Earlier this week, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement hosted the 2014 Domestic and International Standards Workshop in New Orleans. Attended by close to 300 people, the two-day Workshop brought together representatives from government, industry, international regulators, and standards development organizations. The Workshop focused on BSEE's role in national and international standards development, and ways to increase efficiencies in the development of offshore safety and environmental standards.
Doug Morris, BSEE's Chief of Offshore Regulatory Programs, stated, “The forum provided an excellent opportunity for technical experts, standards developing organizations, and 11 domestic and international regulators to discuss in detail how the standardization process can be used to maximize offshore safety and address future technology challenges.”
The Workshop included panels and break out sessions on ways for standards to address challenging environments and how to incorporate new technologies and best practices. Another focus of the Workshop was how standards can address the human factors and training that impact safety.
The BSEE Standards Development program collaborates with national and international standards development organizations to develop new and revise existing standards for safety and environmental protection on the Outer Continental Shelf. This collaboration enables BSEE to minimize the time needed to identify and incorporate new and updated industry standards into its regulatory program.
