Cultural difference
I have been following this thread from the start with great interest, and not surprised to see a wide variety of opinions and views from the full spectrum of parties involved. It has been questioned several time as to why there might be such an apparent difference from the Norwegian side to the UK sector in relation to accident statistics. Firstly I would be slightly cautious with statistics. One bad month in Norway could change it all.
I am however familiar with operations on both sides of the North Sea and the differences are smaller than most might imagine. These days the larger operators are employing common OM’s and SOP’s. OMA, OMB and Emergency Checklists are standardized across the sea. I don’t know too much about the engineering procedures, but I imagine they are also similar if not the same.
That, however, is of no use, as there clearly is a difference in the final result if statistics are to be believed. From my experience, whilst everything on the surface is very similar there are some very fundamental differences in the way business is conducted. Whatever the final report on this accident finds, the result will be a complex human factors case. I despair when I see people calling for a simplified single root cause, as it just does not ever exist in aviation. To blame the pilot and say pilot error is a part of the cultural problem and one I thought we had moved away from. It will almost certainly be the case that the crew could have done something differently and the outcome would have been different. It is also very likely there was some form of technical problem be it a minor or major one. Certain phses and flight conditions don’t need much before a minor problem is a major one. If it is a pure technical issue, the same point arises. Why did it occur, and how far back could it have been prevented. It is slightly irrelevant that the last few ditchings have been Eurocopter. What is relevant is that ditchings and accidents have occurred and that the industry as a whole must identify what they can do to improve.
If they want to look at how things differ in Norway, I think it would be a good place to start. The culture is fundamentally different. I see a few key differences.
1. Positive and constructive working relationship between customer (oil company) and contractor (helicopter op). The customer has a good and realistic understanding of the aviation operation and maintains a positive form of communication.
2. Stronger Unions and acceptance of all companies and management to work with and hold constructive dialogue with unions. In this sense offshore unions have a good relationship and communication with pilots unions and management. So far management have not tried to bust unions.
3. Unions have pushed oil companies on safety with great effect. This results in oil companies setting higher safety requirement of their contractors. An example is higher simulator time and more training required annually for pilots.
4. Better working conditions for pilots and engineers - including proper equal time rosters and no “flex time” rosters, allowing proper rest periods away from the work environment. A happier work force?
5. Lack of blame culture in Norway. Norwegians are very open to dialogue and averse to conflict. The attitude is usually to try and move forward and not waste time on finding blame when it is not relevant. They recognised a long time ago that blame is never a simple concept in reality and is very often just an easy way out to close a case. Some poor sod gets the sack - move on - doesn’t work.
6. The understanding that “cheapest is not always cheapest”. This however is changing with new global management structures, and is in my view the single largest threat to safety anywhere in our industry. Fortunately as stated in point.3 the oil companies drive for the latest technology and most modern types. When management sit detached from the operation and whose sole focus is to cut cost, eventually safety will be compromised and by then it will be too late to go back. This, again purely in my own humble opinion, will likely be a major feature in any future report worth its salt. This is not purely the fault of the operator. They are often forced by the oil companies, however there is an element of joint ownership of this particular problem. This is one for the highest levels of management in oil companies and helicopter operators alike to sit around the table and set some basic rules again.
7. Finally - an Authority and a Union structure that protects the industry against cowboys! I am not saying for one minute that there are any cowboy outfits in the North Sea. However if the threat is there, the wolf is at the door and the operators will feel they need to do whatever possible to cut cost to keep the wolf at bay.
That is my take on it. Last friday was a tragic day for all of us who fly, maintain and work on the rigs. Quit the blame game. We are all to blame, every damn one of us in a small way. Now lets identify how we make it better for everyone.