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Saudi Aramco
Drilling & Workover Organization
Failure to Report Incident

July 2014
The Alerts are provided to all Drilling and Workover Operations Foremen and Liaisonmen so that we all learn from the
experiences of others. The knowledge of this incident could prevent similar ones from happening in the future.
Saudi Aramco policy requires the information in this Alert to be communicated to all crew members and documented on
morning reports.

What happened?

May 2014. A Well Site contractor was performing tasks in worksite with bulldozer; during the
excavating operations a fiber optic communication cable for Southern Area Gas Producing
Wells was damaged; this harm was not reported. IT personnel found out about the damaged
cable and repaired it.

Consequences:

 Loss of communication between the Division and Southern Area Gas Producing Wells.

Why did it happen?

 The risk assessment at the work site was not conducted

 Bulldozer was operated in a restricted area without proper PTW or supervision
 There was no barriers/tape to prevent heavy machinery entering restricted areas
 Failure to comply with the company’s policy to report incidents immediately.

What should be done to prevent reoccurrence?

 Well Sites Engineer and Contractor Foreman shall conduct a Pre-Task Risk Assessment
to verify the hazards have been identified and the mitigations to reduce or eliminate the
hazards are in place.

 Accentuate the Saudi Aramco Reporting of Incidents Policies (G.I. 6001, SMS Element
09; HSERM A-22).

 Discuss with field personnel the roles and responsibilities on incident notification
process

 Conduct drills to familiarize field personnel with Incident Reporting Protocols