Mr Gimmestad is on his way to the StatoilHydro-operated platforms Gullfaks A, B and C in the North Sea. There, he will meet several hundred oil workers.
The two-day lecture tour is part of the safe behaviour programme, a StatoilHydro initiative aimed at improving safety through changing behaviour and attitudes. Like SAS Norway, the oil industry also places great emphasis on safety. Everyone in the StatoilHydro group must complete the safe behaviour programme, which consists of a structured, long-term activity programme in all workplaces.
Jarle Gimmestad travels from platform to platform with his message that solid barriers are necessary to detect the many mistakes made by pilots, and others. There is no such thing as an infallible pilot, he affirms.
Text and photo: Gro Elin Hansen, SAS Norway
Mr Gimmestad was in on the start of the safe behaviour programme in 2003, and he has been part of it ever since. Recalling his ability to motivate large groups of people, the platform managers on Gullfaks decided to invite him to where safety is really crucial “out where the oil is”.
After an hour’s helicopter ride, he is in place on Gullfaks A. In the cinema auditorium, he meets 100 shift workers – women and men who work in challenging surroundings.
“We cannot refrain from taking a risk,” says Mr Gimmestad. “If we did, we might as well just park all the planes and abandon all the platforms and sit back and relax. But we can take a controlled and calculated risk.”
A chain of events
In his lectures, he often takes plane crashes from around the world as his point of departure. They are very often examples of what happens when human error is not detected by the system.
“Mistakes don’t just happen. When something occurs, it is the result of a chain of events that has developed over time. That is the case in the airline industry and the oil industry alike.
“When people make mistakes, they have usually done what they thought was the right thing based on the information available there and then. We have to realise that ‘the infallible pilot’ simply does not exist. Human error is the downside of having a brain, it is said. Instead, we have to create systems that detect errors, systems that are robust enough to cope with human error.”
Barriers are important
According to Mr Gimmestad, pilots make three to five errors an hour on average while at work. They are detected by a robust system of barriers, and the errors therefore do not have serious consequences.
The oil workers nod in recognition at what he is saying and draw parallels to their own situation in the North Sea.
After finishing his lecture and receiving a lot of positive feedback, he heads for Gullfaks B. There are between 150 and 200 workers on each of the three platforms at any given time. Most of them work shifts, from 07.00-19.00 and vice versa. Two weeks on, four weeks off. The workers are tired when the two weeks are over. It often takes them several days to get back into the way of things on land.
Human behaviour is decisive
The Gullfaks B platform in the North Sea.
Photo: Øyvind Hagen, StatoilHydro
On Gullfaks B, we meet Gunnar Holmefjord, who is the HSE coordinator for safety on the Gullfaks platforms. He is pleased that Mr Gimmestad focuses on people in the operating system.
“Accidents happen in the workplace despite rules and handbooks,” says Mr Holmefjord.
“Human behaviour is decisive. We all define the terms for each other’s actions. What I do has an effect on what my colleague does and so on.”
Mr Holmefjord tells us that petroleum companies largely focus on human behaviour. Safety is not just about written procedures, it is also about what is going on in employees’ minds.
“What you have in your head when you depart from Flesland airport, you take with you out to the North Sea,” he says.
On the final day of the lecture tour, we are welcomed by platform manager Karl Inge Ulveseth on Gullfaks C.
“We benefit a lot from listening to outside experts,” says Mr Ulveseth. “We have a lot to learn from each other even though we come from different industries.”
Checklists are important
Both the oil industry and the airline industry have great focus on safety and on procedures for all situations. Nonetheless, Mr Gimmestad drops a bombshell: ”Do you think we have too many procedures?” The response from the floor is mixed, but it creates debate.
One guy asks rhetorically: “Why should we think for ourselves when we have procedures?”
Mr Gimmestad concedes that this is a challenge. For him, it is important that checklists are not too long. If they get too long, the risk of losing focus increases.
“The question you – and our pilots – have to ask is: ‘What will the consequence be if we miss an item on the checklist or procedure? What threat or potential risk is involved in what I am doing now?’”
Mr Ulveseth believes the oil industry has a lot to learn from the airline industry as regards checklists and procedures.
“It is well known that the airline industry is good at producing short and concise checklists that only contain the most essential items. We are more than happy to learn from you.”
After two days offshore, Mr Gimmestad’s tour is over for this time. He leaves behind hundreds of inspired and motivated oil workers. In two weeks they will be relieved by a new shift. Then, the SAS pilot will be back again, ready for another round with people in focus.
