Facilitation: Facilitating the BP Lifting Authority Global Forums

Concentric Consulting was trusted to help stakeholders in the BP Lifting Authority to identify the key topics for a Lifting Discipline Practice. This was a crucial step in standardising work processes, reducing incidents, and providing consistency with the company’s Operating Model.

Brief

Delivering a step-change in the lifting discipline

Having seen the value delivered through Concentric’s facilitation support working with BP Aviation and diving communities, the team was tasked to provide similar technical workshop design and facilitation for the BP Segment Lifting Authority.

The Lifting Community of Practice Forum would signify a step change in the Lifting discipline. Bringing together key stakeholders the technical workshops were required to:

• Align with the company’s current direction
• Support the development a Lifting Discipline Practice
• Establish what the community would like to see as best practice
• Support the Global Knowledge Exchange by encouraging teamwork and shared learning
• Embed the Group Safety and Operational Risk function
• Create an action plan and monitor progress for subsequent years

Concentric designed and delivered three innovative annual face-to-face forums, each lasting three days, and one two-day virtual forum.

Delivery

Improving understanding and establishing a shared vision

Taking a flexible, approach, the team began working with managers in remote offshore locations and several different time zones, painting a picture of each region’s data, safety, contracts and team size.

The innovative workshop was then designed with two principle sessions:

• Challenges and Opportunities
• Technical Working Group assemblies

Each region presented its ‘lifting picture’, establishing challenges, vision for the next 12 months, look back and current performance. resulted in the community, creating a sense of mutual understanding and positive dialogue.

Concentric facilitated the process of identifying and prioritising challenges and opportunities, placing these on risk frameworks that could be grouped into manageable topics, captured, and prioritised

In the Technical assemblies, specialists presented on requirements for the Lifting Discipline Practice, giving the wider community an opportunity to understand the impact in their region.

Establishing and aligning around shared focus

The workshops provided a stimulating, creative environment where the team could focus on agreed issues and objectives including:

• Risk mitigation and lifting code of practice
• Improving knowledge and understanding of competency
• Considering technical specification applicability in different regions
• Review / Approval / Feedback / Auditing / Reporting processes
• Networking within the team (mix and meet)
• Agreeing detailed action plans

Outcomes

A valued space for collaboration and alignment

Across the workshops and over a four-year period, Concentric was trusted to deliver an honest, open environment where stakeholders could establish agreed thinking and define their shared objectives.

Key outcomes include:

• Clear safety and operational risk assessment using risk-based focus and emphasis with independent overview
• Compliance with the Discipline Practice with standardised work processes
• Deep technical expertise to the line in support of requirements and assurance
• Creating document libraries and a knowledge centre for contracts, specifications, procedures and examples
• Developing lifting programs of training and development across the regions

Following the forum, the Lifting community has taken on increased accountability and compliance responsibility, aligning with group company requirements.