How do you prioritize safety protocols when faced with tight maintenance deadlines on an oil rig?

Planning is key, trained staff, collaboration, risk assessment in place, proper planning and everyone knows what are their tasks. proper communications, lock out and tag out in place, work permits and proper tools and instruments to ensure environment is safe.

Safety meeting before and after shifts and document those, Walk the entire project with all who will be involved. Let them get on the same page about the entire project. Encourage all to ask questions and identify any hazards that may be on site before every shift.

In a dangerous career the emphasis of time is always a bad idea. You can get same results with better quality by removing time and selling bonus. It's best to offer reward to complete a task than. Informing that it needs to be done by a certain time. It removes much of the stress. Remember that your maintenance crew doesn't like fixing broken equipment they are trained to fix it. And are very good at thier jobs otherwise you wouldn't have them perform the task at hand.

In a field of extreme danger there are things that should be taught and carried. The use of printed plastic business card size instructions can be worn or carried in your pocket. This provides a reference in a very chaotic situation. It's known that if you have a reference card it actually allows the brain to slow to a calm productive and more aware state. Additional the employees should have belt worn extreme situation kits. Kit should contain minimal necessary items such as tourniquet, Ace wrap, and clotting powder. Only extreme aid kits more than a "bandage emergency".

Prorization must be given to critical tasks that if compromised while being performed could lead to fatal consequences. These tasks include the identification and removal of all known energy sources through isolation, verification, documentation and physical lockout. Confined space entry when a completed permit has identified that all requirements of entry are being met by the issuing authority, the entrant and the standby worker. Other critical tasks that require stringent oversight and prioritization include work to be performed at heights, and hot work to include burning, cutting, welding and grinding. In all the above examples, communication, training, tools, equipment and supervision are essential to successful project management.

I don’t see a difference between tight maintenance schedules and safety protocols. Maintenance schedules are safety protocols and if they come into competition with time, production, or money it’s time to have a word with the contract managers who agreed to the tight schedules in the first place.

I feel that in this field where risk is much greater and dangers are more abundant. The use of Virtual reality would be a game changer. The ability to walk through the Steps without the dangers. It also helps translate the instructions. When your mixing different experiences levels terminology can vary. Which could lead to unpredictable barriers and miscommunication.