The oil and gas industry continued to face multiple challenges in 2022, including sharp volatility in oil demand, supply chain constraints and workforce experience levels, with many in the workforce who were new to the industry or their assigned duties. These factors led to an increased opportunity for HSE exposures. In the face of these challenges, Pioneer continues to respond by prioritizing the health and safety of our workforce.
Employee Safety
The employee Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) and Serious Exposure rates increased year-over-year for 2022. However, when taking a closer look at the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) recordable events, it was noted that the majority of the events had minor outcomes and/or occurred at administrative locations. The increase in the serious exposure rate identified opportunities for improvement, which are being addressed with our annual strategic health, safety and environmental goals. This approach is designed to ensure that we continue to prioritize the highest-risk events, bringing increased visibility and proactive, consistent solutions to these more urgent situations.
Motor Vehicle Safety
At Pioneer, the desire to improve, even in areas where we already succeed, means we are constantly exploring innovative ways to positively impact our driver and transportation safety culture. Pioneer seeks to provide proven, sound and effective practices to our employees through education, training and sharing best practices. Our goal is to place our employees in the best possible situation to proactively engage in problem-solving prior to driving, and remain alert, educated and engaged while actively on the road. We leverage our HSEMS, which allows us to use a comprehensive approach as we execute and improve our driver and transportation safety culture.
Pioneer expects all motor vehicle incidents to be reported, regardless of severity. Pioneer defines a motor vehicle incident (MVI) as any incident involving a company owned/operated motor vehicle, in gear and under physical control of the driver. Reportable MVIs that count toward the overall rate are incidents where a Pioneer employee or third-party sustains an injury that requires medical treatment beyond first aid and/or where a company or third-party vehicle cannot be safely driven from the scene. Pioneer continues to maintain a low motor vehicle incident rate (MVIR) even as activity levels have increased.
Award-Winning Driver Safety
For the fifth year in a row, the National Safety Council and the Texas Department of Transportation have honored Pioneer with the Texas Employer Traffic Safety Award. As the National Safety Council stated in its award notes, Pioneer is “a leader in the area of traffic safety and an example for Texas employers statewide.”
Contractor Safety
The contractor TRIR for Pioneer locations increased in 2022; however, when looking at our contractor serious exposure performance, there was a 12% improvement year-over-year. Pioneer contractors have realized those results through a focused shift towards risk-based proactive cultures and continuous improvement of the five Pioneer contractor program elements: pre-qualification, selection, onboarding, evaluation, and monitoring and decommissioning.
Contractor Partnership Program
Pioneer’s Contractor Partnership Program is a documented contractor relationship-building program between Pioneer field leadership and a contractor’s leadership. The purpose of our Contractor Partnership Program is to increase accountability for HSE performance, improve communication of key HSE messages and implement proactive measures to foster risk mitigation and incident prevention.
HSE Training
Our HSE training program covers both compliance and cultural HSE topics, ranging from incident management to confined space to behavior observations. The training curriculum follows OSHA standards and includes both new-hire orientation and ongoing training for our employees. Pioneer’s program assigns targeted training based on each employee’s pre-defined exposure ranking for a more meaningful learning experience. In 2022, Pioneer dedicated tens of thousands of HSE training hours to educating our highest-exposure frontline employees. A complete list of Health and Safety performance metrics is provided in the Sustainability Performance Data Table.