Commuting By Air

Client Background

Oil & Gas UK is the leading representative body for the UK offshore oil and gas industry, with membership open to all companies, from super majors to large contractor businesses, and from independent oil companies to SMEs working in the supply chain.

Brief

Viscom was commissioned in September 2009 to produce a short, one-off documentary style programme to help increase confidence among the offshore workforce about travelling offshore following two incidents in early 2009, one of which resulted in the loss of North Sea Flight 85N and all its passengers and crew.

Oil & Gas UK wanted to demonstrate how helicopter operators manage risk on a daily basis and highlight their corporate professionalism, as well as that of their pilots, maintenance engineers, and the industry-wide commitment to safety standards and systems.

The documentary needed to be unbiased and independent.

Budget: £35,000.

Solution

Viscom approached this as a turnkey project, drawing on more than 20 years' experience working within the helicopter sector and acting as a neutral intermediary.

Initial research was carried out at helicopter operators' facilities and included information from pilots, engineers, flight-planning and support staff.

Viscom then facilitated a focus group comprising representatives from the UK offshore workforce and operators, and Unite, the union. From this focus group came the real questions that needed to be answered to successfully address offshore workers' concerns.

Around 30 key personnel were interviewed and filmed at heliports and facilities in Great Yarmouth, Humberside, Norwich, and Aberdeen responding to the questions and concerns.

Outcome

The project was finished in February 2010 and 1,000 copies of a 30-minute DVD distributed across the offshore sector and to the media, to universal acclaim.

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