OFFSHORE SAFETYAlion’s MOTISS – IBA: Alion’s MOTISS – IBA: the Science of SurvivabilityAn Improved Risk and Safety Assessment Process for the offshore oil & gas industry – and just in time.By Joseph Keefelion’s Measure of Total Integrated System Surviv- that it has to be innovative in making sure that offshore ability (MOTISS) has been around a long time. exploration and production activities are carried out in the Having previously earned its stripes primarily for lowest risk manner possible. He explains, “At a recent IADC Anaval applications, Alion began to market the service to the Conference, one of the oil majors noted that ‘never events’ offshore oil & gas industry in the messy wake of the Ma- happen and that when one occurs, it affects the entire indus-condo disaster. That event brought to the forefront, more try’s license to operate. As the oil and gas industry pushes than ever, the need to prepare for similar occurrences in into harsher, more challenging regions such as ultra deepwa-the future and more importantly, increase industry’s ability ter and the Arctic and employs increasingly complex tech-to conduct analysis. Today, a version called MOTISS-IBA nologies, it is natural that companies will want to perform (Integrated Barrier Analysis) brings the same comprehen- (and society will demand) increased certainty of safety and sive power of MOTISS to the offshore oil industry that risk management. To assess a complex system effectively re-previously was only available to the world’s Navies. quires an integrated analysis that considers all types of barri-According to Bill Cowardin, Assistant Vice President & ers: technical, procedural, and operational, acting in concert. Director of Operations at Alion Offshore, industry knows This is what IBA is all about.” But, what is MOTISS – IBA?May 2014MN58 MN May14 Layout 50-65.indd 58 MN May14 Layout 50-65.indd 58 4/21/2014 12:11:28 PM4/21/2014 12:11:28 PM