This is a fabulous opportunity for contractors and service suppliers to network with producers without having to travel to Calgary and make appointments with prospective clients in the oil and gas industry. These producers will be available for two full days for consultation.

This years’ expo will include a dinner and breakfast with guest speakers, up to 80 exhibitor booths, indoor and outdoor static displays portraying some of the most modern equipment in the oil and gas industry today.

This will be the biggest Energy Expo to date!

Excerpt from IOGCC website:

Participants in this year’s Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission Midyear Meeting June 3-5 in Vancouver, British Columbia, can benefit from a rare opportunity to interact with officials from U.S. states and Canadian provinces who are helping shape the future of oil and natural gas exploration and production.

This unique opportunity brings together government officials, industry executives and many other interested individuals to discuss Developing North America’s Oil and Gas Resources. Sign up today and learn from high-level presentations and casual networking discussions about how the North American energy resources will be developed – all at one of the world’s most beautiful locales.

Audit Tree was created by contractors for contractors. It is based on the belief that contractor qualification systems should help contractors meet industry standards and that there are already effective programs in place, such as the COR program and the CAPP Contractor HSE Questionnaire, which the industry needs to use as a base and build on.

Audit Tree’s system was born out of the frustration from contractors in the oil and gas industry where hundreds of millions of dollars are being spent on HSE data entry systems that are not providing oil and gas producers with a basic level of due diligence and are not helping contractors build effective health and safety programs.

It is currently a “Lose – Lose” for oil and gas contractors and producers.

Here are some of the benefits of Audit Tree’s Basic Pre-Qualification Certificate:

No Cost – There is no cost for contractors to complete the Basic Pre-Qualification. It is free to all contractors (that have a SECOR/COR) and it is free for oil and gas producers and other hiring companies to view a directory of qualified contractors.

Industry Solution – The Basic Pre-Qualification is recognized by a growing list of oil and gas producers and other hiring companies. It works for the entire industry.

Contractor Help Desk – Contractors are provided with a detailed help system that walk contractors through the process and provide contractors with information to build their safety programs. As well, an experienced health and safety reviewer provides direct feedback for the development of the contractor’s health and safety program. 

Time – Companies that are SECOR/COR certified can complete the Basic Pre-Qualification in less then 15 minutes. Audit Tree uses established industry standards to ensure contractors are not answering the same questions that they have completed already.

We know that they last thing an oil and gas contractor needs is another contractor qualification system. Audit Tree is a solution that helps contractors create excellent safety programs and ensure oil and gas producers have the level of due diligence they need.

If you are a contractor that is frustrated with the current contractor qualification systems, register your company today for the Basic Pre-Qualification Certificate. It takes 15 minutes, it is free and will it allow your company to pre-qualify for oil and gas contract opportunities.

Audit Tree is committed to developing a contractor qualification system that works for contractors and producers.

We are working for a “WIN – WIN” solution for the entire industry.

Oil and Gas Contractors: Register Today! for the Canadian Petroleum Industry’s Basic Pre-Qualification

Lorraine Mitchelmoore was appointed President and Canada Country Chair on November 1, 2009. She joined Shell in 2002 and has held various Senior Management positions up to her appointment in 2009 as President and Canada County Chair.

http://sepac.ca/assets/files/SEPAC-WinterSpring2012%20Web.pdf

What is an “Online Review Auditor”?

Well an on-line review auditor is an industry professional who reviews customized audits on behalf of any company or organization wishing to assess the qualifications of companies operating in a particular industry or sector of an industry. In my case this relates primarily to safety qualifications but really could be regarding any qualifications or standards that an organization wishes to set and verify. The BC Based Business standard is a good example of something that isn’t safety related but can be audited using a system like Audit Tree. The “on-line” aspect stems from the fact that the documentation for any given audit is all submitted through an on-line portal and can be reviewed by a qualified auditor, anywhere in the world where there is internet access.

Where are you located right now?

Steve Unruh completing a review audit in his “office” November 30, 2011.

As we speak, I’m sitting on my deck, beside the Caribbean Sea on the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies.

How are you able to complete an effective audit from St. Lucia?

Well that’s one of the amazing things about living in the digital age. With the technology that exists today, any work that is administrative in nature can be conducted pretty much anywhere on the planet. The biggest part of most audits is a review of systems and their supporting documentation. That can all be scanned and uploaded using the internet, reviewed online and sent back at the touch of a button. It is actually far more efficient than the old, travel to a remote location and dig through files method that was such a big part of audits in the past.

In addition, if direct communication with either the submitting company or the reviewing organization is required, the digital age allows for both email and face to face conversations through technologies such as Skype, MSN or Facetime, something that would have been difficult even 5 years ago.

What are the benefits to “Online Review Audits”?

I think the most obvious benefit is efficiency. Doing audit reviews in this manner eliminates the need for time consuming and costly travel and it creates a much more streamlined method for the reviewer. As more and more companies recognize the efficiency of digitizing their own systems and documentation, this efficiency will only increase.

Beyond that, and I think of even greater value, is the opportunity for communication between the reviewer and the submitting company. If you believe the purpose of audits is to improve health and safety systems and their application in the field then one of the most valuable aspects of this method is the opportunity for a professional auditor to provide feedback to companies on how to improve their systems. Their is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding in the ways companies interpret their health and safety obligations and putting these companies in direct contact with experienced people who can provide direction and explanations is invaluable. This isn’t meant to be a punitive or confrontational process, it’s intended to be a way of assisting companies to improve and that, for me, has so far been the most rewarding part of this type of work.

What are the drawbacks over traditional field audits?

The only drawback that I can see at this point is that it’s one thing to have a paper system but implementation of that system can look very different on the ground. This doesn’t give an auditor the opportunity to “see” the application of the system. A traditional audit consists of basically three things, paper review, interviews and physical conditions surveys. The first two can be effectively managed through the on-line process but the last one does require putting ones feet on the ground, however for most of the different kinds of audits that can be accommodated by Audit Tree that isn’t really a necessary component.

You mentioned that qualifying organizations / contractors get much more out of the online review process… than HSE pre-qualification questionnaires. Can you chat about that?

Yes certainly. As I mentioned earlier this isn’t a confrontational process. I think traditional audit systems and registries are viewed confrontationally by the businesses being asked to jump through the hoops so to speak. I think that’s true of the regulatory process as well. A lot of that negative perception stems from a lack of understanding and a lack of communication on both sides of the system. Businesses don’t necessarily understand what’s being asked of them and qualifying organizations don’t necessarily communicate very well on how to achieve what’s being asked or even why it’s important. Through this process there is an opportunity for the audit reviewer to facilitate communication and to provide clarification to both parties and this in turn creates a value added component that just isn’t there in traditional judgement based auditing. I think, often times, businesses feel like they’re being left in the dark when working in other systems. They feel like there is a lack of support, that there is no one to explain what is being asked of them or how to achieve it. I think the value of what Audit Tree is trying to accomplish is in putting that resource in place. When a business gets stuck there is someone there to help and when they get through the process they can see where they got value out of it.

What organizations can use online review auditing? How do they use it?

Oh this could be so broad in scope. Any organization that has a need to assess and verify information to a standard that they see as important to them could make use of this system and this process. In particular if efficiency and cost effectiveness are important to them. In health and safety the examples are obvious but we can see how effective it has been with the BC Based Business standard which has nothing to do with health and safety and everything to do with business and community. Governments at every level from regional districts, to school boards to municipalities, volunteer organizations, any organization that is or needs to evaluate member or business relationships could make use of this system.

How does a professional health and safety auditor become an online review auditor?

Well since this is relatively new, certainly in the oil and gas industry, this is fairly uncharted territory at the moment but I would say the first thing is ensuring you have a broad base of experience in the industry. You want to be in a position to provide as much guidance and direction to the clients as possible and the industry is diverse so the broader your experience the more successful you will be.

Secondly, you have to find an organization like Audit Tree that is growing this sector of the industry. The beautiful thing about where Audit Tree is taking this is that there will be opportunity to work as much or as little as you like. If you want or need flexibility in your work life, if you want to live someplace less traditional but still have opportunity to utilize your knowledge and experience helping companies and organizations improve their health and safety performance or whatever aspect of the work world you happen to be involved in, this is a great way to do it.

Steve Unruh lives with his family in St. Lucia where he operates Solstice Safety. He conducts online safety audits and safety consulting services for various producers and contractors in the Canadian oil and gas industry. Steve can be contacted at his email address, solsticesafety1@gmail.com, for additional information on Solstice or his experience as an online review auditor.

Keynote speaker: Danielle Smith, Leader of the Wildrose Party

December 5, 2011
8:00 am – 6:00 pm
The Sutton Place Hotel, Edmonton, Alberta

Check out there website for more information.

http://www.ccab.com/abs-edmonton-december-5-2011

1. Online support information specific to the qualification – Having support information specific to the qualification gives the qualification organization the information they need,when they need it. At the qualification level, (i.e. CAPP Contractor HSE Pre-Qualification), at the section level in a qualification (i.e. Workplace Impairment) or at the question level. (i.e. Does company have a Drug and Alcohol Policy?). This information may include; a paragraph providing general support/information, support videos from an industry expert, sample policies, sample forms, links to relevant information or websites, educational videos on the topic, and information on consultants that may be able to add value and one-on-one consultation.

2. A community forum where contractors, online review auditors, and industry experts can all discuss everything from general industry issues to question specific support. This forum allows a contractor to ask a specific question to the industry and get feedback, or provide information that may help other contractors. This online forum would also be a way to continuously improve the questions in the protocols and the support available to contractors.

3. The ability to communicate directly with the professional auditor who is reviewing the self audit completed by the contractor. This is the greatest advantage of Audit Tree. Having an industry expert to communicate with is the key to helping contractors improve their management systems and ensures they are getting valuable information they need. This process can be a formal audit or a informal gap analysis.

The advantage of a dynamic support system is qualifying organizations can access information specific to the qualification they are working on. Audit Tree is not only a qualification system, but a step-by-step support platform for qualifying organizations to develop a management system to meet any CSR qualification in any region in any industry.

All of the “expertise” was in-house. We learned and continuously improved our safety program and our business.

In recent times the petroleum industry has seen an increase in small, medium and even large contractors outsourcing the development of their safety programs to “safety consultants”. The safety consultants develop safety manuals and communicate the company’s safety information to hiring companies through various HSE data entry systems. There are three reasons for this:

1. Complexity of questions in HSE data entry systems – hiring companies focus on complicated legal and liability questions, not safety.

2. No support platforms – HSE data entry systems don’t help contractors meet HSE qualification standards or continuously improve their safety management systems.

3. Poorly designed and confusing user interfaces in online HSE data energy systems

Safety consultants may be a more cost effective option for small businesses, although this presents a major problem for the industry as a whole. Companies using a safety consultant will not have as a reliable safety program versus companies that have developed internally, as they will have not developed the expertise essential to a highly functioning safety management system.

It is now possible for a contractor to not have any involvement with the development and implementation of their own safety program, or even the communication of their safety program into the HSE data entry systems. In many cases the contractor may not even know what data the safety consultant is entering into the data entry systems.

One safety consultant’s website exclaims: “We ensure 100% acceptance in 72 hours or less. We will write, build, and create your entire manual as mandated by major gas, oil and petroleum owner-clients.”

Although this seems like an ideal solution from an owner perspective, it is not safety consulting, it is safety evasion. The sole purpose of service is to obtain approval by a hiring company (producer), regardless if the contractor has a safety program that is actually being implemented or working.

If the petroleum industry is going to make real improvements to safety they need to ensure HSE qualification system promote and encourage in-house safety expertise and development, where contractors are managing their own safety programs.

What are your thoughts? Please give comments below.

Qualifying for and maintaining internationally recognized standards may strain corporate resources. Corporations need to ensure that the qualifications they meet are recognized by their stakeholders otherwise they may not obtain a social return on their investment.

One of the international qualifications we discussed was the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which has become one of the most recognized standards in the business world. A few minutes before I received a business card from another GR person who works with a Horn River producer that had the Responsible Care qualification logo on their business card.

The potential challenge for both of these producers is whether either of the CSR qualifications is recognized by the citizens in Northeast BC who reside in communities where producers are operating. Feedback from the community indicates that those CSR standards are not recognized. The majority of people in Fort Nelson (community closest to the Horn River play), will likely not conduct the necessary research to determine what processes are carried out to qualify for the CSR standards or whether it will give them comfort that the producers in the area have the best interests of the community in mind.

My belief is that in the future industry and communities will develop local CSR qualifications that companies must meet. This will ensure that the effort the corporation puts into CSR qualifications is meaningful to the local community.

It will also create the opportunity for local communities, industry and stakeholders to develop relevant qualification protocols and discuss and address specific areas of concern. This will ensure corporation’s resources are being directed specifically to manage the concerns of the local community.

Since the launch of the BC Based Business Certificate program in June, the program has continued to grow in certified companies and recognition. Energy Services BC is pleased to announce it has received letters of support from Blair Lekstrom (Peace River South MLA), Pat Pimm (Peace River North MLA), Mike Bernier (Mayor of Dawson Creek), Bruce Lantz (Mayor of Fort St. John) and Bill Streeper (Mayor of Fort Nelson). See letters of support below.

Community leaders in Northeast BC have recognized that a system to qualify local oil and gas contractors will make it easier for oil and gas producers operating in BC to identify local contractors who are contributing to their communities. A strong local service sector is key to long term development of the the BC oil and gas industry and community support for energy projects in the area.

Energy Services BC encourages all oil and gas contractors with a BC operations centre to become certified as a BC Based Business. It shows your company’s commitment to the community you operate in and adds value to your bid packages for BC oil and gas projects.

Register today!

Aboriginal business continues to grow in the Canadian resource industries that require participating businesses to meet corporate social responsibility qualifications. Audit Tree’s qualifying organization support system ensures organizations qualifying to industry standards have the resources and information they need to meet these standards.

Audit Tree looks forward to working with Aboriginal businesses that are developing Health, Safety and Environment and CSR management systems to meet the increasing standards required to work in the resource industries.