The information environment and information behaviour of the Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) in the context of safety and emergency response: An exploratory study

Abstract

Section 6 of the "Repository policy for OpenAIR @ RGU" (available from http://www.rgu.ac.uk/staff-and-currentstudents/library/library-policies/repository-policies) provides guidance on the criteria under which RGU will consider withdrawing material from OpenAIR. If you believe that this item is subject to any of these criteria, or for any other reason should not be held on OpenAIR, then please contact openair-help@rgu.ac.uk with the details of the item and the nature of your complaint. AbstractThe offshore installation manager (OIM) is a unique role in the oil and gas industry with the legal responsibility for the health and safety of individuals on an offshore installation, as well as holding commercial responsibilities. Using exploratory, qualitative data based on 10 interviews conducted with OIMs, the information environment and behaviour of the OIM is described and areas for further research are explored. The OIM's information environment is one which is complex and relies heavily on both formal and informal sources of information. Two modes of OIM information behaviour are identified; everyday information need, in which the OIM seeks, uses and shares information to maintain safe operations; and emergency information need, in which there is both reliance on information which must be known in order to react to an emergency situation, as well as a need for information to be accessible about the status of a rapidly changing environment. The OIM is both the user of information as well as a source of information for others and as such must be trusted, reliable and automotive.

Forked Times: Documenting “Ordinary Time” in Everyday Life

“…Research on information activities during emergencies or crises emphasizes the time criticality and potential ambiguity of emergent situations. Marcella and Lockerbie (2016) found that the managers of offshore oil and gas installations engaged in two forms of information behavior during ordinary and crisis time: maintaining safe operations, and reacting to a rapidly changing emergency situation during crises. Much of the scholarship considers aspects of the collaborative information practices of members of multidisciplinary communities of practice (Taber and Taber 2013), e.g., trust and respect (Sonnenwald et al 2014), awareness, and coordination of activities (Heath and Luff 1992, Sarcevic 2007, Saoutal, Matta, and Cahier 2014.…”

Research and practice

“…The value of capturing language, stories and explanations of how practices happen over time, by exploring past critical incidents, are emphasised by researchers (Moring and Lloyd, 2013). For example, Marcella et al (2013), in their study of oil and gas industry workers, argue that they avoid the trap of oversimplification by using storytelling, narrative enquiry and critical incident techniques to facilitate open and free discourse. This, in turn, enables participants to give real-life descriptions, in their own words, of how they experience their own information behaviour.…”