Creeping Changes

Abstract

The issue of creeping change was highlighted by the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Key Programme 4 (KP4) which investigated Ageing and Life Extension in the offshore oil and gas industry as an important issue to address when managing ageing assets. Creeping changes can have potentially catastrophic effects on both major hazard safety and production, and have contributed to several major accidents such as the Nimrod loss. Creeping change covers a range of changes in equipment integrity, reservoir and production conditions, and human factors and organisational culture. As the name suggests, creeping changes are those that occur gradually and slip under the radar of processes to identify and manage hazards. • A toolkit to address creeping changes would include: • a methodology for identification of creeping changes • periodic reviews/ audits by a 'fresh pair of eyes' • monitoring changes and taking appropriate and timely decisions to prevent failures • awareness and prevention of procedural drift • moving towards a culture of mindfulness including mindful leadership • embedding high reliability organisation (HRO) principles within the organisational culture.