In a release sent to Rigzone recently, the North Sea Chapter of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) revealed that a further 29 organizations have signed up to its mental health and well-being charter.
Following the latest additions, a total of 35 companies who work in the UK Continental Shelf have now “pledged to protect and improve conditions for workers by introducing the mental health and well-being charter”, the IADC outlined in the release. A full list of these 35 companies, as presented in the release, can be seen below.
- 3t Training Services (previously AIS Survivex)
- Aker Solutions
- Alvie Kerney
- Asset-One
- Atlas Professionals
- Borr Drilling
- Dräger
- Drillmar Resources
- Ernst & Young
- Expro
- EY
- Harbour Energy
- Health4Wind
- International Medical Management Inc.
- Ithaca Energy
- John Wood Group
- KCA Deutag
- Mearns & Gill
- Noble
- Opito
- P3 Business Care
- PD&MS Group
- CMC Peak Performance
- Port of Aberdeen
- Proserv
- Rig Surveys Group
- RMI Global Solutions
- Seadrill Deepwater Units Pte Ltd
- Seafarers Boost
- Step Change in Safety
- The REACH Group
- UK Chamber of Shipping
- Valaris
- Well-Safe Solutions
- Wood
The release highlighted that signatories of the charter believe the industry can and should:
- Initiate a company and industry-wide cultural change.
- Demonstrate transparency and accountability through internal and external reporting.
- Build mental health and well-being awareness among employees.
- Foster effective people management.
- Encourage open conversations about mental health and well-being and provide employees with good working conditions, including a safe psychological space.
- Provide comprehensive training.
- Give mental health and well-being the same high priority as physical health.
- Offer customized mental health support and guidance.
- Routinely monitor mental health and well-being.
- Share best practices.
In the release, Darren Sutherland, Chair of the North Sea Chapter of the IADC, said the backing of the industry was critical to the charter being successful.
“The continued input and active support across the industry gives us the confidence and determination that this will be a success,” Sutherland noted in the release.
“We have already had constructive discussions with organizations across the sector, and almost 200 people from operators, contractors, mental health professionals and third sector organizations were consulted during the drafting of the charter,” he added.
“It is extremely gratifying to have more companies sign up to the initiative, and it shows it is something that is not only needed, but also something that is being embraced,” he continued.
“We are challenging the status quo in the industry and providing support to companies that will help them improve their approach to mental health and change the lives of colleagues,” Sutherland went on to state.
The release also revealed that Valaris has donated GBP 10,000 ($12,129) to the cause.
“There can be very few companies or individuals who have worked in the industry that have not been impacted by the enormity of mental health issues and many that have experienced the tragedy of suicide,” Jools Coghill, Manager – Operations, at Valaris, said in the release.
“We applaud the lead taken on this issue by the IADC and are pleased to support the drive for change. As an industry we have to do much more to support our colleagues’ wellbeing, and we are hopeful this donation will help achieve that,” he added.
Sutherland stated in the release that the backing of organizations such as Valaris cannot be understated.
“The problem is an industry-wide one, and it is important we all come together to help solve it, and that has been exemplified by Valaris donating this money,” he said in the release.
The development of the 10-point charter follows the publication of a report from the IADC, which urged a new approach to mental health in the North Sea, the IADC release noted.
World Mental Health Day took place earlier this month, on October 10. On the same day, in a statement posted on its website, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which describes itself as Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety, stated that the scale of reported work-related stress across the UK economy has been increasing year on year and added that it is campaigning for employers to take action.
“Small actions done routinely can make a huge difference to how stress and mental health issues are recognized and responded to where you work,” Elizabeth Goodwill, head of the work-related stress and mental health policy team at HSE, said in the statement.
“Employers should make it routine to check in with individuals and teams about pressures they’re facing and agree actions to help prevent and address them,” Goodwill added.
Rigzone has asked industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) for comment on the IADC’s release and HSE’s October 10 statement. At the time of writing, OEUK has not yet responded to Rigzone’s request with a comment.
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