Scott Randall Boots & Coots International Well Control, Inc. Houston, TX

Transcription

1 The Boots & Coots Center for Fire Safety & Pressure Control: a Collaboration between Oklahoma State University and Boots & Coots International Well Control, Inc. Michael D. Larrañaga, CIH, CSP, PE, PhD Qingsheng S. Wang, PhD J.D. Brown, PE, CSP School of Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK Scott Randall Boots & Coots International Well Control, Inc. Houston, TX Abstract Boots & Coots International Well Control, Inc. and Oklahoma State University have joined to create the Boots & Coots Center for Fire Safety & Pressure Control. The Center s purpose is to advance the state-of-the-art in fire protection, safety, and petroleum operations risk management worldwide through education, training, research and innovation. In addition to training and education, the curriculum will include a Distinguished Seminar Series, the development of a hazard management competency assessment matrix, researching best practices to support Boots & Coots Hazard Management Process and the development and delivery of a Petroleum Fire Safety and Pressure Control Certificate Program. The Boots & Coots Center was funded for an initial of period of 3 years. Background and Introduction Boots & Coots International Well Control, Inc. (Boots & Coots) in establishing an association with Oklahoma State University (OSU) collaborated to establish the Boots & Coots Center for Fire Safety and Pressure Control to benefit from interaction with an academic institution and improve its reputation among customers as a knowledge and technology based service provider. In August 2009, a strategic commitment was made by the Boots & Coots Executive and Management Team to pursue this association in Subsequently, Establishment of an Institute for Fire and Safety Engineering with OSU was listed as a Service Quality Initiative in

2 the Boots & Coots 2010 Strategy Planning Teams White Paper. Additionally, over the past year there have been petroleum engineering curriculum developments at OSU that make this association more attractive to Boots & Coots. For example, the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology (CEAT) has started a Petroleum Engineering Minor supported by courses in petroleum geology, fluid dynamics, drilling and production and reservoir engineering. Association with OSU s School of Fire Protection and Safety Technology (SFPS) offers Boots & Coots a vehicle for strengthening the perception by our customers that we are a knowledge based trusted advisor rather than simply another oil field contractor. Similarly, the Fire Protection and Safety Technology (SFPS) department at OSU is concerned with raising its profile within the University. There is a feeling among some at OSU that the SFPS program is more vocational than academic and the SFPE is actively seeking research and development activities to change this perception. As such, the SFPS department does not compete well for internal funding and faculty assignments compared with other departments in CEAT. Association with a company such as Boots & Coots and the establishment of an institution such as the Fire Safety and Pressure Control Center will help the SFPS attract additional students, faculty and funding. It will also lay the foundation for a graduate program, which is a long-term goal. Thus, both OSU SFPS and Boots & Coots have strategic interests in establishing the Center. With this in mind, Boots & Coots and the SFPS are proposing the establishment of the Center in 2010 and have jointly developed the following vision and mission. Vision To become the premiere fire, safety and pressure control institute for the international petroleum industry. Our professionals will be renowned for their knowledge, integrity, commitment, compassion and confidence under pressure. Mission The Boots & Coots Center for Fire Safety and Pressure Control is committed to advancing the state-of-the-art in fire protection and petroleum operations risk management worldwide through education, training, research, and innovation. Set up and General Organization Initial funding for the Center will come through a restricted gift to the OSU Foundation by Boots & Coots. A restricted gift allows B&C to indicate that the donation shall be used to manage and direct the activities of the Center and that is spelled out in the Memorandum of Understanding

3 with the Foundation in Attachment 1. Those monies, then, can only be used for Center Activities. The eventual goal is to create a self-sustaining research, training and technology development institution. Oklahoma State University will develop and host a website for the Center and promote it via social networking modes of communication. Governance and oversight of the Center will be via an Advisory Board, with representatives from Boots & Coots, OSU and at least one other member from the upstream and/or downstream Petroleum sector. Functionally, the Center will be an extension of the Boots & Coots Technology Group, with one member of the Technology Group in Houston assigned as the liaison to work with the Center s director to help plan and execute the activities. Figure 1 outlines the reporting lines for the Center. Figure 1. Boots & Coots Fire Safety & Pressure Control Center Organization Boots & Coots Petroleum Industry Representative(s) OSU School of Fire Protection & Safety B&C Technology Group Fire Safety & Pressure Control Center Advisory Board Center Director Student Intern Student Intern Student Intern OSU Faculty (as required) Continuing Education Department Fire Safety Institute & Publications The Center will be housed in the SFPS and will be led by a departmental faculty member mutually agreed upon by Boots & Coots and the SFPS Department Head. Figure 2 illustrates the function and organization of activities related to the Center and how they relate to different departments at OSU.

4 Figure 2. Function and Organization of Activities-Fire Safety and Pressure Control Center English Learning Institute School of Fire Protection and Safety Boots & Coots Center -Best Practice Promotion -Quality Assurance -Applied R&D -Technical Competency -Student Mentoring -Distinguished Seminar Series Continuing Education Fire Protection Publications International Fire Service Training Association Oklahoma State Fire Service Training Training Delivery/Mgmt. Testing/Recordkeeping Scheduling/Coordination Document Publication B&C Legacy Series Live Fire Training Grounds Fire Training Recordkeeping Boots & Coots School of Fire Protection and Safety Faculty and Students Technical Competency Training Development Training Instruction Student Development Anticipated Activities of the Center Short Term-Year 1 In the first year of operation, the Center will focus on sponsoring the Distinguished Seminar Series, strengthening our training materials, developing a hazard management competency assessment matrix and researching best practices supporting our Hazard Management Process. The anticipated medium to long term activities involve the development of improved quantitative risk best practice and applied research and development. The proposed areas of Boots & Coots/OSU collaboration for the Center in 2010 are described in more detail below. The Boots & Coots Distinguished Seminar Series Creation of the Boots & Coots Distinguished Seminar Series to enhance the student experience and promote fire safety and industrial security at the highest levels of business, industry, and government. This series replaces the existing School of Fire Protection and Safety Distinguished

5 Seminar Series, which brought speakers such as, John Howard, Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; James Shannon, President, National Fire Protection Association; Warren K. Brown, President, American Society of Safety Engineers; John Norman, Chief of Special Operations, FDNY and Search and Rescue Manager for the 9/11 World Trade Center Attacks; and John Bresland, Chairman and CEO, United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. The Boots & Coots Distinguished Seminar Series would schedule high profile speakers related to fire, safety and risk management in Petroleum industry. Education and Training Jointly develop a Petroleum Industry Fire Safety and Security competency assessment tool and competency matrices. These would identify the level of competence and specific training that different industrial petroleum industry professionals in various roles would need in order to prevent and manage fires at oil and gas drilling and production sites. Jointly develop and deliver the Petroleum Fire Safety and Pressure Control Certificate Program. This would be a certificate primarily for Boots & Coots NOC customers. We envision various tracks (and combinations of courses) depending on the role of the attendee. For example, toolpushers might have a different certificate track than drilling engineers depending on the fire and safety competency matrix developed for each. The overall framework for the certificate program content would cover (to varying levels of detail) each element of the Boots & Coots Well Control Hazard Management Process shown in Figure 3.

6 Figure 3. Boots & Coots Well Control Hazard Management Process WELL CONTROL HAZARD MANAGEMENT PROCESS Prevention & Mitigation Response & Recovery Hazard Identification Initial Incident Response Hazard Assessment Implement Controls Each step in the process corresponds to a learning module in the program. Control & Recovery Restoration Pre-Event Post Event The certificates would involve classroom training courses, hands-on fire fighting and emergency response training. We expect that the classroom training would be delivered at the customer s site while the hands-on emergency response and fire fighting conducted at OSU. The classroom courses would build off and provide more structure and reference materials for existing Boots & Coots courses such as: Basic and Advanced Petroleum HSE Safety Training Bottom Line Incident Command Systems Well Control Emergency Response Plans Table top Drill/Simulation Exercises The Strategic Event Plan Emergency Response Guidebook HAZWOPER/Emergency Response Hydrogen Sulfide Training Flammable Liquid & Gas Fire Training By the 4 th quarter of 2010, we would like this program ready to offer to Boots & Coots petroleum industry customers in the US and overseas.

7 Develop the Hazard Management Process and Best Practices in Qualitative Risk Develop our Hazard Management Process and Best Practice Procedures in Qualitative Risk. In parallel with the course development, we envision the Center developing best practices using qualitative hazard Identification and assessment techniques and tools such as HAZIDs, HAZOPs, Hazard Registers and Causal Models using Fault tree/event Trees for Well Control hazards. After the first year, we would see the scope of our joint activities evolving to include more research and development. At this time, we foresee Boots and Coots sponsorship of specific research projects undertaken by faculty and students related to compiling and analyzing historical data related to fires from oil and gas well blowouts worldwide. Medium term(years 2-5) Applied Research and Development Development of causal models (fault tree/event trees) based on historical data from actual fires resulting from oil and gas well blowouts. Frequency of occurrence for various types of events based on historical data for various events (or scenarios) as identified by the causal models. Best Practice in Quantitative Risk Medium term Best Practice activities would consist of the following: Best practice procedures and database for quantitative Well Control Hazard Management techniques such as QRAs, CFD modeling and Fire Protection Analyses (FirePrans). This would build on the R&D activities listed above. Benefits of Establishing the Center Establishment of the Center offers numerous benefits as described below. Increased Name Recognition and Brand Development Collaboration with a university will strengthen our brand and image with customers and future employees through advertisement of our name. The most visible example of this is the sponsorship of the Boots & Coots Distinguished Seminar Series, which will underwrite two lectures per year by renowned experts in the field of Fire Safety. The Center will also promote the Boots & Coots brand through the University s Fire Protection publications, the International Fire Service Training Association, the Center s website and social networks and the Boots & Coots logo on the Distinguished Lecture Series. Access to OSU Continuing Education Courses and Resources; Promotion of B&C Courses OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, through its Continuing Education department, has courses such as HAZWOPER, Fire Protection Hydraulics and Emergency Management Planning that we can market to our customers. The Continuing Education

8 department can also help us market some of our Well Control courses through their catalogue and website. Access to OSU Fire Field, Engineering Faculty and Student Interns The Center will have access to the SFPS Fire Field for demonstrations, hands-on fire fighting drills and research. Additionally, the Center will act as a conduit for engaging OSU engineering faculty for research projects identified by the Boots & Coots Technology Group. Finally, student interns with a Petroleum Engineering Minor will be available through the Center to work at Boots & Coots as Fire and Safety Engineering Assistants at one of our Safeguard project locations. Strengthened Market Position in Training Services Sponsorship will improve our market position for training services. Our competitive position with Integrated and National Oil companies is being undermined by the lack of accreditation of our training courses. Unfortunately, no registrar or accreditation body exists for some of these. Association with OSU and peer review by the Center would allow us to claim that all our courses have been sanctioned and accredited or approved by a third party. Developing a more robust and approved well control training program using the Center will strengthen our market position relative to other well control companies. Improved Quality of Training Materials Sponsorship will improve the quality of our training materials and further develop our Hazard Management Process. We have not taken the time to standardize the format nor strengthen the content of our training courses. Many were either developed and delivered quickly for specific customers or are standard courses from the IADC or other organizations. As such, they are not sufficiently differentiated from those of our competition and their presentation and quality of content are not consistent. The result is an overall training offering that is not complete, professional or competitive. The presentation and the intellectual content will be improved by commissioning students and faculty to standardize the format, peer review the content and create manuals and supporting materials. Development of the Hazard Management Process and Services Our Hazard Management Process provides the framework under which all our courses and consulting services fall. This approach creates a differentiated service offering for training and consulting services. Even so, some aspects of the Hazard Management Process are not well developed nor documented and lack training courses and background materials. Finally, we have not yet used or offered certain risk management tools and techniques to our customers that are a necessary part of the Hazard Management Process. To help us develop these new offerings, the Center will commission students to research best practices in the areas of qualitative and quantitative risk management tools.

9 The SFPS will also benefit from hosting the Center. One of the stated goals of the department is to enhance the student experience. The Center will enhance the experience by providing an opportunity for students to work with industry on research projects in their field: fire protection and safety. It will also provide students with an exposure to Boots & Coots and the petroleum industry. The Distinguished Seminar Series will bring recognition to the Center from outside the University. Finally, faculty may have the opportunity to teach Boots & Coots customers through delivery of some courses in the certificate program. SCHEDULE An implementation schedule for establishment of the Center is shown in Figure 4. This contemplates a November 2009 approval by Boots & Coots board and a kickoff of the center in the spring semester (mid January) Figure 4. Boots & Coots Center Implementation Schedule ID Task Name Start Finish Sep 2009 Oct 2009 Nov 2009 Dec 2009 Jan /20 9/27 10/4 10/11 10/18 10/25 11/1 11/8 11/15 11/22 11/29 12/6 12/13 12/20 12/27 1/3 1/10 1/17 1/24 1 Develop Rationale/Business Case 9/21/ /15/ White Paper 9/21/2009 9/30/ Budget 9/25/ /9/ Proposal Dev & Exec Review 10/9/ /15/ Proposal Complete 10/23/ /23/ Approval and Funding 10/15/ /30/ OSU Proposal Review 10/15/ /30/ B&C Board Approval 11/6/ /6/ Disburse Funds 11/30/ /30/ Develop Plan and Center Kick-Off 1/12/2010 1/26/ Develop Yr 1 Activity Plan 1/12/2010 1/22/ Organize Inauguration 1/12/2010 1/22/ Secure Facilities and Resources 1/12/2010 1/26/ Kick-off Center 1/26/2010 1/26/2010 BUDGET The budget was developed in collaboration with the School of Fire Protection and Safety, totaling between $242,000 and $311,000(depending on the option selected) in the first year and approximately $90,000 per year thereafter for the first 3 years. In some cases a 2% adjustment was applied to account for annual inflation. The only difference between the two options is a 10 year vs. a 3 year commitment to the Boots & Coots Distinguished Seminar series. This budget does not include funding for special research projects that may be commissioned by Boots & Coots in years 2 and 3. We would seek case-by-

10 case approval for these projects after year 1. It also does not include the possibly non-billable internship costs for students working on Safeguard locations such as Algeria and Libya. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION The establishment of the Boots & Coots Fire Safety and Pressure Control Center is strategically consistent with the company s vision and strategy for development and growth of pressure control and risk management services for the petroleum industry. We plan to begin to market the Certificate Program developed by the Center to our customers and expect to realize revenue from selling the program and the spin off consulting services as early as Compared with the listed benefits, the costs for establishment of the Center are reasonable. Thus we recommend approval for 3 years of funding to the OSU Foundation be granted by the Boots & Coots Executive Team and Board of Directors. Michael Larrañaga, PhD, CIH, CSP, PE Michael Larrañaga is Associate Professor and Department Head of the School of Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology at Oklahoma State University. Dr. Larrañaga serves as Director of the Boots & Coots Center for Fire, Safety, and Pressure Control and the US Department of Homeland Security Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Scholars program at Oklahoma State. He has extensive experience in forensic engineering and incident investigation. He is a registered professional engineer, certified industrial hygienist, and certified safety professional. He earned a BS in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State, a MS in Environmental Science-Industrial Hygiene from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and a PhD in Industrial Engineering-Ergonomics/Human Factors from Texas Tech University. Qingsheng Wang, PhD Qingsheng Wang is Assistant Professor of Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology at Oklahoma State University. He received Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University with an emphasis in Process Safety. His research has been in the fields of fires and explosions, process safety, and risk assessment. Qingsheng is a member of Sigma Xi, ASEE, ASSE, AIChE, and National Safety Council. Dr. Wang is the author of more than 20 peerreviewed journal papers with more than 100 citations, and also the invited referee for 17 international journals. J.D. Brown, P.E., CSP Professor Brown has been on the faculty of the School of Fire Protection & Safety since He has a wide experience in the field as a practicing safety professional for more than 25 years. Prior to turning to the university classroom in 1989, he was a Safety Engineer for

11 Rockwell International, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and was the Safety Administrator for the Sacramento, CA Municipal Utility District. Professor Brown has a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Utah State University and a MS in Safety from the University of Southern California. Professor Brown is a registered Professional Engineer in California (Safety) and a Certified Safety Professional (Engineering Practice) Scott Randall Scott Randall is Technology Development Leader for Boots & Coots International Well Control, Inc. He has a BS in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech and a master s degree in international business from Thunderbird School of Global Management.