INDEX 1 Risk Management

Contact Us
EDC Training Centre
EDC Training Centre

Egyptian Drilling Company
Km 17.5, Cairo Suez Desert Road
Cairo, Egypt
Phone: +20 2 2406 2185

Fax: +20 2 2406 2260
E-mail: [email protected]
Homepage: www.egyptian-
drilling.com
Training Center Manager: Ahmed Raof

Table of contents:
Section 01 Risk Management ..................................................................................... 4

Risk Management .......................................................................................................... 4
What is risk management? ......................................................................................... 4
Hierarchy of controls ................................................................................................... 6
Levels of risk management ......................................................................................... 7
Additional risk control systems: Management of Change (MoC) ................................ 8
What can I do to be more effective at risk management? ........................................... 9
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Section 01 Risk Management
Risk Management
This section shall:
 Define risk management
 Provide definitions of key terms
 Identify and define different levels of risk management
 Highlight the process for Management of Change (MoC)
 Summarise factors that will help with successful risk management
What is risk management?

Risk management is a key process to ensure that we identify hazards and control
associated risks in a robust and systematic way, in order to reduce the chance of harm.
Risk management1 is considered here in the context of safety; environmental impact;
company reputation; and asset/ equipment impact.
Missing or inadequate risk management processes are known to increase the chance of
harm to individuals, and also damage to the environment and equipment. Significant
incidents are also known to have a large impact on company reputation, bringing some
organisations to collapse, or the brink of collapse. We often cannot eliminate all risk, but
we can reduce risk to very low / acceptable levels by using appropriate methods.
In summary the main principles of risk management are:
 Identify hazards
 Identify who can be harmed and how (including self, team, other crew,
public/visitors etc.)
 Analyse the risks and decide on controls and any further mitigation
 Record the findings
 Implement
 Review and update the assessment if needed
Table 1 provides some key definitions of terms and related examples.
1
Risk Management can also be considered in other contexts such as financial risk management.
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Table 1: Key Definitions
Terms Description Examples
Hazard Something that can cause harm. Hydrocarbons, chemicals, rotating
equipment, electrical equipment.
Harm Usually relates to any form of physical injury. Physical cuts / wounds / amputation,
It can also incorporate heath; psychological burns, broken bones, sprains,
harm; damage to equipment; environmental concussion, and fatal injuries.
impact; and damage to company reputation
etc.
Risk The chance of being harmed by the hazard. In qualitative risk assessments the risk is
Reference is sometimes made to likelihood often calculated by the following
or probability of being harmed. equation:
Risk = Severity x Likelihood
A risk matrix is a simple way to make this
subjective calculation.
Quantitative risk assessments (QRA)
usually identify risk as a numerical value,
e.g. risk of death is 1x10 -3 per annum (1
in a 1000).
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Hierarchy of controls
The concept of hierarchy of controls is a central part of risk management. It helps to focus
our efforts on controls that are much more robust and reliable. Typically, controls at a task
/ operational level focus on personal protective equipment (PPE), procedures and
supervision etc. Whilst these are an essential consideration, they are not the most robust
controls. The hierarchy of controls as identified below should always be taken into
account, particularly for new tasks, or those that have not been reviewed for some time.
Always aim to introduce controls that are higher in the list of controls, as this will more
significantly reduce the chance of harm. Also, such controls often provide the opportunity
to consider if the task can be designed in a more efficient and effective way. Using more
effective controls can therefore often result in not only making the job safer at an
operational level, but also much easier. Figure 1 provides an illustration of the hierarchy of
controls. Table 2 provides examples for the drilling industry.
Figure 1: Hierarchy of controls illustration
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Table 2: Hierarchy of controls examples for the drilling industry
Control Type Control Drilling Hazard Control examples
Effectiveness Example
Hazard Elimination Most Effective Swabbing in a Pump out of hole
Kick
Hazard Substitution Swabbing in a Minimize number of
Kick trips
Task / equipment Swabbing in a Reduce String size
Redesign Kick
Separation of the Swabbing in a Pump a mud Cap
hazard from people Kick
Administrative Swabbing in a Pull by swab
Controls Kick calculation
Personal Protective Swabbing in a “BOP” equipment
Equipment (PPE) Least Effective Kick
Levels of risk management

Risk management is commonly conducted at two different levels. The first is both a broad
and detailed process when significant hazards will be present during operations, such as
during the design of a new drilling asset. The second is the assessment of task specific
risks at an operational level. The following section provides more detail on the two levels:
1. For complex and safety critical activities, key processes and activities are usually
analysed using systematic techniques as part of the safety engineering process.
Such analyses may be completed pre-operation and also during operations (e.g. as
part of review and/ or modifications). Analysis often includes methodologies such
as:
 Hazard and operability studies (HAZOPs)
 Failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA)
 Fault tree analyses
 Event trees
For processes which include significant hazards, such as oil and gas exploration,
methods often also aim to quantify risk. Input from engineering personnel,
operational personnel and other disciplines such as human factors is common
during this level of risk management. Typically, more robust controls (i.e. those
higher in the hierarchy of controls) are more straightforward to implement during
this phase of risk management because of the greater opportunity to influence
asset and equipment design.
2. On a more day-to-day / operational basis, risks are usually managed at a task / job
level, for example using a task risk assessment. The assessment usually takes a
qualitative approach, utilising a risk assessment sheet, and often including a risk
matrix. This process is usually managed by workers and supervisors to ensure that
task specific hazards are identified and risk managed to an acceptably low level.
One of the most common failings of task risk assessments is that the process is
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seen as bureaucratic. This results in paperwork being completed to ‘tick the box’
while true identification of hazards and implementation of effective controls is often
missed.
Toolbox talks (or similar meetings) are often used to ensure that the team working
on the job fully understand the hazards and controls (e.g. how the controls will be
applied and how they reduce risk etc.). Such meetings should therefore be used to
thoroughly discuss the risk assessment. It is also essential that team members
stop the job if anything changes from the plan, as new risks may be introduced, or
controls may become less effective. Review of risks in such circumstances is
therefore essential.
Always remember to aim for more robust controls in the hierarchy, and avoid
reliance on PPE and supervision etc.
Additional risk control systems: Management of Change (MoC)

Additional risk management processes are also common in the drilling sector in an
operational context. An example includes Management of Change (MoC). MoC generally
applies when there is deviation from existing practices, processes and procedures etc. It is
not usually not necessary for tasks that are already covered in formal procedures, or when
there is a ‘replacement-in-kind’ (i.e. changing out an item with another item which meets
the same design specification of the original). There are also generally exclusions to using
MoC, for example during emergency situations.
MoC is sometimes perceived as unnecessary, as it takes time and effort to apply.
However, uncontrolled change is a very common causal / contributory factor of incidents.
MoC helps ensure that change is systematically considered and evaluated at an
appropriate level of detail.
MoC process usually covers the following stages:
1. Recognition of change, or need for change
 People often struggle to identify change or a need for change, in part due to
distractions of day-to-day operations and also confusion over the definition of a
change that falls under MoC. Unmonitored changes or requirements to change
should be raised with the appropriate crew member (e.g. a supervisor). It is
essential that crew understand the definition of change in the MoC procedure.
2. Assessment of change
 Assessment should include consideration of whether the change is necessary
(e.g. safety or business benefits). Risk assessment is also required at this stage.
3. Authorisation
 A named role or individual should be responsible for authorising a change. This
individual may, for example, be a technical superintendent. The authoriser
should be satisfied that the change is required and has been suitably assessed.
4. Planning & Implementation
 The change should be thoroughly planned, including consideration of ‘knock-on’
effects, such as requirements for additional training of personnel. Appropriate
communication should also take place with all relevant parties (the change
should not introduce any surprises for crew). Implementation of the change can
then commence.
5. Monitoring and close
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 A change should generally be monitored for a specified period of time. This
should ensure that the change has successfully bedded in, and that there are no
unforeseen issues arising. After the monitoring phase, the change process can
then be closed-out.
What can I do to be more effective at risk management?

The following tips draw on common failings in risk management and can help your team
perform better:
 Put real time and effort into risk assessment: identifying hazards, assessing risk
level, and considering good control measures. Remember that paperwork alone
doesn’t control the risk. The more risk assessments you have completed for a given
task, the greater the temptation to rush through it is likely to be.
 Make sure you and other crew are trained and competent at conducting risk
assessment.
 Always remember the hierarchy of controls. Are there better control measures that
should be raised with management?
 Encourage a positive attitude to risk management and risk assessment amongst
your fellow crew.
 Ensure other risk management processes such at MoC and permit-to-work (PTW)
are used when appropriate.
 It is human nature to cut-corners. We often think ‘it won’t happen to me’, but
shortcuts in risk management lead to many incidents, including a great many
fatalities. A little extra time spent on risk assessment can mean the difference
between someone making it home to see their family, or not.
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EDC Training Centre
Egyptian Drilling Company

Km 17.5, Cairo Suez Desert Road
Cairo, Egypt
[email protected]
www.egyptian-drilling.com
Phone: +20 2 2406 2185

Fax: +20 2 2406 2260
- 10 -
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Contact Us

EDC Training Centre

EDC Training Centre

Phone: +20 2 2406 2185

Training Center Manager: Ahmed Raof

Section 01 Risk Management ..................................................................................... 4

What is risk management?

Table 1 provides some key definitions of terms and related examples.

Figure 1: Hierarchy of controls illustration

Levels of risk management

Additional risk control systems: Management of Change (MoC)

What can I do to be more effective at risk management?

Egyptian Drilling Company

Phone: +20 2 2406 2185

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