A new direction for safety policy: The offshore oil industry and safety regulation of technology

Certain government agencies commissioned to ensure safety in industries utilizing potentially dangerous technologies have lately been criticized as ineffective or unnecessary. In the offshore oil industry, however, governmental and private have developed an unusual relationship, sharing the responsibility of safety policy. The Minerals Management of Service (MMS), a government agency, is the official policy regulator. It works closely with the American petroleum Institute (API), a private body which publishes recommended practices (RPs) for offshore operations. Theses RPs, although not required by law, establish a safety standard which is commonly more stringent than the MMS requires. Therefore the industry is, in effect, self regulating. This arrangement has been effective, insofar as the US offshore safety record compares favorably with those of other nations. Yet assessment of the present system reveals weaknesses, among them the lace of risk assessment. The newest element of offshore safety policy known as SEMP, was intended to address some of these deficiencies. Unfortunately, in its present form it is inadequate. We recommend four modifications to increase its effectiveness. The bottom line is that safety can never be fully assured, and prescriptive safety measures are ultimately inadequate for the refulation of complex systems based on high technology. Offshore, the SEMP initiative should be modified to increase its effectiveness. If this is successful, the offshore oil industry could serve as a model for other industries, wherein governmental and private regulators of technology could cooperate to maximized the effectiveness of safety policy. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd