FAQ

That is for each organisation to determine. IOGP wants to help the industry create a culture where people care for and look out for each other. Sadly, we are aware of people who have not reported rule breaking, or who have not intervened, and their workmate has suffered a fatal accident. In a case like this, often the motivation for not reporting was not to be seen as getting someone else into trouble, and in every case the person had to live with the tragic consequences that they could have saved a life had they intervened or reported a Rule violation. Please report all safety violations. We want to create a proactive reporting culture where we address unsafe acts and situations pro-actively; we do not want to create a culture where reporting goes underground.

That is for each organisation to determine. IOGP’s focus on personal accountability for following the Rules is about care and concern for the individual and the well-being of everyone who works in our industry. Applying consequence management for a Life-Saving Rule violation, while a difficult conversation, may help prevent a subsequent conversation with family members whose loved one has been seriously hurt or killed. If a Life-Saving Rule is not followed, the reason should be determined, whether or not it resulted in undesirable consequences, and those reasons dealt with openly and constructively.

We want a safe working environment for everyone. If you observe rule-breaking or unsafe activity, you should first intervene if it is safe for you to do so and report it to a supervisor or manager. Yours may be the last opportunity to stop someone not following the Rules having an injury or fatality. If the unsafe act persists or if the violation jeopardises people’s lives, escalate immediately to the person in charge of the work activity or a supervisor, if necessary take the matter to other members of site leadership.

Do not start the activity until it can be confirmed the actions within the Life-Saving Rule can be followed. If, before or during a task or activity, you realise the Rule cannot be followed, stop the job, call a supervisor and carry out a risk assessment to put in place controls that will make the task safe to complete.

Yes. The investigation process for any Life-Saving Rule breach is the same regardless of the potential risk. A Life-Saving Rule violation always remains a Life-Saving Rule violation, even if the potential severity is less than a fatality. The reasons for the violation should be determined and dealt with openly and constructively.

The new Life-Saving Rules are much more focused than the old version. We have removed the duplication of covering standard site rules and National and International Laws in the Life-Saving Rules. “No Smoking” is covered under “Hot Work” (“I identify and control ignition sources”) where smoking areas are controlled on site. “Drug and Alcohol” are site and company rules, one of the pre-requisites for a successful deployment of the Life-Saving Rules is a worker Fitness for Duty process and a Drug and Alcohol Policy. We think adherence to Company Policies as well as National Laws and Life-Saving Rules will help us eliminate fatalities in the Oil and Gas Industry.

IOGP still recommends 1.8m (71”) as the height at which fall protection should be worn. Feedback from the previous Rules suggested the 1.8m caused some confusion as some areas had legal requirements different to 1.8m. Our advice is that where the legal requirement is less than 1.8m the law should always be followed, and where it is more than 1.8m then by using 1.8m you are always in compliance with the law.

The Life-Saving Rules are not a substitute for a good safety management system and wearing suitable PPE in accordance with the requirements identified by risk assessments and work-site policies is a fundamental requirement of implementing the Life-Saving Rules.

A protected area is an area such as an elevated work area or platform not enclosed by hand rails and working in these areas requires the use of approved fall protection equipment secured to an approved anchor point. Other considerations for working at height include ladders, work over water, rope access, floor openings, access hatches, and inspection pits. Floor openings should be protected with physical barriers to prevent falls.

The Rules are not intended to cover 100% of the causes of fatalities. Fatalities due to trench collapse or ground disturbance were in scope for the Life-Saving Rules, but represented 2% of fatalities in 2008-2017 and therefore IOGP decided to focus on other topics. As the program is fully implemented, the causes of fatalities may change, but in the meantime, many of the hazards associated with this work are covered by the “Work Authorization” Rule.

The intent is to engage individuals to actively look for and avoid line of fire hazards. The Line of Fire Rule is different kind of rule and intended to enable the individual to be more aware of their position and interaction with activities, people, and equipment around them.  A majority of IOGP member reported fatalities may have been prevented had the individual not been in the line of fire.