How TapRooT® Leads to More Productive Investigations, Reduced RIRs
A TapRooT® Success story from Tom Howe, Oilfield Project Group HSE Manager/TapRooT® Champion, Oceaneering
Setting the stage for why we implemented TapRooT® in our business
We initially started using TapRooT® in 2002 in order to improve the quality of our investigations and to apply our corrective actions efforts on the core issues, as opposed to the symptoms. This became a requirement of our HSE management systems and one of our 7 Core HSE Processes. We began to use TapRooT® to more thoroughly review injuries and near hits when they occurred in order to avoid repeat performances. We didn’t want to just know that incidents happened and implement a quick fix; we wanted to know why they happened and how to correct the root causes to prevent reoccurrence.
TapRooT® as a safety partner
Safety is paramount in everything we do, and TapRooT® has helped us manage some of the risk. Oceaneering is a global provider of engineered services and products primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry, with a focus on deep water applications. Through the use of applied technology expertise, we also serve the defense and aerospace industries. With facilities around the world and with staff working with remotely operated vehicles, mobile offshore production systems, subsea intervention and installation services as well as manned diving, safety of our employees is vital. TapRooT® has been a vital partner for us for years in ensuring a safe and productive work environment.
RIRs on the decline
Our recordable injuries have been steadily going down over the last decade and I’ve seen a dynamic reduction in injuries. And, at the same time the number of employees has increased more than four times to more than 10,000 currently. While we’ve steadily expanded our business our injury rate has declined. TapRooT® has assisted us to instill a safer, more effective work environment for all of our employees. How is this possible? With our ongoing focus on safety combined with the tools, investigative methods and corrective actions that are a result of our TapRooT® use. We have been able to utilize our HSE processes to focus on the root causes of hazards, potential injuries and injuries more regularly and consistently.
In addition to the number of injuries declining, we have seen a decline in the severity of injuries. This is not to minimize any injury, just to state that we continue to work to improve the safety of the overall workplace environment. We have reduced hazards by the corrective actions and preventative measures we are able to put into place.
Creative thinking, out-of-the-box corrective actions
TapRooT® has assisted us in understanding the cause(s) of an injury and/or incident. With that understanding we can create high-quality corrective actions based on root causes. Knowing the root cause of an incident and having levels of corrective action established we have provided our team leaders with the ability to think out of the box and create the best solutions for the situation.
Company TapRooT® proficiency
We want our people who are conducting investigations to be confident in every step of the process. We have core TapRooT® leaders who can lead investigations and we have ongoing training for and communication with our staff to keep them current on policies, root causes, corrective actions and safety training as needed
