Today we celebrate Ruano Stumpf (Regional Manager Oceania, Axess Offshore Australia P/L) our 2023 Best and Fairest Award winner for his contribution to our Cranes and Lifting Working Group (CLWG).

Ruano was unanimously nominated for this award by his CLWG peers for his efforts in establishing this (our newest) Working Group, and leading the inaugural project to completion.

Q.  Congratulations on being awarded a Best and Fairest Award for 2023!  Describe your feelings about being recognised for your efforts. 

It was great to receive the award from the Cranes and Lifting Working Group, especially because the group has excellent professionals and many people that I admire, and I learn a lot from them.

Q.  In your professional opinion, what Safer Together Product, Program or Initiative deserves more attention from industry, and why? 

It is hard to say because all products and programs were created to solve the several problems we have (or had), and make the industry safer.

I believe the Rig Site Safety Working Group (RSSWG) deserves more attention, and it would be beneficial for the offshore drilling companies that are working in the region to have their representatives joining the RSSWG and help develop initiatives, share lessons learned and best practices. Maybe a deeper partnership with DrillSafe could be an option to increase the number of Working Group members.

Q.  What would you say to someone who was considering entering our industry? 

I would say that people should research more about the importance of the oil and gas industry in our lives, and how it would look like without fossil fuels.

Food and transport costs would increase significantly without oil and gas, and the number of people facing hunger would follow.

The transition to cleaner energy sources proved to be not simple or cheap as everyone thought during the covid days, and the investments made by oil companies are essential for the development of new technologies that will not only reduce carbon emissions, but also fund the development of cleaner and reliable energy sources at a competitive price.

Once people realise how important our industry is, then I believe he/she would be motivated to join and contribute.  

Q.  What would be your elevator pitch to someone thinking about joining a Safer Together Working Group? 

Dedicate 1-2 hours/month of your time to learn from others and contribute to make the industry safer. It is a great networking opportunity too.

Q.  Do you have anything else you would like to add? 

I am happy to be part of Safer Together and see the commitment of senior leaders and managers in sharing the lessons learned and helping each other.

We all have a common goal of having zero accidents, and Safer Together has been essential to connect us and give us the resources we need to make the industry safer.