The well-being of employees and the facility or jobsite is the core concern of health and safety professionals in the oil and gas industry, and that priority won’t change anytime soon.

However, an emerging risk has bubbled to the surface in the form of cyberattacks on companies that extract, refine, transport and supply oil and natural gas.

Though addressing such issues is currently in the realm of the security and information technology departments of many companies, health and safety professionals need to be aware of the risks that such breaches could cause to workers and companies as a whole.

Recent cyberattacks raise the alarm

In early April, four pipeline companies across the U.S. experienced significant issues related to the systems they use to communicate with customers, Bloomberg reported. Three of those businesses quickly identified the root of the problem as malicious intrusions by hackers.

The attacks were seemingly similar to those conducted by malicious digital agents in many other industries, cybersecurity expert Chris Bronk told The New York Times. He noted hackers likely wanted to access a source of potentially valuable information, such as facts about buyers and sellers of a given facility.

However, at least one of the companies said it didn’t believe any sensitive customer data was stolen. The attack affected the communication systems and databases related to oil and natural gas, but had no direct impact on physical provision via those pipelines.

These attacks are not new, as Bloomberg pointed out similar incidents dating back to 2012.

“It’s important to recognize that this does not appear to be an attack on an operational system,” Cathy Landry, a spokeswoman for the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, told Bloomberg. “An attack on a network certainly is inconvenient and can be costly, and something any company – whether a retailer, a bank or a media company – wants to avoid, but there is no threat to public safety or to natural gas deliveries.”

Increased potential for cyberattacks

While current cyberattacks center around assets like business and customer data and overall disruption of the energy grid, there is opportunity for more widespread disruptions in the future.

As the internet of things – internet-connected tools, parts and machinery that transmit and share operational information – becomes more common, hackers may find opportunities to move beyond data and attack specific elements of infrastructure.

Although still a hypothetical concern, it’s one that could put workers and valuable assets in harm’s way.

The idea of a malicious digital intruder causing a major, violent disruption by igniting natural gas, for example, is far more a Hollywood fantasy than fact. But the ability to hack into systems to shut down a pipeline or cause other operational disturbances is a possibility.

Health and safety professionals need to begin preliminary fact-finding discussions with their IT and security teams about potential issues in the years to come to ensure the effects of a cyberattack don’t lead to issues in the physical world for staff or the facility as a whole.

No business leader or safety manager is surprised to hear that workplace injuries and illnesses lead to financial and operational deficiencies, along with potentially serious issues for workers. Anyone who has worked or managed others in a setting where injuries are possible knows how processes slow down in the immediate aftermath of an incident and that employees need time – sometimes many months or even years – to fully recover.

What may serve as more of a wake-up call is the amount of money that is lost across the country’s economy due to serious workplace injuries and illnesses. Lapses in workplace safety that led to major incidents cost U.S. businesses as a whole more than $1 billion per week in 2015, the most recent year for which complete data and analysis was available, according to the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index. This document, assembled by the insurer on a yearly basis, tracks the overall cost of serious illnesses and injuries, as well as their most frequent causes.

The most common and serious workplace safety concerns

Liberty Mutual’s report found just 10 disabling workplace injuries led to a total loss of $51.4 billion for the U.S. economy in 2015. By far the most common – and costly – issue is overexertion involving outside sources, accounting for nearly 25 percent of all such serious injuries and carrying a price tag of $13.7 billion alone.

This issue, related to workers interacting with objects by taking potentially strenuous or dangerous actions such as lifting, pulling, carrying and pushing, is prevalent throughout nearly all industries on some level, which helps account for its commonality. However, business leaders and safety specialists should take a cue from the sheer value lost due to injuries at work related to this issue and prioritize an examination of their facilities. That should include looking for unsafe practices as well as specific tasks and areas, where workers who use good form and are aware of their surroundings may still be at risk.

The second most common situation leading to a serious workplace injury falls on same level, and accounted for nearly 20 percent of all such incidents and carried a total cost of $11.2 billion. Another injury that can occur nearly anywhere at any time, slips and falls can be caused by a wide variety of circumstances. From employees using unsafe or damaged footwear to a lack of proper maintenance of walking surfaces and spills of everything from water to solvents, there are unfortunately a number of ways to increase the potential for this painful and costly injury. Business leaders and safety specialists should take extra care in sharing information about proper, safe footwear, inspecting walking surfaces and developing quick and efficient response plans for spills.

Other causes of injury that made Liberty Mutual’s top 10 list include falls to a lower level, struck by equipment incidents, exertions and bodily reactions not involving outside sources and roadway incidents involving powered land vehicles. The frequency of occurrence related to these categories won’t shock those familiar with workplace safety, but their collective cost of $18.6 billion will likely lead to a moment of pause.

Workplace safety is a constantly evolving and developing discipline. There are always new processes, technology and tasks to take into consideration and incorporate into existing safety planning. However, certain long-standing issues have especially large price tags tied to them. Businesses need be sure they adequately and consistently address the issues that are ultimately most costly to operations and most harmful to employees.

The oil and natural gas industry is a vital part of the economy. However, both the nature of work performed and the sheer scale of operations can lead to a number of common and unique hazards for employees in these fields.

From safely handling oil and gas to working alongside potentially dangerous heavy machinery, employees need strong health and safety training, the right personal protective equipment and solid situational awareness to stay in good health.

One area that can lead to significant issues, but isn’t always at the forefront of the minds of health and safety specialists, is the danger workers face when driving during or after long, mentally and physically taxing shifts.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) highlighted these dangers in a recent document aimed at reducing the dangers of fatigued driving in the industry.

Driving long distances at night can make oil and gas workers more susceptible to fatigue.

Many health and safety concerns revolve around fatigued driving

Although employees driving while tired can happen in nearly any industry, certain unique factors make this problem especially dangerous in the world of oil and natural gas.

For starters, many oil and gas field workers drive long distances, traveling at the beginning or end of a work day. Driving back to their home or company-provided lodging after many hours on the job can put employees at a higher risk for fatigue and falling asleep while behind the wheel.

Moreover, nearby bunkhouses and similar sites may not have guaranteed space for workers coming off a shift, who may then decide to travel a longer distance home or to another location. Per NIOSH, there was an occasion when three workers finished a 20-hour shift and realized there was no space in a bunkhouse. They decided to venture home – a 10-hour journey. The driver fell asleep and crashed after just 25 miles, with two of the three workers dying as a result.

These industry-specific issues are difficult to overcome on their own and are made harder to combat by the universal causes of fatigued driving. For example, workers leaving a jobsite in darkness are predisposed to bodily signals that induce a sleep-ready state, even when they’re engaging in an activity like driving.

Long shifts, combined with many hours spent awake overall, can contribute to increased fatigue, and so can long drives on relatively flat, straight roads.

Addressing and minimizing fatigued driving for oil and gas workers

The good news for health and safety professionals concerned about fatigued driving is that combating this problem boils down to common sense.

There are no detailed, highly technical standards for addressing the issue. However, there is plenty of guidance that helps fight fatigue. Items highlighted by NIOSH include:

• Prioritizing 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
• Avoiding long drives the day a hitch begins or ends, instead traveling the preceding or following day.
• Taking breaks during long drives.
• Checking in with friends and family during trips before or after a hitch.
• Maintaining good physical health to reduce the overall chances of fatigue.
• Being aware of company policies about fatigue management and travel planning.
• If driving on the job, being ready to temporarily stop if significant fatigue is felt.

The major issue for health and safety specialists is ensuring employees follow these recommendations.

Sharing practical advice and making sure employees understand their responsibilities and options for avoiding fatigue built into existing company rules can help get the message out about driving fatigue and keep workers safe.