people and companies striving to ensure North Sea oil and gas operations are as safe as they can be were named at a lunchtime awards ceremony in Aberdeen today (Wednesday, April 29).

It was the fifth UK Oil and Gas Industry Safety Awards - jointly organised by Oil & Gas UK and Step Change in Safety - with Maersk Oil as principal sponsor.

There were six categories in the Awards held at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre and featuring Paralympian and adventurer Karen Darke as the keynote speaker. The winners were:

Safety Leadership sponsored by ABB was won by Vic Retalic, HSE & Security Manager, Premier Oil Plc

• Judges recognised Vic's creative approach to communicating health and safety – from drawing on the expertise of other industries to look at concerns from a different perspective, to using a cartoonist to capture meeting 'minutes' as a 12 foot long picture. His leadership style has played a key part in driving forward improvements in the UK.
• Highly commended: David Howard, Deputy OIM, Wood Group PSN

Safety Representative of the Year sponsored by Petrofac went toKaren McCombie, Offshore Support Planner and Helicopter Admin Assistant, Sodexo

• Karen has worked tirelessly to promote safety awareness on the Claymore platform: increasing participation at quarterly meetings and encouraging Sodexo management to put safety at the top of the boardroom agenda.
• Highly commended: Graeme Ritchie, Roustabout/Safety Rep Rowan Drilling UK and Mark Williams, LOLER, Petrofac

Innovation in Safety sponsored by Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd was awarded to BG Group and Amec Foster Wheeler

• BG Group and Amec Foster Wheeler have jointly delivered an industry first by developing a new technique for removing caissons, the pillars underpinning many North Sea platforms. The process holds promise for the future, as BG Group plans to use this technology for the removal of similar caissons on other North Sea assets.
• Highly commended: Bob Banks, Mechanical Maintenance Technician, Petrofac

Workforce Engagement sponsored by DNV GL was won by the Bruce Platform Team, BP

• BP's Bruce Offshore Platform Team transformed its safety performance through an ambitious improvement programme involving a new approach to communication and a focus on a new, consistent process.
• Highly commended: Gordon Quigley, HSE Manager, Petrofac and Krzysztof Madrala, Project Director, Remontowa - Petrofac and Remontowa FPF1 Modification Project

Occupational Health & Hygiene sponsored by International SOS went to Lesley Officer, HR Manager, Rowan Drilling UK Ltd

• Lesley was involved in Rowan Drilling UK Limited's 'Wellness' programme to encourage a healthy body mass index (BMI) and an active lifestyle. The total weight of participants has fallen consistently ever since and Rowan's offshore fleet became the first in the UK sector to be presented with NHS Scotland's Healthy Living Award.

Sharing and Learning sponsored by BG Group was awarded to Neil Clark, CEO, IHF Ltd

• Human factors are thought to account for 80 per cent of all accidents offshore and Neil's commitment to raising awareness of them as a pivotal ingredient towards changing safety culture on and offshore impressed the judges. Neil has played a key role in Step Change in Safety's steering group on competence and human factors.
• Highly commended: Jim Cameron, Technical Safety Technical Authority, Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd

Robert Paterson, health and safety director at Oil & Gas UK, said:

"We were really impressed with the level and standard of entries to our Awards. The innovative approaches being taken by winners to ensure high standards of safety, as well as the measures underway to further raise awareness to the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, really are to be applauded."

Les Linklater, executive director at Step Change in Safety, added:

"This year's safety awards were a real cause for celebration. We have seen some tremendous efforts from individuals and companies who are doing all they can to continuously improve the safety of the North Sea. Everyone at the ceremony should feel encouraged and challenged to bolster their safety efforts and ensure that maintaining safe and efficient operations is kept a priority despite the challenges the industry is facing."

Ends

Notes to Editors

Oil & Gas UK is the leading representative organisation for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. Its members, who number over 500, are companies licensed by the Government to explore for, and produce, oil and gas in UK waters and those in the industry's supply chain. For more information about the Awards, or to speak to Robert Paterson contact Press and PR Officer Jennifer Phillips on 01224 577279.


Step Change in Safety is a member-led, not-for-profit organisation which seeks the make the UK the safest oil province in the world to work in. The organisation has 137 members, which represent operators, contractors, trade unions, regulators and the onshore and offshore workforce. Step Change in Safety is made up of four Steering Groups: Helicopter Safety, Asset Integrity, Competence & Human Factors and Workforce Engagement. For more information about the Awards, or to speak to Les Linklater contact Stephanie Smart on 07908 536885 or Stephanie@stepchangeinsafety.net