Holding crews accountable for safety-critical tasks can minimize procedural drift

Procedural drift, or the slow and steady uncoupling of practice from written procedure, can put offshore rig crews at great risk for hazardous events during drilling operations. The reasons for this phenomenon are many, from written procedures that are out of date or excessively time consuming, to passive toleration of procedural drift from management. While some procedural drift may be inevitable in any organization, it can be minimized by holding crews accountable to safety-critical procedures. In this video from the 2015 IADC Human Factors Conference in Galveston, Texas, on 21 October, Deepwater Subsea President Michael Fry explains how offshore drilling contractors can reduce procedural drift and promote proper adherence to procedures.