The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) announced plans to invest in HeliOffshore’s work to enhance the safety of offshore helicopter operations. Funding will be channeled through a new Joint Industry Project (JIP) as part of IOGP’s wider Project Safira goal of eliminating fatalities from the upstream energy business.
In the first 12 months of the new JIP, IOGP’s Safety and Aviation Committee is committing £500,000 ($650,000) to HeliOffshore programs. The funding is supported by 10 IOGP member companies, but more are expected to join them during the course of this year.
Initially, the new JIP will support the HeliOffshore Safety Intelligence Program (HSIP) to aid data-driven decisions on how to advance safety work and verify that the work is delivering the right results; human hazard analysis training and underpin work to systematically consider the potential for human error and develop ways to address these through changes in design and maintenance procedures; and operational effectiveness projects, such as evidence-based training, pilot eye-tracking research, and a new weather-information and rig-location trial.
“The unique collaboration demonstrated by the JIP participants offers a means of accelerating vital offshore helicopter safety programs, combining with expertise of our HeliOffshore and helicopter operator partners, to deliver the zero-fatality operational performance we all strive for,” commented Tony Cramp, chairman of the IOGP aviation committee. The JIP is being chaired by IOGP safety director Olav Skar.
“We are delighted with this strong commitment from the oil companies to our shared work to deliver safety excellence in areas we know will save lives,” said HeliOffshore CEO Gretchen Haskins. “It is especially encouraging to see this powerful investment in safety in the current challenging business environment. We call for our members to create the business case for JIP funding for new collaborative projects with the potential to prevent fatalities.”
HeliOffshore is the safety-focused association for the offshore helicopter industry, with more than 100 member companies worldwide. This week, the group announced the appointment of Keith Mullett to its board of directors. Mullett is president of PHI International and acting president of PHI Americas.
In December, HeliOffshore published its first annual Helicopter Safety Performance Report, which provides a summary of safety performance by offshore operators based on data gathered through the HSIP. The first report covers the 2013 ot 2018 period, and an updated report is due to be published in June.