Special Report: Hercules develops HSE dashboard to safeguard offshore operations
Offshore drilling contractor Hercules Offshore Inc., Houston, has developed and implemented a predictive accident-prevention program to maintain safety standards and protect workers and the environment.
Hercules Offshore has improved its health, safety, and environmental management with an HSE dashboard solution.
John T. Rynd, chief executive officer and president of Hercules Offshore, observes in the company’s health, safety, and environmental policy statement that “HSE is not managed by good luck.”1
Hercules started operations in 2005 with five rigs, acquired several companies, and merged with TODCO in July 2007 after the latter was spun off by Transocean Inc. (early 2004). Rick McClaine, vice-president-HSE at Hercules Offshore, said, “The TODCO merger compelled us to take action to standardize and simplify our HSE policies and procedures. This was an opportunity to evaluate what we had been doing and get it right.”2
The main web page of Hercules Offshore’s HSE Dashboard provides news, data, and the ability to easily begin new forms (Fig. 1).
After the merger, Hercules needed to integrate separate incident-reporting systems and remotely deploy the resulting solution to about 3,500 employees on rigs in nine countries on four continents. Hercules now operates a fleet of 35 jack up drilling rigs, 27 barge rigs, 65 lift boats, 3 submersible rigs, 1 platform rig, and a fleet of marine support vessels. Its operations range from drilling and well services to platform inspection, maintenance, and decommissioning.
Management wanted to improve HSE organization and reporting processes by standardizing and automating them to outperform previous systems. The HSE department’s vision was to develop a streamlined and simplified process that engaged employees, was visible and transparent, and clarified accountability.3
Hercules selected Applied Information Sciences (AIS) to develop its new HSE Dashboard using the Microsoft Office SharePoint server 2007 development platform.
Hercules Offshore’s rig manager dashboard includes familiar operations indicators and KPI’s for multiple rigs (Fig. 2).
The project began in September 2007, went live in three administrative offices in January 2008, and was rolled out incrementally to 130 vessels worldwide in January-March 2008.
Development
AIS captured legacy processes from Hercules and TODCO, gathering forms, processes, and reports. AIS technical lead Eric Stevens and oil and gas practice manager Gary McDonald worked with a Hercules team to define processes and forms for the new web-based HSE reporting model:3
- Forms: injury, illness, environmental, property damage, near hit, proactive measures, behavioral audit, and root cause analysis.
- Work flow: work spaces, email notifications, auditing, security, and versioning.
- Reporting: reports, key performance indicators (KPIs), trends, dashboards, and work-flow status.
- Research and analysis: dynamic reporting, pivots, and drill-in.
Using automated, computerized work flows instead of paper forms is quicker and safer, without the problems of transmitting, storing, or even losing paper forms. Meaningful data can be correlated and allow staff to spot emerging trends and focus training efforts.
Collaboration
HSE Dashboard is a Microsoft Office business application that promotes collaboration.2 It runs on PCs and has a clear, concise interface (Fig. 1).
The AIS team used SharePoint InfoPath 2003 forms for data entry in the new dashboard, allowing them to create forms that looked like existing paperwork, which could be completed off-line. McClaine said that retaining familiar reporting formats reduced training time for employees based in the field, and the standardized work flows reduced administrative expenses.2 The newly streamlined process engages employees; the environment is conducive to reporting incidents and participating in preventive programs.
AIS built a custom link from the InfoPath form libraries to a Microsoft SQL server 2005 database, facilitating data aggregation. The Rig Manager dashboard, for instance, aggregates data from multiple rigs for easy comparison (Fig. 2).
The new HSE Dashboard generates 52 different types of charts and reports from data collected through the standardized work flows.
McClaine told OGJ that the HSE Dashboard is easy to use and brings new visibility to HSE information. He said the project was delivered quickly and helped the company quickly develop new safety policies. Now, McClaine runs reports and analyses against HSE data across the entire fleet, allowing him to quickly focus on specific problems.
Forerunner, follow-up
Stevens and McDonald built an early version of the HSE Dashboard using the Microsoft.Net platform for GlobalSantaFe in 2003-04. After joining AIS, they rebuilt the HSE Dashboard for Hercules using a new set of Microsoft tools on the new SharePoint platform, which offered better collaboration and document management.
Houston-based Atwood Oceanics Inc. places a strong emphasis on safety and its safety management system. The company is developing HSE Dashboards as part of its “safety, health, environment, and security” structure. Atwood kicked off the project in early November and will be performing internal testing in December.
AIS
AIS has been in business since 1982, provided software engineering services to federal, state, and local government agencies, and Fortune 1,000 companies. BP, CITGO, SAIC, and Suez Energy are among its commercial energy industry clients. AIS partners with IBM and Microsoft. The company has been a Microsoft managed gold partner since 1995.
References
- www.herculesoffshore.com/documents/HerculesOffshoreHSEPolicyStatement.pdf.
- “Service Provider in Oil and Gas Improves HSE Management with Dashboard Solution,” Sept. 26, 2008, http://www.microsoft.com/industry/manufacturing/oilandgas/default.mspx.
- Stevens, Eric, and MacNeil, Don, “HSE Dashboard Case Study–Hercules Offshore,” presentation to IADC HSE Committee quarterly meeting, Apr. 17, 2008.