Secrets in Safety

In the energy sector, we work in some of the most hazardous environments imaginable. We operate on the edge of technology, geography, and endurance. And yet, when it comes to learning from our mistakes, we keep falling into the same trap—again and again.

We keep lessons locked away.

Aviation Has Skybrary. Why Don’t We?

If you’re looking for an industry that truly understands how to learn from its mistakes, look no further than aviation.

Aviation

For decades, the aviation sector has led the way in incident reporting and knowledge-sharing. When something goes wrong—whether it’s a near miss or a major accident—it’s not hidden behind company walls. It’s analysed, documented, and then made public.

And here’s the crucial part: this culture of transparency hasn’t made aviation weaker. It’s made it one of the safest industries in the world.

Through systems like NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS), the UK’s Mandatory Occurrence Reporting (MOR) process, and databases like Skybrary, thousands of real-world cases are openly shared—not just with regulators, but with the entire industry.

These reports are detailed, searchable, and often used in simulator training and classroom learning.

They help shape future decisions—because the lessons are truly learned, not just logged.

The energy sector could learn a lot from that.

Right now, there is no unified, open-access version of Skybrary for the energy industry. We have pockets of sharing—like Step Change in Safety, the IOGP, and internal reports—but there’s nothing global, public, or consistent. Nothing truly cross-company, cross-border, and cross-discipline.

And yet, we work in environments just as safety-critical as aviation.

So what’s stopping us?

Silence Costs Us

Let me be clear: I understand the pressures. No one wants their company’s name attached to a negative headline. Reputation matters. So does share price. But when the fear of exposure stops us from sharing something that could save a life, we’ve lost sight of what matters most…

We say that safety is our number one priority—but do our actions back that up?

Moving Milestones

A decade ago, companies proudly displayed banners that celebrated milestones like “1000 Days Without a Lost-Time Incident.” It was meant to be a badge of honour. But let’s ask ourselves: did it actually encourage safety? Or did it just discourage reporting?

Thankfully, the narrative has shifted. Today, many organisations now reward the act of reporting itself. That’s progress. But the truth is—incidents still go unreported. Lessons are still unshared.

What We’re Seeing

Over the past few years, our work at Reuzer around visual safety alerts has grown into a service line in its own right—without ever setting out to create one. It just happened. Organically. Unintentionally. And now we’ve produced over 50 of these for some of the largest names in the energy industry and some of them, like Vantage Drilling are happy to share – but these kind of open offers are few and far between.

A Safe Space 

So why am I writing this? On the 8th of May, I attended a ‘Safe Space’ event coordinated by Step Change in Safety and EEEGR. And honestly, it gave me hope…

These conversations shouldn’t be reserved for special events. They should be baked into the culture.

We need more Safe Spaces. More industry forums. More visualisation. More collaboration.

What really stood out… No one was pointing fingers. No scapegoating. Just trust and accountability.

The aviation industry figured this out years ago. Their model is based on the idea of a just culture—understanding what happened, not who did it.

We need to adopt the same mindset. So let’s ditch the one page PDF.

People don’t learn from PDFs. A short visual alert, a human voice—those stick. Those resonate. That’s the kind of lesson that changes behaviour.

This industry isn’t just built on process—it’s built on people. And people respond to stories.

It’s Hard

I’m not pretending this is easy. Sharing lessons means confronting uncomfortable truths. It means vulnerability. But it also means progress.

So here’s my challenge to the industry:
-STOP guarding your lessons like trade secrets.
-START treating them like the life-saving tools they are.

At the end of the day, this isn’t about reports or reputations. It’s about people. Real people, working hard in high-risk environments, who deserve to get home safely—every single shift.

And just to be clear—this isn’t a sales pitch.

Yes, at Reuzer we create visual safety alerts and training content. But that’s just one piece of the puzzle. It will take more than us. We can play our part—but this has to be a collaborative effort across the entire energy sector. Operators, contractors, regulators, and suppliers—we all have a role to play.

Because when it comes to safety, no one should be working in isolation.

Ian Smith, Founder: Reuzer