Subpart O Questions & Answers
Question – 10/23/02: Is the Subpart O Lessee
Training Plan a public document?
MMS Reply: No, the Lessee Training Plan
is not a public document. According to 30 CFR 250.1503 (c) (2), “Upon
request of the Regional or District Supervisor, you must provide: A copy of
your training plan.” Under normal circumstances, lessees are not required
to submit their plan to the MMS. Exceptions include when MMS requests to
see the plan as part of an MMS conducted audit or when deficiencies in the
lessees training program have been identified. Under no circumstances does
MMS approve the Lessee Training Plan. In all cases, after MMS has had an
opportunity to review the plan, it is returned to the lessee.
Question – 10/23/02: Are Letters of Compliance
and Non-Compliance (Appendices H and J, respectively in the Subpart O
Guidance Document) public documents?
MMS Reply: No, Letters of Compliance
and Non-Compliance are not public documents. Subpart O regulations do not
require that MMS issue Letters of Compliance or Non-Compliance. They are
issued as a courtesy to a lessee after completion of an MMS audit.
Question - 10/22/02: Are casing crews covered
under the new Subpart O regulations?
MMS Reply: All
employees who are assigned well control or production safety duties are
subject to the requirements of Subpart O.
Question –
09/20/02:
I am requesting information on
MMS required training for specific occupations in the oil and gas extraction
industry and also for service occupations whose work is done on oil and gas
platforms. If MMS does not have requirements or recommendations, is there an
industry recognized and MMS recognized industry organization that does have
requirements or recommendations?
MMS Reply:
According to MMS's current Subpart
"O" Performance Training Rule which went into full effect on October, 15,
2002, lessee's are free to develop and implement a variety of training
techniques for their employees as long as they are included in their Lessee
Training Plan. The subject rule only applies to lessees involved in well
control and production safety system activities. Lessees are also required
to have procedures in their Training Plan to evaluate and verify the
training of their contractors.
One possible option for a lessee to follow
in meeting the intent of Subpart "O" would be to use the International
Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) Well Control Accreditation
Program (WellCap) for their well control (drilling, workover, and well
servicing) training needs. WellCAP has an established core curriculum, has
been in existence for a number of years, and includes training schools
worldwide.
Additionally, the American Petroleum
Institute (API) has developed a certification program for any type of
training that you may seek certification for. This program is called the
API Training Provider Certification Program (TPCP). There maybe other
certification programs available to the oil and gas industry in addition to
the programs referenced above.
Question – 09/23/02: Does Sub O apply to well
servicing? There is some confusion over the well control definition part of
the rule.
MMS Reply: Yes,
Subpart O does apply to well
servicing. See the definition of well control at 30 CFR 250.1500 to clear
up any confusion on this issue.
Question – 09/23/02: Will MMS hire more
inspectors or use third parties to assist with implementation of Subpart O?
What role will third parties play, if any?
MMS Reply:
At this time, there are no
plans to hire additional inspectors or use third parties to implement this
rule.
Question – 09/23/02: Will District Inspectors
issue Incident of Non-Compliance (INC's), or will INC’s just be issued from
the Regional office?
MMS Reply:
Ordinarily, District Inspectors will not issue Subpart O INC’s.
09/23/02:
Will District Inspectors
conduct only Informal Employee Interviews or will they also participate in
other Sub O auditing activities?
MMS Reply: In the
Gulf of Mexico, Pacific and Alaska Regions,
District Inspectors will normally only
conduct Informal Employee Interviews. Other audit activities will be
conducted under the direction of the Regional Supervisor, Field Operations.
Question – 09/23/02: Will there be surprise
Subpart O audits or will there usually (always?) be prior notification of
audits to the lessee?
MMS Reply: Prior notification will
usually (not always) be given for Subpart O audits.
Question – 09/23/02: During a rig or platform
inspection, what Subpart O documentation will MMS be looking for? Will MMS
only be looking for what the Lessee’s Training Plan requires or something
more?
MMS Reply: During a rig or platform
inspection in the Gulf of Mexico,
Pacific or Alaska Regions, District
personnel will not be looking at Subpart O documentation.
Question – 09/23/02: Will contractors need to
always carry training documentation? Will rigs need to have a full set of
training records? Will manned platforms have to do the same?
MMS Reply: Contractor requirements
depend on lessee expectations, agreements and what is included in the Lessee
Training Plan.
Question – 09/23/02: If a worker stays with a
company for 90 days and then leaves for another company will his records
need to be kept for 5 years?
MMS Reply:
According to this rule records must
be maintained for a period of five years.
Question – 09/23/02: Our company understands the
following basic MMS enforcement strategy. Is this correct? Field
Inspectors will conduct informal interviews, check to see that there is a
training plan/program in place and then hand it off to Regional Personnel.
MMS will collect other data, including INCs, incident reports, etc.
If the collected data
warrants, if a serious training-related incident happens, or if a company is
selected randomly, then the Region will conduct an audit. Prior notice of
this audit will be given. If discrepancies warrant, the Region will issue
INCs or take other actions.
MMS Reply: You are partially correct.
District Inspectors in the Gulf of Mexico,
Pacific and Alaska Region, will only
conduct Informal Employee Interviews. Anything else will be conducted under
the direction of the Regional Supervisor, Field Operations.
Prior notification will usually (not
always) be given for Sub O audits.
Question –
12/26/01: Our company has been sending
foremen to MMS approved well control schools. Their coordinator just
informed me that as a result of internet fraud, etc, after 1/1/02, the
company will no longer be using individuals’ Social Security Numbers (SSN)
for identification purposes. I know that in the past when MMS well control
paperwork was managed out of Herndon, VA, the MMS included the option of
issuing an MMS ID number to put on a students certification card in lieu of
a SSN. My question is this, is it still possible, and if so, who at MMS
would I contact to acquire an MMS ID number?
MMS Reply:
We do not
currently issue an MMS ID number. We stopped this practice in early 2000
when we started telling industry that they no longer had to submit student
training records.
Question – 10/23/01: If a Lessees’ Training Plan
includes information on their corporate HSE policy (e.g., as an appendix
item for additional information), does this information become an item that
the MMS may audit the lessee on?
MMS Reply: Yes, if
this information is relevant to employees who are assigned well control or
production safety duties
Question – 10/23/01: Is there a need for a lessee
to specify in its’ training plan the particular schools that will be used or
is the term IADC WellCAP® accredited training schools sufficient?
MMS Reply: The MMS
does not require that a particular school be specified in the Lessee
Training Plan. However, it may be to the lessees’ advantage to specify a
school in case of an audit by the MMS.
Question – 10/23/01: The MMS “Subpart O” Guidance
Document indicates that “an acceptable level of content” is expected for a
Lessees’ Training Plan. Could you provide some additional details?
MMS Reply: The MMS
is not willing to specify an acceptable level of content for a Lessees’
Training Plan. However, the MMS expects the Lessees’ Training Plan to
contain enough information to show how the lessee addresses the six key
items that “Subpart O” requires.
Question – 10/23/01: How will the MMS verify that
the Lessees’ Training Plan provides a process to ensure that employees
understand and can perform their assigned well control or production safety
duties?
MMS Reply: MMS
will hold the lessee accountable for implementing whatever process they have
included in their training plan. To verify that the lessee has actually
accomplished this, MMS may use record checks, interviews, hands-on tests,
written tests, or audits. See the MMS Subpart O Guidance Document for
additional information.
Question – 10/23/01: If the lessee plans to
independently audit the contractors’ training program, do the audit results
have to be documented, maintained, and made available for inspection?
MMS Reply:
No, but the audit report may be used as verification that the
lessee has procedures in their plan to verify the training programs of their
contractor personnel.
Question –
10/23/01: Where must documentation be
located (Wellsite/Lessees’ office/Contractors’ office/Training school
office)?
MMS Reply: The
lessee can specify this in their plan. Documentation maybe in multiple
locations, but according to 30 CFR 250 & 1503 (c) records must be available
to the MMS.
Question –
10/23/01: Is the lessee required to
have documentation verifying that employees understand and can perform their
assigned duties?
MMS Reply: Yes.
This documentation should be based on what is specified in the Lessees’
Training Plan.
Question – 10/23/01: Will prior notification be
given to the operator of an informal employee interview at an offshore
facility?
MMS Reply: No. An
informal employee interview may be conducted offshore during a routine MMS
inspection.
Question – 10/23/01: During an MMS informal
employee interview at an offshore facility, is the employee or contractor
personnel competency assessed?
MMS Reply: No.
The inspectors will utilize the Informal Employee Interview form that is
included in the Guidance Document. The questions on this form all address
the company’s training program.
Question – 10/23/01: Is testing at the conclusion
of a training course sufficient to verify adequate retention of knowledge
and skills?
MMS Reply: If
testing has been identified in the Lessee Training Plan and the lessee can
demonstrate that the method works then this method can be verified as
“sufficient”.
Question – 07/26/01: What
caused the MMS to draft the Subpart O regulations on well control and
production safety training? Did the agency notice an increase in offshore
accidents?
MMS Reply:
For many years the MMS
implemented a school based OCS training program for well control and
production safety activities. This program was based on a detailed set of
prescriptive regulations which lessees needed to comply with. These
requirements, as with all MMS regulations, represented the minimum standard
a company must achieve. In an effort to improve upon this standard and the
overall performance of the industry, MMS drafted new performance based
regulations and published them as a Final rule in the Federal Register on
August 14, 2000.
Prior to publication, MMS
conducted an extensive outreach program to the OCS oil and gas industry, as
well as the training community to get feedback and suggestions on how best
to develop this type of system. We are confident that this initiative
will lead to safer and cleaner OCS operations by providing industry
the mechanism to develop new and innovative training techniques and the
flexibility to put them into practice in an effective manner.
Question – 07/26//01: How
will shifting from accrediting schools to holding offshore companies
responsible for worker training help to make oil and gas operations safer?
MMS Reply: The MMS believes that this
shift in responsibility from the regulator to the oil and gas industry will
allow
company’s to focus their training
resources on the most important areas of their program, resulting in
safer and cleaner OCS operations. A
significant difference between MMS overseeing a school-based training
program and having a company make decisions on the type of training their
workers should receive is “responsibility”. Under the new performance
system, company’s conducting well control and production safety operations
on the OCS will be responsible for determining and implementing appropriate
training programs for their employees. This will require company management
to evaluate a wide range of options in developing their programs, and make a
decision on how to best achieve improved performance.
Question – 07/26/01: Are the
new Subpart O regulations meant to reduce operator error?
MMS Reply: As
previously stated, the new Subpart O regulations are meant to provide for
safer and cleaner OCS operations. It is the hope of the MMS that these
regulations along with other aspects of our regulatory program will
contribute to minimizing human error and improving the overall management of
OCS operations
Question – 09/06/00: In
reviewing NTL No. 2000-N03 - Clarification of 30 CFR 250, Subpart O – Well
Control and Production Safety Training, I have a question concerning
implementation. "Are we subject to the timetable of each of our customers as
to when we can switch to the new Subpart O? Also, do we have to train our
employees at the discretion of each operator customer? If the answer is
yes, then am I to assume that I must run our training program to meet the
needs of our 30 or so customers' in the GOM as well as meet their different
timetables as to when each goes to the new Subpart O?”
MMS Reply: As you
have pointed out, your company may have to address some differences between
Lessees’ Training Plans. We are hopeful that you and your customers will
work out a reasonably timetable that both of you can live with. We cannot
predict if different lessees will require you to modify your training
program to address company specific issues.
Question – 04/19/00: Do service personnel need to
be trained according to 30 CFR Part 250, Subpart O--Training, §250.1506(a)
if they are installing or servicing electronic submergible pumps, or
troubleshooting and repairing the related electronic peripherals such as
drives switchboards, and transformers?
MMS Reply: Service
personnel do not have to be qualified in accordance with §250.1506(a) if the
service personnel are working on equipment supplied by the company (e.g.,
electronic submergible pumps), provided the service personnel have received
training and are qualified by his/her company to install, service, or repair
the specific piece of equipment or device, and if the service personnel are
accompanied by an individual who is trained under Section §250.1506(c).
This individual must maintain direct supervision of the operation being
conducted and must be capable of evaluating the impact of the work done by
the service personnel on the total system.
Question – 08/25/99: If an
employee is trained outside of the Continental United States is that
training recognized by the MMS?
MMS Reply: Yes,
the training will be recognized by the MMS provided it is included in the
Lessee Training Plan.
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Last changed: 03/28/06