H S E & M E NTA L H E A LTH
Policy and Diversity Policy. Last year, to
make mental health even more visible, it
was even incorporated into Seadrill’s over-
arching company strategy. Among other
goals like eliminating dropped objects and
delivering environmental stewardship, the
strategy also called for “building physical
& mental health resilience.”
One example of Seadrill’s efforts to raise
employees’ awareness around physical
wellbeing is its support of workers’ par-
ticipation in RigRun. The global program
calls for offshore oilfield crews to compete
– both individually and as part of the rig
they represent – for prizes by becoming
more physically active over a six-week
period. While the ostensible target here
is physical wellbeing, Mr Forrest pointed
out that “there’s also a whole social side
to this” when employees come together to
focus on something fun and to achieve a
common goal. “There is a togetherness in
this. It’s encouragement by positivity.”
Another way Seadrill is tackling mental
health is through psychosocial surveys
– psychosocial simply means something
that involves both psychological and social
aspects. While these surveys had been
conducted previously in some operating
regions like Norway and Mexico where
there is regulator requirement, in 2023 the
company standardized the survey process
across its global operations. Taking this
risk management approach and proactive-
ly managing psychosocial risk factors has
provided Seadrill with actual data around
its employees’ physical and mental health,
which are then used to design programs to
meaningfully improve their wellbeing.
This HealthyWork Survey, first conduct-
ed in September to November last year, was
based on the Copenhagen Psychosocial
Questionnaire, which is freely and publicly
available online. Seadrill also referenced
WHO guidance, as well as parts of ISO
45003, to develop the survey. “This is not
one of those situations where you’re like,
there’s nothing out there that fits what
we do. If you do your research, there are
plenty of pre-existing standards that you
can use to support your own programs,”
Mr Forrest said.
For companies looking to start their
own employee wellbeing or mental health
programs, Ms Moon stressed that fre-
quent communications and consistent
messaging is key. “This means sharing
information around mental health, hav-
ing events and figuring out how often
you want to communicate that, whether
it’s monthly or quarterly, and ensuring
that all employees have access to the
same information,” she said. “Creating
this sense of community and work envi-
ronment that encourages open dialogue
and open communication about the topic
is going to help to make sure your mes-
saging comes off as authentic to your
employees.” Another factor for success is how the
company’s leaders can role-model well-
being behaviors. “Whenever we, as leaders,
share our own stories, it’s really impactful,”
Ms Moon said , adding that it’s been report-
ed that 90% of employees have never heard
a senior leader share a personal experi-
ence about mental health. “A good first
step in promoting mental health aware-
ness is to get the leaders onboard to role-
model the behaviors that we want seen in
the organization.” DC
IADC Launches New Tracking System for
Incident Statistics Program (ISP)
For IADC’s Drilling Contractor Members that do not
currently have their own system or database to
track incidents and hours, the new ISP system can
be used for this purpose at no cost. This new web-
based system creates a complete paradigm shift
in the way the program operates by putting the
individual participant in the driver’s seat. Users now
have direct access to upload data into the system,
as well as on-demand access to reports containing
sophisticated visual analytics.
To learn how your company can participate in
ISP, please send e-mail to isp@iadc.org.
IADC HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENTAL
PROMOTING SAFETY IN THE
DRILLING INDUSTRY SINCE 1940
For more information,
visit iadc.org/isp
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