Safer Together and the Wellsite Permit to Work Association have jointly published a Case Study – Standard Operating Procedures Under a Permit to Work System.

There are current concerns regarding the amount of time that Wellsite Supervisors and Rig Managers are spending to manage large numbers of Permits under the Wellsite Permit to Work System for what are often routine-type operations.  One WPTW User noted:

“The permits require a lot of management and organisation to fully meet the requirements of the system and to ensure that all the hazards are identified and mitigated against.  This leads to more time spent processing paper work and ultimately a poorer job done in fully utilising the WPTW to manage risks at the wellsite.

In the case of our CSG factory drilling, completion and work over operations, there is a vast amount of experience managing repeat operations.” 

Over use of permits creates a number of problems for supervisory personnel on the wellsite:

  • It can greatly increase the workload (the ‘paperwork’) without improving work safety outcomes.
  • It downgrades the importance of a permit if it is used for simple low risk tasks.
  • It leads to a ‘tick and flick’ mentality regarding the paperwork.
  • Writing an individual permit every time can become a substitute for developing good, robust Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that fully control work-related risks and which should become the agreed ‘best practice’ approach for that activity.

Members of Safer Together’s Rig Site Safety Working Group, Schlumberger, Easternwell and Shell-QGC established a working party to enhance approaches to managing routine-type operations through robust application of appropriate and existing safety management tools such as Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) and SOP. This approach enabled the vast experience associated with managing repeat operations within CSG factory drilling, completion and workover operations to be effectively utilised.

The working group liaised with the WPTW Association on various occasions to clarify that the approaches being trialled conformed to the WPTW System and adhered to proper standards of risk management.

As a result of this work, Safer Together and the WPTW Association have jointly published a Case Study – Standard Operating Procedures Under the WPTW System.  Schlumberger, Easternwell and Shell-QGC have been pleased with the outcome and agree the process is effective when applied correctly.

For more information about the Rig Site Safety Working Group click here.

For more information about the Wellsite Permit To Work Association click here.

Contact: [email protected]