Deepwater Horizon - Workers' Memorial Day!! We Must Do More than Remember

Yesterday, April 20, 2023, was the 13th anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. 17 workers were seriously injured, and 11 workers died that day, including:

·       Jason Anderson - Midfield, Texas

·       Aaron Dale Burkeen - Philadelphia, Mississippi

·       Donald "Duck" Clark - Newellton, Louisiana

·       Stephen Ray Curtis - Georgetown, Louisiana

·       Gordon Jones - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

·       Roy Wyatt Kemp - Jonesville, Louisiana

·       Karl Kleppinger Jr - Natchez, Mississippi

·       Keith Blair Manuel - Gonzalez, Louisiana

·       Dewey Revette - State Line, Mississippi

·       Shane Roshto - Liberty, Mississippi

·       Adam Weise - Yorktown, Texas

Though it might be easy for many people to forget this tragedy as time passes, I still remember the smell of burning oil on the ocean winds. I remember the massive response effort of people who volunteered to work to clean the oil from the beaches and marshes. I remember how this incident motivated me to learn more about process safety and to tirelessly work to prevent future accidents.

I remember because I was there through it all.

On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig Deepwater Horizon oil rig located in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank. As a result of this catastrophe, 11 workers lost their lives. The largest spill of oil in history was an added result as approximately five million barrels of crude oil flowed from the damaged well for 87 days (3 months!), before it could finally be capped and stopped on July 15, 2010. One tragic incident, followed by tremendous tragedy to people, property, and the environment, which resulted in so many valuable lessons learned.

In September 2011, a final investigative report stated that the main cause was the defective cement job, and Halliburton, BP and Transocean were responsible for the factors and decisions made to install the defective cement. Over the past 13 years of continuing investigation and research, a lot has been discovered about the Deepwater Horizon and what went wrong – much of which had nothing to do with the failed cement job. The investigations have led to a deeper understanding of communication, oil rig and drilling safety measures, process safety, safety management systems (SMS) coordination, and as well as measures based on leading indicators and thorough hazard assessments of high risk activities to prevent accidents. Just a few of the lessons learned from this tragedy include the following:

·       Lack of Communication

Continuous 24/7 monitoring by onshore support teams that analyze and report out on what is happening in real time and communicating efficiently and effectively with the teams on the rig.

·       Disconnection Between Workflow Processes

When safety and workflow processes are ignored, the results will almost always eventually be deadly.

·       Training Gaps

Crew members should have been better trained to reestablish control and correct errors before a disaster like the blowout occurred and to deftly handle dangerous situations to protect the rig, other crew members, and themselves.

·       Lack of Emergency Preparedness Coordination

Both on the rig and on the shore, safety, environmental, industrial, and emergency management agencies were not only disconnected on what a full-scale response might entail.

·       Process Safety Deficiencies

Process safety systems were inadequate, and the plan to complete and “temporarily abandon” the Deepwater Horizon drilling operation was changed five times in prior to the disaster occurring. What is striking is that there is not any documentation that management of change procedures or formal hazard assessments were conducted, and that communications about the hazards of such procedures and changes were had.

·       Safety Management Systems

Transocean and BP (the operators in charge of the drilling) had multiple safety management system (SMS) deficiencies that contributed to the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon disaster. Before the incident, the safety approaches and metrics used by the two companies did not focus on major accident hazards and their potential effects on people, property, and the environment.

·       Leading Indicator Safety Metric Systems

Systems used for measuring safety effectiveness in the offshore oil drilling industry focused on superficial safety procedures and policies, and – infrequently - on lagging indicators. Although many other global agencies and entities had defined and effective leading indicator programs that were used to drive continuous improvement, these programs were not in use by BP or Transocean for the Deepwater Horizon project.

·       Inadequate Hazard Assessment Systems

Hazard assessments of major risks on the Deepwater Horizon were left to the in-the-moment prompt decision-making and manual intervention by the Deepwater Horizon crew to prevent and mitigate high hazard risks. A comprehensive hazard assessment would have identified the potential for well blowout and given better instruction in the event of leading indicators being recognized and heeded.

With the Deepwater Horizon Tragedy and other tragedies of similar magnitudes occur, we have a                  great capacity to learn due to the number of resources and researchers that rush to the aid of the local communities affected. Notwithstanding the ability to bring in strong response forces, volunteers, and safety-minded experts to formulate ideas and opinions on how we can improve and prevent future similar incidents.

Switching gears, but not overall topics, on April 28, we will reflect on the loss of lives in the workplace through Workers Memorial Day. This day is set aside to remember workers killed, injured, or made ill on the job and to renew the fight for strong safety and health protections. Workplace hazards kill and disable approximately 125,000 workers each year—4,764 from traumatic injuries, and an estimated 120,000 from occupational diseases.

All workers deserve safe workplaces and a focus on hazard identification and leading indicators to prevent life-changing and fatality inducing incidents. As I mentioned earlier, I remember the 11 Deepwater Horizon workers and the others severely injured or whose lives changed forever on April 20. 2010. I remember every fatality and serious injury investigation I have ever worked with a client on over my years as a consultant.

What are WE going to do to actively stop the blood shed associated going to work each day to make a living? Are we going enough? Are we applying ourselves in the most efficient and diligent way to prevent hazardous work situations in our processes and activities? Will we make a difference?

As a proud veteran of the U.S. Navy, I remember those I served with on Memorial Day each year. There are no barbeques, long weekend celebrations, or parties on my agenda. I don’t criticize those who mark the day in their own way. Please remember in a way of your choosing that includes remembrance with honor and respect. Men and women have given their lives on the altar of freedom so that we can choose how we individually mark the occasion. As for me, I call widows and widowers of those who served, and we laugh, cry, and reminisce about those who are no longer with us because they gave all to the country they loved.

On Workers’ Memorial Day, I do much the same thing – reflect – remember – think about the many ways WE can do better. Occupational injuries and illnesses impact workers and their families in irreversible ways, and we MUST do better. Workers go to work and expect to do their jobs and come home safe, in the same or better condition than they left their families before their shift.