Address and Assess Oil and Gas Risks with Conversational AI

In the oil and gas industry, companies have to contend with a multitude of workplace risks, using all the resources at their command. But when human capacity is limited to help you define and promote the nature of workplace safety, it's time to call in for some reinforcements. 

But that's often easier said than done. Especially under today's labor conditions, it can take longer and much more effort to bring in new members for your workforce. And then, you have to put time and attention into not just onboarding them for the duties of their position but bringing them up to speed about all of your protocols and security concerns.

One approach that you may have been contemplating lately is the use of conversational AI. Automating rote tasks in this way can help free your employees to accomplish more valuable things with their time in terms of risk preparedness.

With the technology becoming more robust and amenable to work in the petroleum industry, a virtual AI assistant can certainly be instrumental in boosting safety on-site. Read on for how conversational AI can help oil and gas companies address and assess common workplace risks.

Address the Skills Gap and Undertrained Employees

Onboarding may be more complicated than usual due to labor shortages or issues in employee retention. Whether it's merely a regional labor supply issue or a nationwide problem finding people you can depend on, your organization likely needs to become more efficient in sourcing candidates who can hit the ground running and get started immediately. So now, you're in an interesting situation where business is booming to the point where you need to hire a new batch of workers.

Unfortunately, the local workforce may lack all of the skills you need, or you find that employees are undertrained and need remedial coaching and instruction.

Your human resources team will be glad to know that conversational AI can improve onboarding and training, increasing the skill levels of employees. This helps them work more accurately and efficiently, reducing the risk of human error or safety violations. 

For example, as noted by Deloitte, you can use conversational AI to pre-screen "potential job candidates by matching their skill sets, experience, geographic location, availability, and salary requirements with open positions; it reaches out to suitable candidates to set up appointments" for a recruitment interview.

On the job, your virtual AI assistant can immediately answer employee queries about safety issues related to their duties or the company protocol for handling a particular situation based on your historical records of similar inquiries from new workers.

This involves more than simply quoting back from the employee handbook or your safety manuals. The conversational AI solution puts queries into context and provides the correct answers based on the core information you rely on for onboarding. 

It will also give your workers access to advice on what to do in various conditions, which is valuable when the experienced employees you'd typically rely on to offer counsel are busy with their own high-level tasks. Essentially, you're taking some of the burdens off of workers by allowing the virtual assistant to take over more routine chores of data access.

Compliance Risks

You don't want to risk your entire operation being shut down because of failure to comply with a particular industry regulation. But, it's not always practical to provide support from your employees for every case when a worker isn't sure how to proceed. Fortunately, you can make your entire corpus of compliance information readily available for a virtual AI assistant to offer to workers who have questions.

In this regard, conversational AI can help companies remain compliant by making employees aware of industry regulations. But it doesn't stop at just providing the relevant information they need. 

You can set up your conversational AI agents to connect with a system that monitors company-wide processes in oil and gas sourcing, procurement, extraction, or processing, to ensure they comply with regulations.

Extraction and Procurement Risks

Extraction and procurement processes require the utmost precision and accuracy. Employees' lives are at risk if any problems occur during drilling or extraction. This is why procurement professionals are looking at using virtual assistants today.

Conversational AI can maintain a strong chain of communication, ensuring that all workers use consistent and accurate data for these processes, and reducing the risk of human error (or worse, should inaccurate drilling and procurement occur).

A standardized approach from a single source of information in the virtual AI assistant allows you to deliver consistent information that keeps workers safer and at less risk of injury. Additionally, this ensures you protect the equipment that could be damaged if misused.

In a fast-paced environment during extraction, you want to move quickly and efficiently, but only to the point where your people operate according to industry-defined safety protocols. An objective, conversational AI system that disseminates the most appropriate ways of doing things to each worker on demand makes for a much safer oil and gas business. 

With reduced accidents, thanks to an advanced virtual AI assistant interfacing with employees, you can make the case to your insurance company for more favorable terms regarding your plant and worker coverage.

And consider the public relations benefits that can come from touting your new and improved safety record that has resulted from deploying conversational AI at your facilities. That can do wonders for employee recruitment and retainment and keep morale higher.

Workplace Hazards

The number of preventable injuries in the United States in the oil and gas industry was 77 in 2020, representing 10.3% of deaths, according to the most recently available statistics from the National Safety Council. During this period, the NSC also noted about 10,000 medically consulted injuries.

Conversational AI can ensure that employees are aware of safety protocols and even monitor hazard levels to reduce the risk of workplace accidents. By taking in reports of current safety issues and noting where they are occurring, the system is in a better position to reduce danger for employees.

Supply and Demand Risks

By analyzing company data, order histories, and customer interactions, conversational AI can support oil and gas companies in forecasting. This helps them avoid common supply and demand risks and reduce the turbulence in their balance sheets.

With conversational AI, it's nearly effortless to meet customer demand and predict upcoming demand based on historical records, customer analysis, orders according to seasonal variability, and any other ebbs and flows of need for your oil and gas products.

Improve Safety and Efficiency with Conversational AI 

The oil and gas industry is well known for its often-hazardous working conditions. Your business must meet your duty of care obligations, including offering as much support for your team to promote safety and minimize risks. 

This includes addressing compliance risks and reducing risks during extraction and procurement. With so many workplace hazards threatening workers and equipment, having conversational AI in place to provide advice and updated information to each worker will help make your environment safer for all concerned. 

Plus, conversational AI is equally adept at helping you manage supply and demand risks by automating how you address and process company data, histories of customer orders, and nuanced insight into your interactions with these customers.

Interested in learning more about conversational AI for your oil and gas business? Schedule a free demo with us!