Digital technologies will be crucial to bridging the gap between long-term cost efficiency and enhanced safety in projects and operations, said DNV GL in The State of Safety, a special report from its survey of senior sector players in the oil and gas industry. According to the report, digital technologies are attractive to companies as it often helps compensate for human error – identified as the primary cause of 60 percent to 80 percent of industrial accidents. In fact, 40 percent of respondents believed that digital technologies have already improved safety over the past three years.
Against this backdrop, DNV GL expects digital technologies to continue enhancing safety practices and hazard management by facilitating more effective and transparent risk communication. It predicts new investments in safety this year to target the digitalisation of safety monitoring, processes, and responses.
“Where the oil and gas industry has traditionally relied on mechanical and hydraulic safety barriers, it may increasingly rely on more efficient and cost-effective electric solutions and digital barriers in the future. We see all-electric solutions attracting substantial interest and opportunities relating to using digitalization to simplify process control and process subsea safety,” said Frank Børre Pedersen, programme director, DNV GL Group Technology and Research.
At the same time, the report cautions that existing operations guidelines and standards must be revisited, such as in the area of cyber security, to ensure that they remain relevant as new technologies are adopted.
Credit: DNV GL