Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) along with representatives from the North Texas Exploration & Production Safety Network (NTEPS) participated in a ceremony on March 18 in Arlington, Texas, marking the revival of the safety association.
The NTEPS association is a volunteer organization based in North Texas that is an independent network of the National Service, Transmission, Exploration & Production Safety (STEPS) organization. STEPS was formed in 2003 by OSHA and industry in an attempt to reduce injuries and fatalities in the oilpatch. The STEPS organization has grown to include 22 independent networks serving 19 oil and natural gas producing states.
Following the ceremony, participants shared best practices with the group as a way to identify hazards and recognize solutions.
“We are excited about working with NTEPS to be able to train and share information that will make it safer for workers in the oil and gas industry,” Jack Rector, OSHA’s area director in the Fort Worth office, said in a statement. “It is the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe workplace for their employees and to ensure they have the necessary training to identify hazards before someone is injured or killed, and NTEPS will serve as an excellent resource to communicate safety and health information to the industry and save lives.”
NTEPS, which was founded in 2008, was disbanded at the end of 2014 as the downturn in energy prices forced job losses among the industry’s senior leaders. The group will continue to meet on the third Friday of each month to discuss safety information that can be shared with industry workers and contractors.
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