New RP 75 Training Supports a Safer Offshore Future
A production supervisor on an offshore platform reviews a contractor’s job plan and pauses. The plan relies on a checklist the contractor has used for several years, a tool that worked well enough under earlier, more prescriptive expectations. But the operator’s Safety and Environmental Management System (SEMS), updated to incorporate the 4th Edition of API Recommended Practice 75, requires controls tailored to the specific risks and operating conditions of that asset.
The supervisor knows the checklist isn’t inherently wrong, but it isn’t sufficient for a performance-based system built around their operations. The contractor’s crew, accustomed to relying on the checklist at other facilities, is surprised when the supervisor asks for a more tailored approach.
The conflict reveals an emerging industry challenge: implementing the 4th Edition of API Recommended Practice 75 requires training the workforce to understand and apply a performance-based SEMS.
The Role of SEMS in Offshore Safety
SEMS has long served as a foundational system for offshore safety, with its comprehensive framework designed to help protect personnel, safeguard the environment, and prevent incidents. At the heart of this effort is API Recommended Practice 75 (RP 75), Recommended Practice for a Safety and Environmental Management System for Offshore Operations and Assets, which defines the structure and expectations for an effective SEMS.
First introduced in 1993, the 3rd Edition (2004) was later incorporated into U.S. regulations by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), establishing the document as a critical benchmark for safety on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). However, the growing complexity of offshore operations, along with advancements in technology and the expanding global reach of offshore projects, prompted an update of the standard: API RP 75, 4th edition, published in 2019.
The 4th edition introduces significant changes from its predecessor, emphasizing a performance-based framework designed to achieve measurable safety and environmental outcomes. This change requires operators to adapt their approach to SEMS implementation, developing systems customized to their unique operations. Doing so effectively requires training that aligns the workforce with the 4th Edition’s performance-based expectations.
Training Designed for Today’s SEMS Expectations
To support that need, the Center for Offshore Safety (COS) has developed a comprehensive training series that focuses on the performance-based outcomes required by the 4th.
The training program builds on more than a decade of COS leadership in fostering a culture of safety across the offshore industry, providing operators with the guidance needed to meet the evolving demands of SEMS.
Launched with the support of the American Petroleum Institute (API), the RP 75 training series emphasizes how SEMS functions as an integrated, performance-based management system, one that depends on leadership engagement to coordinate safety and environmental programs across contractors, co-owners, and partners.
The three-part curriculum reflects this approach. Module one, a computer-based training, introduces the history, principles, and structure of the 4th Edition, clarifying how its four core principles and thirteen elements work together. Module two, also computer-based, focuses on planning SEMS audits, helping participants understand how to define scope, evaluate operational context, and develop audit strategies that lead to meaningful findings. Module three will launch in 2026 and will be delivered through hands-on, onsite training, teaching participants how to conduct management-system audits that look beyond individual deficiencies to identify the systemic factors that shape safety performance.
Together, these courses provide a structured pathway for building the competencies required under the 4th Edition, ensuring that workforce personnel keep pace with the performance-based expectations of modern SEMS.
A Foundation for Stronger Offshore Performance
And these training programs couldn’t come at a more opportune time. The need for consistent, structured SEMS training is growing rapidly as offshore operations evolve. Today’s projects involve complex supply chains, integrated technologies, and sprawling teams operating across diverse geographies. The RP 75 training series keeps pace with this shift, equipping today’s workforce with the knowledge, context, and practical skills needed to implement a modern, performance-based management system.
And by strengthening SEMS competency across the workforce, the industry reinforces its commitment to safe, reliablem, and sustainable offshore operations.
