NEW ORLEANS -- The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) one-of-a-kind text messaging initiative now brings critical safety information directly to several thousand workers on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The BSEE!Safe program, launched in May 2019, sends links to BSEE’s published Safety Alerts and Bulletins via text message so workers can receive actionable safety information without unnecessary delay.
“According to BSEE’s staff research, BSEE is the only workplace regulator in the world that delivers critical safety information directly to workers via text message,” said BSEE Director Scott Angelle. “Empowering workers with timely information through technology is just one way BSEE promotes safe and environmentally sustainable operations on the OCS.”
Research shows that among other U.S. federal agencies with authority over safety in the workplace, such as the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration, and the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Coast Guard, BSEE is the only regulator with a worker text messaging program. After research extended to international regulatory agencies in England, Canada, Norway, Brazil, Mexico and others, it is clear that none offer a text messaging service the way BSEE does for offshore workers. “To be first on the planet is the American way,” said Angelle.
Once BSEE was ready to implement the service, BSEE contacted offshore energy company executives requesting they encourage their employees and contract workers to voluntary subscribe to BSEE!Safe. As a result, 3,712 subscribers have opted in and 23 safety alerts and bulletins have been sent, via more than 31,198 text messages, sharing lessons learned and recommendations from incidents and near misses.
“This is an important federal government initiative that, as a responsible operator, we fully support. And so to that extent, we have carefully integrated this support for BSEE’s initiative into our enhanced HSE programs that will reach over 800 of our valued contractor companies” said Andrew Kershaw, Occidental Petroleum Corporation’s executive vice president (offshore). “This has been one of the most useful communication solutions in our industry,” affirmed Issac Dantin, Danos safety director.
BSEE!Safe text notifications supplement BSEE’s long-standing practice of issuing Safety Alerts and Bulletins on its website BSEE.gov and via email and are part of the Bureau’s New Era of Management strategy to drive safety performance through innovation.
“BSEE encourages innovation to ensure energy resources are available for the benefit of the American people,” Angelle said. “As a regulator, we must be creative too. We must focus on communication opportunities in addition to smart regulations.”
“This is so smart. We commend the BSEE leadership for using innovation and collaboration to drive safety performance for the men and women wearing hard hats and steel toe boots while working on the Outer Continental Shelf,” said Gregg Falgout, President and CEO of Island Operating Company, the largest privately owned oil and gas lease management company operating in the Gulf of Mexico and in the major shale basins of the United States.
Offshore workers can subscribe to the free text notification service at https://www.bsee.gov/bseesafe.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) is the lead federal agency charged with improving safety and ensuring environmental protection related to the offshore energy industry, primarily oil and natural gas, on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). BSEE’s safety alerts and bulletins are tools used to inform the offshore oil and gas industry of the circumstances surrounding an incident or near miss. The alerts and bulletins also contain recommendations to help prevent the recurrence of incidents on the OCS. With its New Era of Management strategy, BSEE is driving safety performance and environmental stewardship improvements beyond regulations through innovation and collaboration.
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