Health and safety management in the offshore oil industry

This work-based project is an investigation of the interaction between multicultural crews
and safety management systems and the influences of this interaction on health and
safety in the offshore oil Industry. This study has been carried out in partial fulfilment of
the requirements for the Doctorate of Professional Studies at the Institute of Work Based
Learning, Middlesex University, London. The aim of this project is to minimise
occupational casualties in the industry by exploring the social science paradigms of
human action and cultural diversity, and it relies heavily on ethnographic methodologies.
The qualitative data collection techniques chosen are structured observations, semistructured
interviews, focus groups and a research diary. The key themes that emerged
from the project highlighted the perception of high consequences/low probability risk
among the working community. In this context, the cultural relativity of the hazard
perception is an instrument used to maintain group solidarity. The group that emerged
from this work-based research is culturally-biased according to a ‘way of life’ that
characterises it, and predisposes it to adopt a particular view of society at work. The data
collected and analysed in this ethnographic investigation establish the fact that cultural
bias and shared values have influenced how safety is lived and, most importantly, seen
and perceived by the workforce community. The concept of “cross-cultural safety
consciousness” is proposed in this research, along with a conceptual model for a practical
approach to safety based on its findings, with the aim being to reduce the number of
incidents in the offshore oil industry. The project may have an international impact and
relevance; professional organisations and maritime trade unions have displayed interest in
the outcomes of this investigation.