CAUTION It All Starts with Safety: HSE professionals help protect Alaska's oil and gas workers.

• Author: Newman, Amy
• Position: OIL & GAS

Whether on the North Slope or a rig in Cook Inlet, working in Alaska's oil and gas industry is a high-risk endeavor. The state's largest remote workforce faces dozens of potential dangers every day: explosions and fires, confined spaces, exposure to hazardous chemicals, the potential for slips and falls... the list is long. And compounding these dangers are frigid temperatures, whiteout conditions, daylong darkness, and even the occasional wandering polar bear.

So, it's not hyperbole to say that one of the oil and gas industry's top priorities is protecting the health and safety of both its employees and the environment by implementing safety protocols that minimize the risks and help mitigate damage should an incident occur. Engaging the help of health, safety, and environment (HSE) specialists is a critical part of creating and implementing effective safety protocols.

"A health, safety, and environmental professional is a competent person when it comes to industrial health, occupational safety, and environmental compliance," says Ezequiel Chalbaud, director of QHSE at Fairweather. "HSE professionals look after the health, safety, and well-being of their fellow workers, the HSE management systems that drive regulatory compliance, and best practices within their organization."

It's a complex job description that requires a diverse skill set.

"On any given day, an Alaskan oilfield HSE professional could wear many, many hats," says Carrie Whitfield, project manager with the Alaska Safety Alliance. They may be performing administrative office tasks and ten minutes later they are across the field taking air samples to ensure workers aren't entering dangerous spaces."

Their exact rotes and defined responsibilities vary depending on the size and scope of the project, the organization, and the size of the HSE team itself, but all HSE professionals play a crucial role in ensuring the health and safety of Alaska's oil and gas workers.

An 'Alphabet Soup' of Experience

HSE professionals help set the tone when it comes to safety, working to promote a safe workplace environment, and serving as models of appropriate HSE behaviors. They acquire the requisite knowledge through a mixture of education, training, and on-the-job experience.

"A lot of the HSE professional's skill set in this industry is gathered over time," Chalbaud says. "Practical experience in the field, ideally under strong mentorship from senior HSE professionals, is extremely valuable.

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