American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2015 - 87

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SpecialReport: Insurance Update
also have expanded our testing facility
in Houston," Cooper details. "We are
making these changes in response to market demand, and to make ourselves more
efficient so we can pass savings to our
clients."

Safety Training
According to Gary Barnett, the safety
manager for the Enviro Clean Group, the
oil and gas industry is maintaining or
strengthening its focus on safety. "Most
of the companies we work with have
better safety trends this year than last
year," he comments. "A few have had to
close their safety departments, but they
are contracting safety training out to
make sure it gets done.
"These companies understand that injuries will make it harder for them to
retain skilled employees and secure contracts," he surmises. "They also know
that a strong safety culture will keep auto
insurance and workers' compensation
premiums low."
To help companies minimize injuries
and comply with Occupational Health &
Safety Administration regulations, Barnett
says Enviro Clean offers several courses,
including:
* SafeLandUSATM, the starting point
for hazard awareness in the onshore exploration, drilling and production industry;
* First aid, cardiopulminary resucitation and emergency rescue classes,
which are in high demand;
* Fire extinguisher training, which
explains extinguisher use as well as when
to get to safety and leave putting out the
fire to the professionals;
* 40-hour and eight-hour hazardous
waste operations and emergency response
(HAZWOPER) sessions; and
* Confined space training.
"In all our courses, we teach the theory
behind the standards by demonstrating
the right way, explaining why it is the
right way, and discussing past mistakes,"
Barnett says. "We want students to have
a toolbox they can use to identify and
mitigate hazards in the field."
Because it wants classes to be relevant
and compelling, Barnett says Enviro Clean
customizes its training to reflect company-specific standards and locations. "We
also offer gap analysis on company safety
plans. If there is a gap in the plan, we will
address it in the training," he says.
The trainers can do follow-up visits to
make sure employees are putting the course

material into practice, Barnett adds. "We
see a few people fall back on old habits or
cut corners, but the vast majority apply
what they have learned," he reports.
"To make sure our training is economic,
we try to adapt it so we can do it at companies' offices or in the field," Barnett
continues. "In the future, we are looking
at bundling popular courses such as SafeLand with first aid or hydrogen sulfide
training to give the client more value."

Although it is rarely a regulatory requirement, Barnett urges companies to
pay for or encourage defensive driving
courses. "Accidents are the leading cause
of injury in the oil and gas industry," he
notes. "It does not do any good to have
the best-trained employees in the world
if they cannot get to the job site.
"We train our employees to drive defensively because we want them to watch
out for poor drivers," he says. "In 2014,

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