OMB SupportingStatement_Part B_ Industry Safety Data clean

OMB Control Number 2138-NEW

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

2. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

1. Describe the Survey Procedures.

This data collection is voluntarily provided by the oil and gas industry Unlike a survey, where all respondents are expected to respond, BTS will receive reports when industry submits them. There is no sample selection for this data collection, because reporting is voluntary. Under the Phase I scope of the ISD program, there were 9 companies who expressed interest in participating on the planning team as early implementers for SafeOCS. Of the 9 companies, there were 6 operators, 2 drilling companies and 1 service company. All one-hundred entities regulated by BSEE will be eligible to submit reports to BTS whenever they experience a qualifying event, i.e., human injury/fatality, damage (loss) of assets, or negative environmental impact related to oil and gas operations on the OCS. The exact frequency of near-miss events is unknown as this is a new collection effort. Previous experience suggests that it takes industry members several months to become familiar with and build enough trust in a program that involves confidential reporting of potentially serious or catastrophic events. Therefore, initially, we do not expect reports received by BTS to be representative of all near-miss events in the industry. As confidence in this effort increases, reporting of near-miss events is expected to become more representative of true near-miss events in OCS oil and gas operations.

2. Description of procedures for the collection of information.

Respondents will have the option to mail via the U.S.P.S. or submit ISD electronically to BTS. Respondents will provide information such as: (1) Name and contact information; (2) time and location of the near-miss event; (3) a short description of the near-miss event and operating conditions that existed at the time of the event; (4) contributing factors to the event; (5) results of an investigation or safety analysis report; (6) any procedural changes as a result of the reported near-miss event; and (7) any other information that might be useful in determining ways to prevents such events from occurring.

BTS will do the following: collect reports related to incidents, near misses and stop work events, submitted by industry operators, their contractors, and service providers working on the OCS. BTS will also develop an analytical database using the reported data and other pertinent information; conduct statistical analyses and develop public reports; and protect the confidentiality of notices and reports in accordance with BTS’ own statute (49 U.S.C. § 6307) and CIPSEA. In accordance with these confidentiality statutes, only statistical (aggregated) and non-identifying data will be made publicly available by BTS through its reports. BTS will not release to BSEE or any other public or private entity any information that might reveal the identity of individuals or organizations mentioned in near-miss events, or reports without explicit consent of the respondent and any other affected entities.

3. Describe the methods to maximize response rates, and describe how the Department deals with non-responses.

Reporting of ISD is voluntary. Submitting reports directly to BTS will provide parties in the oil and gas industry a trusted means of reporting sensitive proprietary and safety information related to near-miss events thus fostering trust in the confidential collection, handling, and storage of the raw data. Feedback from industry suggests there is substantial reluctance to provide detailed ISD without the additional protections of CIPSEA. Reports submitted directly to BTS through a web portal on the SafeOCS website contains information such as human injury/fatality, damage (loss) of assets and negative environmental impact. Steps have been taken to increase oil and gas awareness of this voluntary program by soliciting industry input on data collection. These steps include ongoing meetings, technical reviews by industry subject matter experts, and conversations with various industry groups.

4. Describe any tests of procedures or methods undertaken.

BTS formed a Planning Team consisting of representatives from companies interested in participating as early implementers for the SafeOCS program. BTS and industry planning teams agreed that primary objective of the pilot effort is to develop “proof of concept” for proposed industry-wide safety data sharing. The planning team discussed the data to be captured for period 2014-2017 to ensure appropriate learning value. Early implementers also coordinated with BTS on the effectiveness of the SafeOCS ISD program design and process. The outcome of this effort to date was that the planning team recognized the importance of industry input to maximize the benefits of data sharing and increase the culture of safety. The aggregated data has the potential to be leveraged to provide a more appropriate analysis and avoid redundancies in data collection. This pilot is ongoing and documentation of lessons learned will be shared in a future report.

5. Provide the name and telephone number of individuals consulted on the statistical aspects of the design and the name of the agency unit, contractor grantee, or other persons who will actually collect and/or analyze the information for the agency.

The team involved with the near-miss data warehousing and data analysis is as follows:

Demetra Collia demetra.collia@bts.gov 202 366-1610 Fen Lang Fen.lang.ctr@dot.gov 202 366-4456 Charlie Han Charlie.Han@dot.gov 202 366-8927	Statistical expert, confidentiality officer, and project manager at the Bureau of Transportation Statistics – involved in providing project management, data processing, and data analysis. Senior programmer with MacroSys -- involved in database development and database management. Senior manager at MacroSys -- prime contractor for the development and staffing of SafeOCS.
Lindsay Beattie lindsay.beattie@dot.gov	Statistician -- involved in providing project support, data processing, and data analysis.
202 366-8522
Amanda Lemons amanda.lemons@dot.gov 202 366-8225	Statistician -- involved in providing project support, data processing, and data analysis.
Anton Mighty anton.mighty@dot.gov 202 366-3436	Statistician -- involved in providing project support, data processing, and data analysis.

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