Zonal Area Safety Program

ZASP: How it works and how it can keep your people better informed and your critical activities safer and more efficient.

Boots, coveralls & conversations...

It's only when you spend time in a specific zone on a rig, through a formal agreed program that you can really see the challenges, the hazards and the problems and only then, know how to drive accountability and change through communication and trust.

ZASP 2025.

The Zonal Area Safety Program Initiative focuses on specific areas of a rig that are pre-agreed and locked into a weekly schedule for the duration of the rig campaign.

Each zone is then visited per week by the client rep (usually the HSE Supervisor) together with the area focal point to go over a simple set of 4 key elements.

The Zones that qualify range from the drill floor, derrick, shakers, mud pump / mix area & pit room, the cantilever or pipe decks, marine and main deck crane crews, maintenance areas and emergency response preparedness.

The service companies are also featured under the main group from cementer, mud engineer, casing crew, logging unit / mwd, solids control & wireline.

The Zonal Area Safety Program covers all disciplines so if the E&P client has a specialist service provider on the rig this can be included into ZASP at any time.

Such contractors for example can include H2S, Coil Tubing, ship & skip or MPD.

Other specialist areas such as containment and environmental compliance can be locked into ZASP.

What makes ZASP so successful...

ZASP concentrates on a specific rig area once a week and allows the site owner(s) (for example the Mud Engineer & Derrickman in the Mixing Area) to meet with the client rep to discuss the area condition, ongoing live activity, taking note of any observations, hazards or challenges and to drive any rig programs, such as BBS, TRAC or TBT's and confirm compliances with industry standard Life Saving Rules or similar initiatives.

Each weekly session goes through a simple 4 step process that is scored against for record keeping. Any ongoing problematic issues can be added to the client Action Tracker for chase up and close out. All observations go onto the rigs' observation program, so the drilling contractor can take care of their usual business.

The final recorded output from each site visit is added to the database for tracking and continual improvement. This process takes minutes and is designed to be efficient and doesn't over burden the ZASP Champion.

When designed for a clients site, ZASP is done daily with normally 2 area zones completed each shift from the agreed schedule (the weekly schedule is displayed on client notice boards and discussed each day in the HoD Meetings). The findings each day are recorded into the client daily HSE Report and referenced in the client morning call.

Used for around 20 years at live drilling sites, the ZASP method and style of interface is one of the most powerful mediums in the industry, helping to improve ownership and area accountability, which impacts into the mindset of key supervisors - the overall outcome is an improved focus on safety and zonal efficiency. See the models below:

The picture demonstrates a typical group meeting on a rig where one or two people will do most of the talking, for example, (RM/DSV/OIM). Although this demonstrates a level of leadership, we get little engagement and usually a one way conversation - this isn't being critical but highlights what's been done on rigs for many years and is still the same today.

The ZASP method. An example of a Client HSE Rep during a weekly visit to a work area to discuss real time activity, the chance to make observations, discuss area problems or challenges and to provide support. These visits help build relations and trust between client and contractor.

After many years of running ZASP, we've found that speaking to crewmembers and service company reps at their work areas or zones, results in a more open style of conversation - sharing ideas and solutions, at the same time building trust.

ZASP Benefits & Summarization:

Once ZASP is established, repeat weekly zonal visits start to build trust between the client, the rig and service company crews.
Repeated visits to area zones each week improve rig communication quicker than any other method. People won't and don't like to speak in safety meetings, pre-tour meetings or even conference calls. When people are in their own work zones they relax and will happily talk freely with confidence.
Each unique weekly area visit will catch dynamic change as the rig moves through the operational program. No two weeks are the same; areas such as the mix / sack store will store and handle new chemicals, the cement unit might have done a cement job or days of pressure testing. The rig could have new personnel arriving each week. ZASP helps to catch and monitor these changes in a structured, positive way.
Over time, area zones will see an improvement in housekeeping levels due to the anticipated nature of the weekly visit criteria.
The weekly zonal visits will help to push a continual improvement mentality by raising standards of housekeeping and equipment organization.
Zonal visits promote the understanding of Life Saving Rules and help encourage others so this becomes a more familiar language between crews as opposed to being just a poster campaign.
Provides the client HSE Rep at site (normally the ZASP focal point) a more structured role to play by becoming more proactive and in control of area concerns, as opposed to being reactive and waiting for something negative to happen!
During the weekly zonal site visits the client HSE Rep gets to see more of the key rig areas under a formal agreed program; its been proven that the longer a person spends on a rig, the more likely they are to walk past a hazard or poorly conditioned equipment (becoming rig blind). ZASP avoids this symptom by returning to each zone each week with fresh eyes and clear focus.
ZASP doesn't interfere with the rigs' existing safety initiatives, such as BBS, Hazard Hunts etc, but runs alongside as an additional resource, creating a unique set of KPI's for for future sharing and learning.

thezaspinitiative