ABS focuses on safety-critical equipment

ABS, a provider of classification services to the global offshore industry, continues to cultivate industry expertise for the development and modification of Rules and Guides with the formation of the ABS Offshore Equipment Advisory Committee.

"ABS once again has taken the lead in working with the offshore industry to advance operational safety," says ABS Chairman and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki. "The Offshore Equipment Committee will provide expert guidance from industry on ways to improve equipment safety, and that guidance will be used to update and improve ABS Rules and associated classification processes."

ABS is creating the Offshore Equipment Advisory Committee to refine the focus on equipment safety and to facilitate information exchange for Rule development and enhancement of classification services for equipment to industry.

ABS Executive Vice President, Energy Development Kenneth Richardson believes the focus on equipment safety is critical to offshore operations. "The formation of this committee is one of the ways ABS is taking safety to the next level - leading the industry toward the next generation of safety tools and systems," Richardson explains. "We are always looking for ways to improve our classification criteria to make them as relevant and helpful as possible. This move will help ABS improve the tools the industry uses to verify operational safety."

Input from the Offshore Equipment Advisory Committee also will enable ABS engineers and surveyors to more effectively carry out associated classification services.

One of the primary focuses of this committee will be to gather information from offshore experts to guide changes and additions to publications like the ABS Guide for the Classification of Drilling Systems.

Equipment manufacturers - one of the groups that will be represented on the new committee - see value in participating in focused discussions that will give them a voice in guiding how safety is improved. Their view is that by working together, owners, manufacturers and classification societies can develop new equipment inspection processes that will make certification more efficient while maintaining a strong emphasis on safety.

Plans are in place for the new committee to meet semi-annually to address relevant technical issues.

"Our thorough and rigorous approach to Rule-making and their practical application is fundamental to our safety mission," Richardson says. "The process we follow invites input from industry that allows ABS to produce the most comprehensive and thoroughly reviewed Rules and effective classification services in the industry."

Adapted from a press release by David Bizley

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