Abstract Loss control can be implemented as a routine part of the operation of a major oil and gas company. Implementing tile activity requires program effort from senior management to the online operators in an organized and consistent way. The major program components of a loss control program are described, and include managerial support, technical support, training, event reporting, data analysis, and actions to commend and correct. A disciplined system of follow-up on recommendations is required. Application of loss control will ultimately reduce costs by improving operational effectiveness, and will also affect more traditional loss control indicators such as recordable injury frequency and preventable vehicle accident frequency. Determination of the true value of a loss control program, however, requires a more complete information base analyzed in a way which identifies the cost relevant components of the program, which should be followed to meet the specific needs of the company. Introduction Modern business requires that, as a component of profitability, companies move not only to maximize income, but to minimize loss. In this context, loss includes such thing as injuries to people, damage to equipment, and production interruptions. Petro-Canada Resources is an upstream oil and gas company which produces from western Canada 5.2 × 106 m3 of oil, 4.4 × 109 m3 of natural gas, and 766 K 103 m3 of natural gas liquids per year. The company is also an active explorer of both provincial and frontier properties. As an employer of approximately 1350 people, as well as a user of the services of many contractors for drilling, plant construction, pipelining, technical services, etc. Petro-Canada has a high degree of concern for the safety of people working on its behalf. In addition to personnel safety, the corporation has adopted the position that a wider loss control focus will not only further improve employee safety performance, but will also result in substantial dollar savings through the prevention of accidents, the development of proper work procedures, improved employee contributions to operational programs, reduced equipment downtime, and avoidance of business interruption. In that spirit, over the last few years, the company has implemented a comprehensive loss control program across its operations. The components of this program meet most, if not all, of Smith's (1988)(4) thirteen points for an improved loss control management program based on Deming's(3) theories outlined in his book Quality. Productivity and Competitive Position. Experience from another division of Petro-Canada Inc. has shown that there are tangible benefits from the implementation of a program of this nature. Figure I shows the decrease both in numbers and severity (as reflected by costs including lost revenue) of fires in a major facility as the loss control program proceeds. Figure 2 indicates [he trend lines of decreasing recordable injuries, at two major facilities, over a five-year time frame. These types of results are typical of those to be expected within a corporation which implements a meaningful loss control program.
Size-based analyses of marine animals are increasingly used to improve understanding of community structure and function. However, the resources required to record individual body weights for benthic animals, where the number of individuals can reach several thousand in a square metre, are often prohibitive. Here we present morphometric (length–weight) relationships for 216 benthic species from the North Sea to permit weight estimation from length measurements. These relationships were calculated using data collected over two years from 283 stations. For ten abundant and widely dispersed species we tested for significant spatial and temporal differences in morphometric relationships. Some were found, but the magnitude of differences was small in relation to the size-ranges of animals that are usually present and we recommend that the regression relationships given here, based on pooled data, are appropriate for most types of population and community analyses. Our hope is that the availability of these morphometric relationships will encourage the more frequent application of size-based analyses to benthic survey data, and so enhance understanding of the ecology of the benthic/demersal component of marine ecosystems and food webs.
Adaptation to a moving image causes subsequently presented stationary stimuli to appear to move in the opposite direction. Motion adaptation also affects the perceived location and size of stimuli. After adaptation to motion in one direction, the positions of subsequently presented static stimuli appear shifted in a direction opposite to that of the adapting stimulus (Snowden (1998), Current Biology 8, 1343-1345; Nishida & Johnston, (1999), Nature, 397, 610-612). Similarly, adaptation to expanding and contracting motion has been shown to alter the perceived size of objects consistent with the direction of the motion after-effect (Whitaker, McGraw & Pearson (1999), Vision Research, 39, 2999-3009). Here we demonstrate that adaptation to motion also affects the perceived shape of stimuli. Observers were presented with rectangular stimuli, and asked to determine whether, in comparison with a square, they appeared stretched or squashed in the vertical direction. Judgements were made in three conditions (i) a baseline, with no adaptation (ii) after adaptation to a vertically expanding pattern of motion, during which dots above the horizontal midline moved upwards, and dots below the horizontal midline moved downwards, and (iii) after adaptation to a vertically compressing pattern of motion, during which dots above the horizontal midline moved downwards, and dots below the horizontal midline moved upwards. In each case, the point of subjective equality (the apparently square rectangle) was calculated to determine whether perceived shape was affected by motion adaptation. Adaptation to a vertically compressing motion caused subsequently presented rectangles to appear stretched in the vertical direction; adaptation to expanding motion had no effect on perceived shape. We conclude that, in addition to its effects on apparent motion, position and size, motion adaptation can also affect perceived shape.
1. In this paper we show that analysis of changes in the distribution of stomach contents weights over time offers opportunities for improved understanding of fish feeding using data gathered from four of the larger fish species exploiting a sea-loch on the west coast of Scotland. 2. A simple dynamic model of the feeding and digestion process was developed to help understand complex feeding patterns, for which explanatory mechanisms are not immediately obvious. This model characterizes the 24-h cycle in food uptake rate by a small group of parameters whose values are estimated from the data set taken as a whole. 3. As a result of its higher immunity to noisy data, our model has advantages over previous methods for calculating food uptake rates.
The attraction of small gadoids to physically disturbed seabed patches was examined experimentally using a modified remote operated vehicle. Video observations were made of simulated disturbances to investigate the influence of tidal state, time of day and current speed on the pattern of exploitation. Fish were more likely to be present in disturbed patches, and when present, occurred in significantly greater numbers than in control areas. However, this response was dependent on tidal state, occurring only on rising tides.
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