Rules and regulations have always been fundamental to the integrity of a system. Whether it is a financial enterprise like a bank or a health care institution like a hospital, following the rules is what makes a system work consistently. The policies and laws inherent to a system are written and enforced by concerned regulatory bodies. These bodies ensure adherence to laws, regulations, guidelines, and specifications. Some prime examples of regulatory compliance laws and regulations are listed below: Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) Dodd-Frank Act BSA/AML Regulations Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Any violation of regulatory compliance regulations can result in legal punishment, which may be imposed in the form of a federal fine. As it is very much possible for employees of an organization to overlook a regulation and flout the rules, there is a clear need for aRegulatory Change Management systemthat can properly manage and enforce regulations in a particular organization. Regulatory Change Management and Need for Automation Regulatory Change Management(RCM) is a process that ensures organizational policies, procedures, practices, and controls are always aligned with the changing regulations and standards devised by the relevant regulatory authorities or bodies. As the rules and regulations are frequently updated by regulatory bodies, it becomes very difficult to learn, understand and impose the newly created polices. Making use of rudimentary methods for regulatory compliance management just isn’t sufficient anymore. Automation is required for mapping and enforcing the regulations efficiently. You can automate a Regulatory Change Management system by making use of AI powered Regulatory Change Management Software. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered software makes use of “Big Data” and analyzes trends in a particular organization. By deciphering patterns, it makes effective decisions which go a long way in minimizing risks for the whole enterprise. How to Ensure Regulatory Compliance? Achieving complete regulatory compliance is quite difficult as it requires an organization to be rigorous in the planning and execution of policies laid down by a regulatory body. Making use of AI powered software like Predict360’s Regulatory Change Management Softwarecan be the first step in making sure that your organization is always compliant with the updated regulations. AI powered software can help an organization in the following five ways for ensuring compliance: 1. Triggering Alerts and Automating Impact Assessments for Better Collaboration The Automated Regulatory Change Management Software can help an organization in tracking regulatory updates from multiple sources. It is also useful in an enterprise as it facilitates the process of triggering alerts, automating impact assessments, and setting tasks to take action on process and policy updates. 2. Disseminating Information to Different Departments with Automatic Notifications Automating and streamlining Regulatory Change Management processes enable businesses to track regulatory changes in a better way. It sends automatic notifications to the affected business units and informs them about the new changes in time. The simplified impact analysis and updates through collaborative workflows and effective task management makes Regulatory Change System Software makes this software really useful for the whole enterprise. 3. Analyzing Trends and Patterns for Making Better Decisions Automation not only improves day to day operations by making Regulatory Change Management more efficient, it also helps in making better decisions. AI powered software analyzes trends and patterns, and makes much better decisions than a human mind. 4. Mapping of Tasks and Determining the Effects of Changed Requirements Automated RCM software can easily map regulations to different departments and ensure that the employees are kept abreast of all the relevant information. As employees have the required information, they are less likely to oversee a regulation and flout the rules. This functionality is critical for an organization when it comes to minimizing risks. It also performs the task of automating the translation of the regulations and creates an applicability of regulation process which helps an organization to map and apply the regulations to location, branch, or asset. 5. Providing Valuable Insight for Effective Risk Management in Future The Regulation Change Management Software is not only good for managing risks in the present; it also offers insights that can be used for proactively minimizing risks for the future. Predict360’s Regulatory Change Management Software is the perfect tool for ensuring regulatory compliance in an organization. It is licensable as a standalone web-based application and can also be procured as part of an integrated regulatory change management and learning management solution. It uses Artificial intelligence (AI) technology, which centralizes regulatory library with consistent taxonomy. For more information about Regulatory Change Management Software and how it can be further enhanced as part of an integratedrisk and compliance managementsuite, visithttp://www.360factors.com/. About the company 360factors, Inc. (Austin, TX) helps companies improve business performance by reducing risk and ensuring compliance. Predict360, its flagship software product, vertically integrates regulations and requirements,policies and procedures management, risks and controls, audit management and inspections, and on-line training and qualifications, in a single cloud-based platform based on artificial intelligence. 360factors EHS Services offers environmental consulting services in the areas of water, waste permitting and compliance, site investigation and remediation, environmental and dredge material sampling and evaluation, engineering and geology, expert testimony, health and safety, and operational risk management. Its Managed Services incorporate outsourced risk and compliance services using Predict360. Remain up-to-date on industry news/updates through ourTwitter&Linkedinprofiles. ...read more

From crane and electrical hazards to improper storage of propane fuel, RCS Construction was slapped with a heavy $71,400 fined by OSHA. Out of 29 citations, 26 were termed as “serious”. Some of the other references included: Chemical violations Equipment violations Non availability of Hazard Communication program Lack of forklift training and maintenance And others… And there is a reason for such intensified actions by OSHA. New York was rocked with high profile construction crane accidents in recent months. These included: February: a 1 passerby killed by a crawler crane that collapsed on the streets of Manhattan, injuring several others along with property damage July: another crane crashed on Tappan Zee Bridge in New York without causing any fatalities Triggered by February crane crash accident, Mayor Bill de Blasio presented a crane safety plan that covered the following points: New restrictions for crawler cranes during windy conditions Doubled fines for operators not following safety precautions Pedestrian alert / awareness near crane sites Notifying buildings near crane site This four point agenda was fiercely resisted by construction companies as being too difficult to implement. The New York crane safety working group recommended withdrawal of older cranes that don’t have any modern safety equipment. Safety training is not a far-fetched idea these days. Forklift and heavy equipment training for crane operators is easily available and would definitely save lives, property and make society a much safer place. Source: Kim Slowey / ConstructionDive.com Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our Twitter & Linkedin profiles. *All images are property of their respective owners. ...read more

AUSTIN, Texas - May 17, 2016 - PRLog -- 360factors, Inc., a leading cloud-based Enterprise Risk and Compliance Management technology and services company announced today that Alden State Bank, of Alden, Michigan, will expand its use of Predict360 to automate its Regulatory Compliance and Change Management programs.  Alden State Bank has been using 360factors' learning management solution for banking and financial services for several years.  Predict360 Learning Management for Banking and Financial Services offers close to 200 on-line training and certification courses. "The number and complexity of regulations being enforced on financial institutions are continually increasing," explained Cindy Howard-Bartz, Vice President at Alden State Bank.  "By expanding our use of Predict360 to include regulatory compliance and change management, we expect to improve our ability to stay on top of the new and changing regulations and be fully prepared for our examiners.  The automated notifications and alerts from Predict360 will enable us to be more proactive than reactive helping us improve our operational efficiency." Predict360 vertically integrates regulations and requirements, policies and procedures, risks and controls, audit management and inspections, and on-line training and qualifications, in a single cloud-based platform. Alden State Bank is a locally owned independent community bank.  Of the commercial banks headquartered in Michigan, it remains one of a dozen or so commercial banks that is not associated with a bank holding company. Alden State Bank's ability to offer its customers continuity in their banking needs has contributed greatly to its success. "We are thrilled to be working with Alden State Bank as a trusted partner in automating their Regulatory Compliance and Change Management requirements. We are working with over 40 financial institutions to enable functional managers and staff to manage their day-to-day risk and compliance activities while providing executive's visibility into the risk and compliance profile of the entire business,' said Ed Sattar, CEO of 360factors. ABOUT 360FACTORS INC 360factors, Inc. (Austin, TX) helps companies improve business performance by reducing risk and ensuring compliance. Predict360, its flagship software product, vertically integrates regulations and requirements, policies and procedures, risks and controls, audit and inspections, and on-line training and qualifications, in a single cloud-based platform.  360factors offers consulting services in the areas of air, water, and waste permitting and compliance, site investigation and remediation, environmental and dredge material sampling and evaluation, engineering and geology, expert testimony, health and safety, and operational risk management.  Its Managed Services incorporate outsourced risk and compliance services using Predict360. Further information can be found at http://www.360factors.com/. PR Marketing Manager 360factors Inc. raza.shahid@360factors.com +512-539-2791 ...read more

Four-week series Tummy Time Class offers great tips to help your baby tolerate tummy time. Insufficient tummy time can lead to misshapen head and delays in sitting up, crawling, walking and even brain development. This 45-min. Thursday class at Special Addition on Burnet Road is a good bonding time with you and your baby as you learn how much tummy time is needed, important things your baby should be able to do at different stages or their development. All in a fun, non-judgmental environment. For complete information: http://www.babysignsbytinac.com/event-calendar/icalrepeat.detail/2016/04/07/224/-/tummy-time-class Or contact Tina at babysignsbytinac@gmail.com or 512-814-0004 ...read more

Management of policies and procedures is increasingly becoming a pain point within organizations. Some of the pain points include: - Ability for employees to have access to one and same version of the policy - No accountability or audit trails - Policies and procedures not having a style guide with no consistency - Distribution , communication and meet signature requirements to ensure people read and understood the content - Ability to map policy and procedures to applicable regulations or standards - Management of policy and procedures and approvals If you are experiencing the above challenges, then I would recommend automating your policy and procedure management system. It is probably apparent from most of my blogs and point of view that I advocate technology to scale, automate and manage your policy and procedure management challenges. If you are convinced to automate and decide to build an in-house policy and procedure management software or trying to license one, you will find these top 5 reasons very helpful: Automated Policy Life Cycle Management - Automated control is much easier than controlling documents manually. Why run around the office, send emails, and chase down your documents when you can let policy and procedure management software do it all for you automatically? You will save time and increase cost efficiency. Another thing, automation helps you with workflow and Management of Change where a safe operating procedure can be send in for approval and editing to managers and coworkers and get their sign off before a procedure is released and implemented. Consistent Style of Writing - A common problem that also occurs is standard operating procedures are being signed off by unqualified personnel in charge who do not have the technical expertise to properly evaluate the procedures - how do you address that - a sophisticated policy and procedure management system will allow you to create policy template and standardized frameworks that people use to ensure consistency in style and language. Document Control and Audit Readiness - Some regulations require key elements that should be part of a policy or procedure. Automation streamlines management of change which improves the review-and-approval process to ensure you have all the key elements in the policy or procedures and eliminates defects and audit findings if you have to comply with regulatory agencies such as FDA, BESEE, OSHA EPA, NERC, FERC , SEC etc . A sophisticated system will streamline your audit readiness process. Communication and Accessibility - Internal and external regulations require for the policy manager or the organization to demonstrate that the policies and procedures are communicated and accessible to all employees involved in the operations. Manually, this could be a cumbersome and highly inefficient process considering in most of the organizations, people have a lot on their plate. Software can increase efficient and response time. You can create or select various workflows in how you want to communicate to the entire organization in various work groups and also get electronic signatures to ensure they have read it. In addition, if you made some changes to the procedures midstream, they can also be communicated to responsible personnel. This is a huge cost and risk efficiency gain that a cloud-based policy and procedure system can provide. Training - In a manual policy and procedure environment, how are we verifying that all personnel understand the operating procedures other than their signature on a piece of paper? A sophisticated system would allow you to convert a policy, procedure or a document into a training module and create knowledge assessment checks to ensure people read and understand the procedure. Organizations that were early adopters of standalone policy and procedure software are the same organizations that are now finding it cumbersome for a standalone system and prefer it to be vertically integrated with other tools that touch other aspects of theirregulatory compliance initiatives. If it is vertically integrated, it would allow you to map your policies and procedures to various regulations, risk, incidents and safety hazards and produce bow tie dashboards which will allow you a view of how many regulations or risks each policy or procedure is impacting. As most of us know that there are strict compliance and legal requirements that must be instituted when managing policies and procedures — there is one option to build-your-own policy management system which in some cases makes it difficult to achieve and comes at a significant cost to the organization requiring significant knowledge and technology development effort to create an effective policy management system. In addition, you have to include additional ongoing maintenance and training cost. I hope you find the top 5 reasons helpful, should you decide to build your own policy and procedure management plan. Another option is to license a cloud-based Policy and Procedure Software at a significant lower cost that is vertically integrated that would enable you with: - Automating Policy Life Cycle - Create consistent polices with respect to style and language - Provide you audit trail - Communicate and train your personnel on the policies to ensure they understand - Policies and procedures are mapped to regulations Those days are gone where you had to install software on your servers and go through a costly and long tedious implementation process. These days, you can license a cloud or SaaS-based policy and procedure management software at a fraction of the cost of what it used to cost organizations 4-5 years ago. Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our Twitter & Linkedin profiles. *All images are property of their respective owners. ...read more

A CEO’s Perspective The financial crisis which shook global markets and financial institutions worldwide has forever changed the landscape with an era of sweeping regulatory change. The new regulatory landscape is placing demands on financial institutions in such areas as corporate governance, risk appetite, capital adequacy, stress tests, operational risk, technology data and information systems, and risk culture. Risk management must respond to “the new normal”—an environment of continual regulatory change and ever more demanding expectations. The complete report and key findings from the ninth annual Global Risk Management Survey published by Deloitte University Press can be found here: Global Risk Survey Key Findings: More focus on risk management by boards of directors. Reflecting increased regulatory requirements, 85 percent of respondents reported that their board of directors currently devotes more time to oversight of risk than it did two years ago. The existence of a chief risk officer (CRO) position has grown to be nearly universal. In the current survey, 92 percent of institutions reported having a CRO or equivalent position, up from 89 percent in 2012 and 65 percent in 2002. Ninety-two percent of respondents said their institution either had an enterprise risk management (ERM) program or was in the process of implementing one, an increase from 83 percent in 2012 and 59 percent in 2008. Roughly two-thirds of respondents felt their institution was extremely or very effective in managing the more traditional types of operational risks, such as legal (70 percent), regulatory/compliance (67 percent), and tax (66 percent). Fewer respondents felt their institution was extremely or very effective when it came to other operational risk types such as third party (44 percent), cybersecurity (42 percent), data integrity (40 percent), and model (37 percent). Summary Financial institutions are adjusting to the new environment for risk management. Most institutions will need to enhance their risk management programs to stay current— improving analytical capabilities, investing in risk data and information systems, attracting risk management talent, fostering an ethical culture, and aligning incentive compensation practices with risk appetite. Financial institutions will need to develop the flexibility to respond nimbly to the “new normal” risk management environment of unceasing regulatory change. Info Source: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ...read more

Because of its abundance and proven effectiveness as an energy source, coal is currently used to generate around 40 percent of the electricity in the U.S., and is projected to be a major component of the energy mix for the foreseeable future. When coal is burned to make the steam that drives electricity generators, ash is the noncombustible mineral matter left behind. Ash is the most prevalent of Coal Combustion Residuals (CCRs) taking the form of fly ash (fine, smaller particles collected in air emission controls such as electrostatic precipitators) or bottom ash (coarse larger particles that settle at the bottom of boilers). Depending on the coal type, the amount of ash that remains is 10 to 30 percent of the coal that is burned as fuel. Some metals that occur naturally in coal in trace amounts (arsenic, mercury and lead) remain in the ash. By using proper management procedures, the metals are contained within ash management facilities on site at the power plants. The two most common types of ash management facilities are landfills, which are used to dispose of dry ash, and surface impoundments, also called wet ponds (in which ash settles at the pond bottom). Ash collected for beneficial reuse is in some cases stored in dry ash silos. Coal ash surface impoundments are a standard practice for managing fly ash and bottom ash. There are many beneficial uses for fly ash, including use in concrete, cement, road building and gypsum in wallboard and agricultural applications. A strong market for recycled fly ash and power plant synthetic gypsum has developed over many years, and new uses are being explored.  Bottom ash recycling is more problematic due to its lower capacity for pozzolanic reactions. On April 17, 2015, the EPA published its final rule establishing comprehensive regulations for the disposal of CCRs from coal-fired power plants under subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), classifying CCRs as nonhazardous solid waste. The EPA issued the final rule under a self-implementing approach because EPA lacks the authority under subtitle D of the RCRA to require states to issue permits in this context. Therefore, EPA requires the minimum federal criteria to be administered by each owner and/or operator that manages CCRs in surface impoundments and landfills. The rule applies to three categories of CCR management Inactive facilities: these impoundments or landfills stopped receiving CCR waste before October 19, 2015 Active or existing facility: a management unit that is in operation on October 19, 2015, and New CCR facility: a unit that receives CCR or starts construction after October 14, 2015. Inactive facilities contain by far the most CCR material.  Closure must be completed by April 17, 2018 in order to avoid technical requirements for closure systems.  Active facilities and inactive facilities failing to meet the closure deadline will be subject to the technical requirements for closure including development of an approved closure and post-closure care plans as well as install a groundwater detection network and institute corrective action if required.  New facilities will be required to meet the siting criteria and technical requirements for bottom liners and cover systems in addition to the requirements for existing facilities. REUSE Historically, power plants have managed CCR in impoundments and landfills proximate to the point of generation which was the least expensive option allowable under the rules at the time, i.e., there was an incentive for this practice.  The new EPA technical requirements for impoundments and landfills may change this equation to favor beneficial reuse.  The North Carolina Coal Ash Management Commission (CAMC) looked at reuse methods that would use the maximum amount of ash, make economic sense, and be environmentally sound.  The CAMC determined that two scenarios fit these criteria, i.e., use of CCR: In concrete products As structural fill Drawbacks to using CCR for the stated purposes have been the carbon content of CCR is greater than 4% limiting its utility in concrete and the susceptibility of ash road base to develop reflection cracks. Other potential uses listed in the study included use in flow able fill mixes, mine reclamation, brick manufacturing, Rare Earth Element (REE) extraction, agriculture, waste stabilization, and snow/ice control. A key to safe and secure CCR management in impoundment systems is ensuring the integrity of the containment system. The key is to develop a safety program which is comprehensive and includes inspections, reporting, analysis,regulatory compliance, emergency response preparedness, routine maintenance and vegetation-control standards. Inspections of dams and dikes are critical components and are conducted on a regular basis – at least annually by professional dam safety engineers and at least weekly by trained plant personnel. In addition, inspections are performed after unusual events such as storms. The inspections provide assurance that structures are sound and that action is taken, as needed, based on the findings. Safety inspections include numerous checklist items. Specific items vary from site to site but may include observations of such things as pond levels, weather conditions, rainfall since the prior inspection, instrument readings, conditions of slopes and drains, erosion, animal damage, ant hills, alignment of retaining structures and more. Dam safety engineers assess instrument readings, inspect any maintenance or remediation performed since the previous inspection, check the status of work recommended at prior inspections, ensure that the posting of emergency notification information is up to date and evaluate any items noted during plant personnel inspections. So how can we help? 360factors, Inc.is a cloud based Enterprise Risk and Compliance ManagementTechnology and Services Company. 360factors helps companies improve business performance by reducing risk and ensuring compliance. 360factors’ flagship platform, Predict360, uses unique mapping and cognitive computing technologies to provide regulatory insight, predict risks and drive operational excellence. Rosengarten, Smith&Associates; our EHS consulting services division, offers a wide range of services in regulatory compliance and permitting (air, water, and waste), site investigation and remediation, environmental and dredge material sampling and evaluation, and health, safety and risk management services. RSA maintains a staff of experienced key personnel including registered professional engineers, geologists, and health&safety specialists. For over 27 years, RSA has completed projects in 38 states across the United States and in four other countries for Fortune 500 companies, lending institutions, and small businesses. Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our  Twitter & Linkedin profiles. *All images are property of their respective owners. ...read more

After identification of 9 fatal incidents from 2010-2014, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and NIOSH (The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) have recently issued a “hazard alert” for Oil&Gas; workers sampling production or manually gauging product tanks. These recommendations revolve around protective tank hatch opening for workers that sample hydrocarbon levels or manually gauge these tanks. Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels said: "It's critically important that we all work together to make sure that oil and gas extraction workers are aware of life-threatening exposure to hydrocarbon gases and vapors and low oxygen atmospheres, and that they are protected,” While addressing this issue NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. said: "The expansion of the oil and gas extraction industry has led to new opportunities, but also new risks for workers," "This joint alert highlights the importance of remaining vigilant about the safety and health of our nation's workers as our nation changes and adapts to these new opportunities." The alert from OSHA and NIOSH is based upon their research on the high concentration of hydrocarbon gases and vapors that contribute to risk of fires and of asphyxiation due to oxygen-deficient environments. Source: Ginger Christ - EhsToday.com Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our Twitter & Linkedin profiles. *All images are property of their respective owners. ...read more

I had a conversation with a friend of mine who lives in Midland, Texas. She’s married to an Executive in the Oil and Gas Industry and lives on property that is being drilled by a different oil company. She expressed her frustration with what property owners have to deal with when it comes to not owning mineral rights and how the companies can just“poke holes anywhere they want.” She told of a story where one company had spent a month digging down and missed their mark and broke the casing causing an oil leak that had to be sealed. This type of situation is all too common for oil drillers and can take an additional month to seal, re position and drill back down a second time. I can imagine the frustration for everyone involved. Midland is located between Fort Worth and El Paso and has experienced large growth in their population. Pre-oil boom Midland had roughly 111,000 people and has since the latest boom it has grown to roughly 155,000-165,000 people. Midland is not unique in this experience, cities across the country are experiencing similar growth due to oil, and along with that growth, comes the insurgence of new Oil and Gas Companies. My friend from Midland says that there’s also a growing fear of a saturated market that established companies are dealing with, which will drive down the price of oil per barrel. What Can Set You Apart from Others? Technology. We obviously know that the companies with the most technologically advanced rigs will be the ones that capture the most market share. According to UBS, the companies with the modern fleet are earning higher day rates, margins and are in greater demand because of better technology. But, technology in the O&G industry spreads across many functions including research and development, developing new extraction techniques, and simple day to day operations. There’s a lot of funding going into innovative companies that can help O&G companies work smarter. Software is at the head of technology innovation for O&G companies covering areas like geophysical, geological, engineering workflows, plant control systems for bulk material companies and reservoir engineering. Another key software technology that is developed by 360factors is a cloud based operational risk management software program called Predict360. It is a solution that helps organizations dynamically manage regulatory changes through integration of content, knowledge and training to achieveRegulatory Compliance and Audit Readiness in one integrated subscription based software suite. Every business has procedures and documentation, but very few businesses have a process to enforce compliance and prove conformance to policy and procedures for “Audit Readiness.” What technology sets your company apart in this industry? What technology can increase your margins whether it’s on the ground or at corporate headquarters? Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our Twitter & Linkedin profiles. *All images are property of their respective owners. ...read more

Enforcement is a word that brings little solace to residents and little pain to the Oil and Gas companies. It seems that across the board producers, exploration companies and drillers are not too worried about fines or violations. Fines for Non Compliance Congress is happy to pass laws that go into the CFR, but they do this with little thought into how enforcement is going to occur. Out of the 204 oil and gas production spills in Wyoming in 2012 only 10 producers were fined. In Texas, 2 percent of the violations identified by drilling inspectors faced enforcement. In Pennsylvania, 13 percent of cases have been levied fines. Finally, in Mexico regulators haven’t issued fines in years. If enforcement isn’t your primary concern, you’re not alone. The cost of implementing new processes to improve efficiency and ultimately grow your business should be more of an incentive. You don’t have to be running from fines to want to improve your business. Today’s technology can bridge gaps, minimize busy work from your teams, and give executive management a looking glass into areas that need more attention. This can be accomplished with the right regulatory compliance software. What can technology do for you? What is on your wish list? What if it already exists? Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our Twitter & Linkedin profiles. *All images are property of their respective owners. ...read more

The Bureau of Land Management has proposed a rule that would provide new regulations to ensure that site security and oil & gas are being handled in a proper and secure manner in Federal and Indian oil & gas leases. Some of the changes this rule would entail include updating how Onshore Oil and Gas Order No.3 address changes in technology, as well as identify certain acts of noncompliance that would result in immediate assessment, and set forth a process to consider variances from the requirements of proposed regulations. The BLM believes these proposed changes will enhance its overall production verification and accountability efforts, which will pave the way for new proposed regulations for Order No. 4 and 5 as well. The BLM is encouraging these updated regulations to be taken seriously, as the magnitude of oil & gas production cannot be taken lightly. Royalties are owed on all production removed or sold from Federal and Indian oil & gas leases, and in fiscal year 2014 alone, onshore Federal oil & gas leases produced about 148 million barrels of oil, 2.48 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 2.9 billion gallons of natural gas liquids, with a market value of more than $27 billion, with generated royalties of almost $3.1 billion. Given the magnitude of the production and royalties, it is critically important that the BLM ensure that operators accurately measure, properly report, and account for that production. The BLM is proposing updates to Order 3’s requirements because they are necessary to reflect changes in oil measurement practices and technology, since Order 3 was first circulated in 1989. Specifically, this proposed rule is designed to ensure the proper and secure handling of production from Federal and Indian oil & gas leases, which is essential to the accurate measurement, proper reporting, and accountability that are necessary to ensure that the American public, as well as Indian tribes, receive the royalties to which they are entitled on oil & gas produced from Federal and Indian leases. With this rule, the BLM is now proposing to replace Order 3 and update and codify requirements regarding site security. Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our Twitter & Linkedin profiles. Predict360 is a fully configurable and automated Enterprise Risk and Compliance management platform that has over 40+ modules for Financial sector, Power sector, Oil & Gas, Information Security, Insurance, EHS and other major sectors. Some of thepopular ones like audit management software are successful enough to have enabled 360factors to be awarded with 2014 GRC TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AWARD. ...read more

Experience has taught us all a great deal about risk. Wildcatters have to weigh the risk of a dry hole every time they drill a well. For professionals in the oil and gas industry, this is a risk worth taking when the potential reward is so lucrative. Most wildcatters have a high risk appetite when it comes to oil exploration. They’re in it to win and, as the saying goes, “you can’t win if you don’t play”. When it comes to regulatory compliance, most oil and gas professionals have a much lower risk appetite. We saw the most dramatic example of noncompliance when the blowout preventer on the Deepwater Horizon failed in April of 2010. Of course, there are many less extreme outcomes when regulations aren’t followed correctly. Many of these outcomes can still result in serious financial loss for oil and gas companies, among other consequences. There are five main consequences of noncompliance that I can think of: Financial Penalties (Government Fines) Negative Reputation Lack of Safety (sometimes resulting in injury or loss of life) Criminal Charges Degradation of Corporate Ethics So what is a healthy risk appetite for regulatory compliance in the oil and gas industry? The correct answer for most companies would probably be very low. With laws and regulations changing frequently in the oil and gas industry, noncompliance is actually quite common. The most common consequence that companies suffer when they are non-compliant is financial. Government fines and revenue loss when operations are ceased can be staggering. One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways for companies to prevent this is by using Regulatory Change Management Software like cloud-based predict360. The predict360 suite of products lets users stay up to date with their policies and procedures so that noncompliance is a non-issue in a constantly changing landscape of rules and regulations. Predict360 is a fully configurable and automated Enterprise Risk and Compliance management platform that has over 40+ modules for Financial sector, Power sector, Oil & Gas, Information Security, Insurance, EHS and other major sectors. Some of thepopular ones like audit management software are successful enough to have enabled 360factors to be awarded with 2014 GRC TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AWARD. Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our Twitter & Linkedin profiles. *All images are property of their respective owners. ...read more

More complexity, more projects and MORE risks to manage. Human and environment safety and health protection remains the No. 1 priority for all those that are stakeholders in the energy, utility and environmental companies. As stakeholders representing these companies, you all understand the burden of dealing with stringent EHS regulations across the entire span of their effect. These regulations are not only stringent but also constantly revised to take into consideration technological development and the more extreme conditions in which your companies operate. Recent major accidents — the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 and the Californian San Bruno pipeline explosion in 2010, the Pemex pipeline explosion in 2012, refinery fires and shutdowns such as the ones in BP Cherry Point, Chevron Richmond, and Amuay in Venezuela in 2012 — are strong reminders of the importance of being prepared for emergency situations, and are constantly influencing the activity of national and international regulators. For instance, new offshore drilling safety requirements have been issued, as well as new pipeline integrity regulations such as the US Pipeline Safety Act. Reinforcement of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission caps is also of concern to refineries. Why is it imperative to manage your operations seamlessly while reducing risk? You require, as a minimum: accurate, real time and automated systems and processes to reduce enterprise risk. Predict360, a regulatory compliance software which allows your organization to embrace regulatory change management methodology, best practices and insightful experiences that can help you build a successful enterprise risk and regulatory change management system solution irrespective of the regulation type, standards and corporate objective. Predict360 will streamline all EHS compliance aspects with sustainable and reliable software for your organization as well as manage all associated processes. In the oil and gas industry, managing capital projects, in particular large capital projects, in a global environment is becoming increasingly complex. This is especially the case as large reserves are being depleted and the industry copes by drilling multiple smaller wells to compensate. Our GRC Software coupled with access to our industry specific experts allows your organization follow a consistent Regulatory Risk and Compliance Management methodology, which ensures all associated activities and task are constantly revised, aligned and updated with current regulations. The exact approach is pertinent for new projects and the tasks around how they are evaluated, selected, and prioritized based on parameters of importance to the company such as level of risk, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY expected return on investment. ...read more

As we try to extract and remedy all of the problems in the oil and gas industry from compliance to safety to fines to reprimanding non-compliance, I have to ask the question: “Are the governing bodies doing this whole parenting thing right?” Typically, it seems that the attention is focused on the big boys and the detrimental mistakes. This is obvious as they produce the most revenue, have the most effect nationally, and have the most media attention. When a well-known company has an oil spill or a significant instance of non-compliance, its reputation is ruefully slaughtered. I bet that a lot of people in our country think that those huge, heavily scrutinized spills are the only ones that ever occur. The little guys make mistakes too, but they are seldom hit as hard. I understand the philosophy is to make an example out of the majors, and maybe that is the right way to do it, but what if it isn’t? The little mistakes that are made sometimes go unpunished and are easily overlooked with zero punishment, but it is a distinct possibility that those little mistakes could lead to one of the huge oil spills eventually. As a parent, shouldn’t you hold all of your children to some level of consequences for big and little mistakes? Do the problems the oil and gas industry face revolve around the way we try to fix them or prevent them? Is there a better way of enforcement? I’m sure there must be. But, there is definitely a better way for compliance related issues. Its called “automation”. Big data concept has enabled many companies to optimize their compliance related issues by introducing regulatory compliance software that could automate these processes. Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our Twitter & Linkedin profiles. *All images are property of their respective owners. ...read more

Many propositions have been put forth as solutions to improving the offshore oil and gas industry. Yet our biggest problem is INTEGRITY IN OUR PEOPLE , the industry serves up a set of requirements for field employees to earn a full time position and keep it, earning an above average wage working 1/2 of the year. - What happens offshore stays offshore - You must be willing to get your hands dirty to make the big money offshore - You must be willing to look the other way in matters of non compliance - You must be willing to deny the truth until it is proven in a court of law All of these are came to light in the BP / Transocean / Halliburton trial. Unfortunately it is not unique to the industry. In fact it is the normal everyday occurrence for each of the incidents which occur in the Gulf of Mexico. In the course of a year there were at least 8 average well blow outs, 150 fires, 280 injuries, 12 vessel crashes, 10 deaths, all of which end up in court with the same drama of what went on in the BP/Transocean/Halliburton trial. Whatever happened to telling the truth up front instead of dragging it out for 2 years with lies and deceit and cover ups? The offshore oil and gas industry will never be able to be trusted as a reputable industry so long as men are allowed to lie and corporations engage in cover up with legal consuls all the while urging them to deny, deny, deny, until they prove it in court. I have seen the majority of all of the offshore operator companies “Training Matrix” and on not even one of them have I seen any requirement where the employees are required to engage in some type of Integrity Training and even less required to take a polygraph test to verify if they have engaged in any illegal activity when on federal offshore property. Compliance to this day is sometimes not taken too seriously. Despite automated regulatory compliance software solutions available in the market, risk assessment and management is still something of “low value” to some companies. By Staff writer: Ron White. Remain up-to-date on industry news / updates through our Twitter & Linkedin profiles. *The author’s views and opinions are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views and opinions of 360factors. All images property of their respective owners. ...read more