Why everyone in your business must understand what goes into, and comes out of, an oil well

When crisis hits time is of the essence, delays and indecision can prove costly and even fatal. Yet, there remains a widespread lack of shared understanding across oil and gas organizations with teams usually only provided with discipline specific-training .

By arming teams with only skills relevant to their own areas of expertise fails to provide the level of general understanding necessary to have safety-critical discussions when things go wrong. With limited knowledge they are likely to struggle to take decisive action in an emergency situation.

In fact this was one of the key findings following the deadly explosion on Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig which left 11 men dead and more than 206 million gallons of oil subsequently released into the Gulf of Mexico, in 2010.

An investigation into the disaster revealed a lack of understanding and communication between the various parties overseeing the operation of the rig. The captain of the Deepsea Horizon - responsible for crew safety and environmental matters - admitted that his type of role was not always involved in decisions relating to how to deal with drilling operations and risks. While the head of marine operations struggled to answer questions relating to the drilling side of the operation and acknowledged he rarely had contact with the manager of the rig.

So, what can you do as an employer if you are operating with siloed teams who have little understanding of each other's roles? How can you give your subsurface team valuable insight into the activities and decisions your drilling team faces daily, and vice versa, in a quick and cost effective way?

At Norwell EDGE we believe that choosing a digital approach to highly complex training will ensure the entire workforce builds a solid foundation of knowledge in all offshore processes, allowing individuals to make good decisions when sticky situations arise, even if not directly relevant to their area of work.

With online training platforms like EDGE, employers can build a tailored programme within a few clicks that provides insights into the full oil and gas lifecycle at a level that is appropriate for their team.

Digital, segmented reports make it easy to keep track of progress and identify areas where further support is required. It even flags up when someone is spending too little time on a module, skipping through it or struggling. So rather than wait for mistakes to be made offshore, you can create tailored training plans that drive performance and improve specific competences.

Courses can be completed online at a time and place that works for both employer and employee - and on any wi-fi connected device - minimising the impact on productivity and reducing training costs such as travel and accommodation.

Making learning accessible in this way means it’s more likely everyone in your team will have the enthusiasm and time to widen out their areas of study - and the associated costs of doing so to the business are minimised. 

The oil and gas sector has worked hard to improve its safety record, however employers cannot afford to be complacent. Empowering your people with knowledge and skills across the business plays a key role in stopping minor incidents escalating into major ones. So let's give our workforce the technical training they need to work together and keep conversations flowing between them when it matters the most.

Find out how Norwell EDGE can support your team's learning journey today. Get in touch at hello@norwelledge.com