Oil and Gas industry launches the Common Safety Training Program

On 25 March, Australia's oil and gas industry launched a new safety training program, initially for new employees working on offshore drilling and production sites.  The Common Safety Training Program (CSTP) is a major initiative of the APPEA CEO Safety Leadership Forum (an annual coming together of the industry's chief executives and managing directors to talk about safety and only about safety.

The Common Safety Training Program is a significant step forward for the oil and gas industry and represents a new and rigorous approach to entry level safety training.  It brings together a structured off the job program followed by a period of workplace demonstration.  Participants must successfully complete both components to earn a 'Common Safety Training Card', issued by the industry's independent reviewer.

Initially developed for the offshore industry, the program will be progressively rolled out for onshore personnel including the coal seam gas sector in Queensland.  Over a period of two years all existing personnel working on offshore production sites will also be assessed against the Common Safety Training Standard and be required to obtain a card.

Since the launch, and the subsequent implementation date (6 April 2010), APPEA has been actively supporting the industry to meet the new requirement.  APPEA and the CSTP Industry Management Group are currently working with a number of training organisations to authorise them to deliver CSTP in the Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria.  In Western Australia, IFAP and ERGT are the first training organisations ready to deliver the CSTP, and similarly, Baseline Training is ready to provide training in Queensland.

With over 20,000 new employees anticipated to join our industry over the next few years, the timing of this initiative is vital.  While this is an exciting period of growth, it also brings challenges.  Delivering on safety and ensuring eveyone demonstrates the high safety performance essential to our industry will be critical.

The unique style of the CSTP training is already being considered for other areas of the industry.  It is widely acknowledged that competent supervision is one key factor in delivering safe work practices in the offshore oil and gas construction arena.  A broad-based consultation process is currently underway with stakeholders regarding a business case for developing and implementing a Standard of Competence for Offshore Oil and Gas Construction Supervisors.  This work seeks to outline the types of competencies required; training delivery methods; and a proposed model for assessing the competence of supervisors, and for providing industry-wide recognition of this assessment.