Rescue & Safety: The State of the Petrochemical Industry
Website: www.theipsgroup.us
Phone: 281–479–4277.
Simon Sinek said it best… People don’t buy WHAT you do; they buy WHY you do it.
The IPS Group believes, practices and teaches excellence in the petrochemical field. We surround ourselves with passionate people that want what IPS/ITCS wants — safety, excellence, and conviction.
The ethos of IPS/ITCS is to do business with people who believe what we believe. They must WANT what we WANT.
So here are a few questions:
• What do we believe?
• What is our methodology?
• What motivates the IPS team? Hint: It’s not money; that is the byproduct of working.
Here is another question: How effective is a safety professional who only works for a paycheck? Continue reading to find out.
Setting the stage:
Although there is a certain utility to rescue that is required and fundamental, The Art of Rescue cannot so easily be described, it can only be felt.
Qualified standby rescue technicians are not only getting paid for what they can do; they are getting paid for what they know. Having the knowledge and ability to safely and effectively apply that knowledge in a rescue situation is mandatory. At IPS/ITCS, we expect everyone to embrace and continue their safety education. To know something is quite different than to understand something. When we are learning something technical, we know the basic principle of how it works. To actually understand something takes time and practice.
To work in the petrochemical / safety industry you must know the basic principles of rescue. It is a perishable skill; unfortunately, the more technical it becomes the more perishable it becomes. The main issue within the petrochemical industry is that most rescuers actually believe that they can perform a technical rescue with a 3-man team in an industrial setting. I personally do not believe this is the case. CDC: Preventing Occupational Fatalities in Confined Spaces
The most basic assessment in rescue is to understand the behavior of an outmatched team. ~Definition: Not enough people to get everything done according to the “standard” recommended practices using 3 people.
Think about what that means. Most Rescuers in the industrial sector attend a Level I Rescue Class. These classes have intermixed names such as: Technical, Structural, High-Angle and/or Confined Space. The class usually entails basic knots, simple haul systems, primitive lowering systems and fundamentals of packaging. The subject matter is taught according to NFPA standards. The NFPA practice is generally accepted by firefighters and other professional organizations whom usually have much larger teams and support systems when deployed in the field.
The 3 fundamental problems:
1. The first being that level 1 rescue requires 6 rescuers (or more) to perform virtually any standard team task.
(Example: On a simple Lower System you need a person to operate the Primary, Safety and Tag Line, while 3-sets of hands holding the basket. This does not include additional personnel for adjuncts, litter attendants, etc. totaling at least 6-Rescue Attendants.)
2. The second problem lies in the current petrochemical industries standard for using a three (3) man rescue team in the field. (This is most likely based on a team billable rate divided by inherent risk.)
3. The third problem is the average rescuer in the field does not realize that they are outmatched until an actual incident takes place by 2:1.
Explanation: The trained safety rescuers are executing in the field with half of the team that they are a custom to, therefore they must be at least twice as good just to meet the minimum requirements. This is a 50% deficiency.
I almost always ask rescue teams if they know the odds against them for entry. I’ll explain that on average, the odds of injury or death are 66% against them. Most rescuers never truly understand what that answer means, and they believe that those statistics are acceptable and understood. I’ll reiterate the hard truth by stating that EVERYONE CAN’T BE PART OF THE 33%! The majority is 66%. Unfortunately, that is how statistics work. That is 3 people per 10 that can get it done without injury or death. Example: With a rescue team having approximately 20 people, who is the 6 and who is the 12? This hard truth leaves almost all new and experienced rescue personnel “salty”!
More interestingly, in my experience, it’s usually not until a rescuer has about 10 to 15 years in the field that they actually understand how difficult it is to perform while working in an inefficient team based on team size. For whatever reason, that is when they start to really learn and hone their craft. If a person pursues any advancement in training on their own accord earlier than that, it’s an anomaly. Most rescue personnel in the field have only attended a “Level 1” type class and maybe a continuation of that by refresher annually. Rarely do these professionals progress to other more advanced training. Because of this, the industry is stifled by a complete lack of “real” knowledge and experience.
Multiple preventative measures are in place to keep real rescues from happening on a daily basis in the petrochemical industry. Without these preventative measures, more rescues would be required. This would open eyes and change the existing perception within the industry. We are not doing our “Stand-by” rescue teams any justice by not letting them get exposure via experience.
Taking into account the lack of extended training, experience and the usage of a three man team vs. a larger team continues to set the stage for discussing what is someone’s problem and what is someone’s fault at the rescue site. Attempting to identify “whose fault it is” rather than accepting that there is a standard level of training that does not match team requirements and expectations in the field overlooks the larger problem. We have to address that we are all part of the equation. Current regulations and policy don’t support the expectations of a three man team.
“If I am in the field and do not hold myself accountable that I and my team cannot get the job done and I do not say or do anything about it… that is a real problem.” — Harry Antonopoulos
Training versus practicing:
Initial training is conducted in the classroom, coupled with hands-on training and verified by testing. Usually, there is a general knowledge test, a knot tying test, and a skills assessment. These tests try to identify the basic coverage requirements of the NFPA and/or a company requirement.
The “real” test of a team comes from how well they can perform TOGETHER in the field. The only way a team becomes efficient is by practice. A team MUST practice together and OFTEN!
Individual assessment is one thing, but a standard evaluation between teammates is typical. In our industry, this is difficult because we have a multitude of teams and members working erratic schedules. The only way an individual team will get better is with daily practice. At some point team comfortability sets in due to everyone knowing what each other knows. We get paid for what we know, not for what we do.
If a team has difficulty performing because particular individuals do not maintain certain perishable skills, and the team is aware of that fact, there is no team! A key part of being on a team is the understanding the basic principle, “A team is only as strong as its weakest link!”
I often ask team members, “If I were out there with you guys every day for a month, how well do you think we would perform?” the answer is always the same. “That would be amazing!” Why is that almost always the response? Because I would not allow a non-cohesive team! I would not allow a team to skip practice! I would not allow myself or someone else to be the weak link! I would push and push and push for greatness! Not because I am getting paid to do it, not because I was the Team Lead, but because I have enough experience to know that if the proverbial shit hits the fan, we MUST perform! I am passionate about what we do, and I want to be surrounded by people that share that passion!
A team that doesn’t function well together can’t perform together. If you are on that team, what does that say about you or your team?
It would be different if a company was sending out people that were not trained. Twenty five years ago people were not even allowed on a rescue team until they had several years of experience. Today with the increasing demand in the field, more and more rescuers are needed to fulfill the demand, it’s just not possible to always send out competent rescue professionals.
Younger rescuers are becoming more prevalent in the industry. As an industry we must accept this fact. More importantly, we must embrace it! While 5-years of experience would be nice, it is not practical. Even if it were, if someone sat in a truck for “standby” rescue for 5-years and never actually performed a rescue, they wouldn’t have 5-years of experience in rescue; they would have 5-years of experience sitting in a truck. Both the rescue operator and the industry as a whole suffers from that scenario. I think it is fair to say, we do not know what anyone would do in a real-world scenario until it happens. I could speculate that about 66% of the guys would fail statistically speaking!
Students of rescue and safety learn and retain information at completely different rates The only way to equalize this imbalance is to practice together. Perform individual races with your teammates on knot tying; critique the speed, gains, knot quality, dressing, and safety. Do the same thing with Haul Systems, Packaging and Lowering Systems. We do not have to perform evolutions to practice. Vicariously, by practicing, we will teach some, we will learn some. This is important because to evolve, we must be involved! If we want a higher level of a person in the field which leads to a higher quality team, we must teach, learn and practice. That is the fundamentals of being our brother’s keeper. This is called coaching.
Where to start:
In the field, start with basic knots and Simple systems. From basic knots and systems move on to more uncommon knots and, Compound, Complex Piggy-Backed, Ganged and Force Accumulation Systems. Start small, finish big!
Technical rescue can be very overwhelming. As team members, we need to evaluate every team, every team member, every day. We must assess what we have to work with. We need to know what tools we have available. If we need to drive a nail, don’t grab a screwdriver, get a hammer; if we are not evaluating by practice we won’t even know the difference.
As management, we must engage our team members. Train, coach and mentor them to nurture the prescribed behavior we want from them in the field. Understand that we must give them more knowledge, experience, and skills to operate at the desired level. We may have to cull the herd or even start over and rebuild if the existing teams cannot change their interactive behaviors with one another.
Final Thoughts:
I want to finish with this. Financial compensation is only 1 of 10 attributes it takes to ascertain and retain good employees. Here are the other 9.
1. Mentored
2. Challenged
3. Promoted
4. Involved
5. Appreciated
6. Valued
7. On a Mission
8. Empowered
9. Trusted
According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 69 percent of firefighters in the United States are volunteers. This tells me that the majority of people that do this type work do NOT do it for the money!
As with ANYTHING in technical rescue, proficiency is a must! Rescuers should have the ability to practice and perfect their craft without being mandated to include or not to include certain skills based on assumption. Remember, technical rescue is not meant to be taught to the lowest common denominator. Rescuers should be critical thinkers capable of learning new skills.
Starting January 2018, I will kick off a weekly YouTube & Blog series that includes a knot of the week, a system of the week and a toolbox talk of the week to help with the growth of our industry. I hope everyone tunes in!
For any questions or input please comment. For additional discussions and information, please check us out on the web at www.theipsgroup.us or call us at 281–479–4277.
Kind regards,
Shayne Torrans
HSEQT Manager
Industrial Performance Services
