A partner in safety for high-risk industries

Andy MacDonald, RelyOn Nutec’s regional managing director for the Middle East, talks to The Energy Year about rising safety standards in the GCC’s oil and gas sector and how the company’s tailored workforce training is supporting regional localisation drives. RelyOn Nutec provides accredited training and tailored workforce development solutions for high-risk industries.

To what extent have safety standards risen in the GCC’s oil and gas sector in recent years?
Looking at the region broadly, safety standards have improved significantly. The presence of international oil companies have contributed to this through their joint ventures with the national oil companies in the region.
Minimum standards are mandated and regulated by the NOCs in each market. Each NOC has its own HSE compliance matrix including safety training requirements that the supply chain must adhere to. There has also been an increase in the amount of mandated training accredited by international awarding bodies. Approved training providers like RelyOn Nutec are audited rigorously by the awarding bodies ensuring training, personnel, facilities and equipment adhere to the highest international standards. This in turn, raises the quality of training and overall safety levels.
Improving safety is of paramount importance to RelyOn Nutec. We do not cut corners and will not pass candidates we feel are not ready. To do so, could potentially put people, assets and the environment at risk.

What position does RelyOn Nutec have in the Middle East and how key are workforce development programmes in this region?
The Middle East and the UAE in particular are strategically important. Our Dubai facility is our regional hub supporting our Qatar centre, drilling training operations in Saudi Arabia and partner training sites in Kuwait and Northern Iraq.
Regionally, growing production and nationalisation targets are increasing the demand for skilled local personnel. RelyOn Nutec’s workforce development solutions support the industry with these requirements. Our Drilling School has trained national drilling crews in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and the Fire Academy has trained industrial firefighters in Kuwait. These programs support our clients’ talent management strategies focussing on recruiting, developing and promoting local personnel. Demand for workforce development programmes will increase substantially in the next few years to support the demand for skilled personnel.
Our specialist electronic Control of Work application WorkSafe has been supporting operations in Iraq for over 10 years. WorkSafe is an Integrated Safe System of Work (ISSoW) that manages organisations’ work control procedures including risk assessments, permits to work, energy isolations, confined space entry and lifting operations. The system has numerous advantages with the overall objective to improve safety and compliance.

How does the nature of your clients vary depending on the specific market covered?
In the UAE, we tend to do more business with the major service companies active in the region. These service companies employ and onboard their personnel from their regional HQ’s in Dubai. We support this process by delivering the required training before personnel are deployed to the various projects throughout the region.
In other countries like Qatar and Kuwait, we are working more directly with the operators and the focus is on training and developing existing personnel.

In what ways is RelyOn Nutec embracing the principles of digital technologies?
RelyOn Nutec has invested heavily in digital technologies. Our digital division was created through acquisition and currently comprises eLearning, a workforce management application and an electronic control of work system.
Initially, the Middle East region was slow to embrace new learning technologies. However, the pandemic related travel restrictions required different approaches and solutions. Post-pandemic, we’ve embedded a hybrid or blended learning model where the theory is either taught via eLearning or virtually by our instructors and the practical elements delivered physically in our training centres. If we take the blended Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET) course as an example – theoretical elements are delivered digitally over two days and the practical modules are delivered over one day in our training centres. This model reduces time away from operations and saves candidates’ travel and accommodation costs.
Simulation is another expansion area for RelyOn Nutec. Our range of drilling and crane simulators create highly realistic scenarios allowing operators to train in a risk-free environment and to practise difficult operational procedures and challenges. This technology decreases operational risk, improves efficiency, raises competence levels and reduces non-productive time.
We will continue to invest in technology and are working in partnership with Area9 blending their adaptive learning platform and technology with our existing solutions. Adaptive learning assesses how the learner responds to the material making the content more targeted. The technology has numerous advantages including reducing learning time, raising proficiency and improving retention and engagement.

What growth expectations do you have for the Middle East region?
Moving forward, we will continue to grow our presence in the region. Given the differences in the individual markets, we have specific objectives and service portfolios for each country.
Our priority in Qatar is to continue to increase the range of internationally accredited training we offer in this market and accelerate the use of digital learning technologies.
In Saudi Arabia, we will continue to align with the industry’s In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) strategy by delivering workforce development solutions for new hires and experienced national personnel.
The plan for Iraq is to increase the range of internationally accredited training solutions available in the market.
With the UAE and wider region’s oil and gas production projected to increase significantly over the next few years, RelyOn Nutec will continue to be the industry’s trusted partner for safety training and workforce competency solutions.

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