| Description | Tape 1 Side A: ARTHUR GEORGE PAYNE born Aberdeen 20.11.1952. Paternal Grandfather George Edwin Reknil Payne in Royal Navy, Coastguard. Grandmother Alice Patience a milliner's assistant. Maternal grandfather Arthur Arthur; grandmother Annie Caie Allan. Recollections of staying with paternal grandfather in Aberdeen, a typical ex-naval non-commissioned officer. Mother a Wren, met father John Donald Payne during World War II. He was a mechanical, electrical fitter, in reserved occupation during war. Reference film star called John Payne; film The Romantic Maid. After retirement father a porter for Esslemont & McIntosh in Aberdeen. Description of family relationships and attitudes. Family link with Sir Harry Lipton. Maternal family deaths at sea. Grandfather's first wife a herring quine. Details re father, his family, family relationships. Description of father, his work as mechanic in bakery. Details re mother, her agoraphobia, own role, relationship with her. Own attitude to education. Details re childhood home, neighbourhood. Mother's study on teacher training course, her attitude to praise, support of children, derived from tradition of fisher families. Explains. Family attitudes to reading. Details re own education difficulties. Mother's attitudes to people, self. Development of relationship with father in his final years. Recollection of life at school, attitudes of other people, failure of 11-plus. Explanation of significance of 11-plus, impact on own attitudes. Recollection of introduction to reading, Shakespeare etc, influence of teacher at school, teachers' attitudes. Details re brothers.
Tape 1 Side B: Development of brother's stutter. Explanation of own interest in classiscal music, art, hand writing. Details re family relationships. Recollections re education. Explanation of aspiration to join Hudsons Bay Company, Canada. Recollections of Aberdeen in childhood, war damage etc, fashion of the time, fishing industry, lack of employment prospects. Early plans for skyscrapers along beachfront, big roads etc. Details re education, move to Aberdeen Academy, employment prospects, encouragement of teachers. Attitude of others at Academy to former junior secondary school pupils. Recollection of difficulty with exams. Time spent working in Marischal College Library, return to college. Mentions other jobs. First awareness of oil in c1967, Glomar III drillship etc in harbour. Background to interest in oil, television programmes. Details re process of lighting flares offshore with flare guns etc. Details re early discoveries, reasons for sources of oil/gas. Recollection of Number 5 Bond, start of ASCO (Aberdeen Service Company). Reasons why oil industry came to Aberdeen rather than Dundee; services available etc. Comparison of welding techniques in US, Aberdeen. Impact of oil on own career prospects. History of Aberdeen having to make do independently through export of various products, existence of nascent industrial infrastructure which oil industry could slot into etc. Early plans for industry in Aberdeen, Altens etc, effect of oil industry. Changes in Aberdeen 1920-70. Details re parents squatting in old Portlethen RAF camp.
Tape 2 Side A: Gradual change to employment pattern in Aberdeen, early materials supplied to oil industry, early accommodation. Recollection of relative who became a roustabout, roughneck, did 'monkey board' job. Detailed description. Misnomer re property prices in Aberdeen which were already high, but did rise. Compares with situation in Great Yarmouth. Prices of goods, commodities always high in Aberdeen because of transport etc. Mentions inflation already existing. Health and safety: impact of difference of Scots law from English law. Details of Scottish system re possible charges etc. Involvement of more local people in oil industry. Background to own involvement. Employment with British Ropes which supplied fishing, then oil industry. Details re early job, increase in own involvement, redundancy. Details re British Ropes, jobs done. Recollection of deaths of crane drivers. Details re safety examination of ropes, wire rope work, supplying various firms. Dealings with procurement people. Recollection of personality Buddy Beaurigard, Occidental c1977. Mentions post-Piper location of HSE which used to be Occidental building, 'Accidental Oil Company'. History of Occidental, Armand Hammer. Story of Occidental's 'lost' contracts with Libya. Further recollections of own work at British Ropes, staff situation. Attitude of ex-service people in industry. Explanation of understanding of oil industry terms. Involvement in construction, farming orders etc. Growth in new firms alongside old Aberdeen firms. Influx of Geordie welders during run-down of Tyneside, Clydeside shipyards, platform construction phase. Mentions other employment with Royal Aberdeen Workshops for the Blind, problem through own sightedness. Background to Offshore Drilling Supplies job (1976). Details re equipment.
Tape 2 Side B: Details re Offshore Drilling Supplies job as Service Technician (1976). Recollection of Alec Hubbard, his varied experience, his influence, learning from him. Description of drillers, their loss of limbs. Standards of health and safety compared with onshore. Comparison of working conditions in North Sea and Gulf of Mexico, weather conditions, windy fog etc. Details of dangers eg for electricians. c1982 drilling side of platforms brought into certification because of numbers of accidents, before that drilling units outside certification. Details. Did not want to go offshore because of the macho culture. Explains. Culture shock of informality of oil industry - one of the better aspects. Dispersal of offshore crews when onshore. Small town aspect of Aberdeen, oil industry - problem keeping lid on rumours. Gives example re BNOC. Examples of safety inadequacies onshore. Attitudes to health and safety. Impact of Health & Safety at Work Act. Generational attitudes to health & safety. Examples of offshore crews handing out justice. Anecdotal details re drugs offshore. Made redundant from ODS. Details re employment legislation, difficulties establishing career. Comments on unions. Marriage to Margaret Smith (1976). Family details. Recollection of experience working in an operating theatre, being taken for a medical student. Details re next job with National Supply Company (1976), made redundant. No compensation. Contract work for Occidental as accounts clerk. Description of culture of Occidental; Gulf of Mexico design of Piper Alpha. Recollection of stories about Piper steelwork, thickness of pipe work, irradiation dangers. Details re other contract work. 1977 joined Lion Oil Tools.
Tape 3 Side A: Service Coordinator, National Supply Limited (1976), duties involving downhole, platform production equipment, servicing wells etc. Technical details re wellheads, guidebases, sealing wells, temporary guide base etc. Comparison of BP reservoir pressures in Forties with systems dealt with by National. Details re own responsibilities. Made redundant again, reaction to this. Similar experience of others. Description of how people started businesses, eg in Number 5 Bond. Example of a hopeless case. Impact of downturn in America on own position, knock-on effect, instability. 1976-7 found employment through Aberdeen Appointment Agency. Details. Mentions firm called 'Giants' hiring out big men for pipeyards. Local Manager, Lion Oil Tools (1977). Details re duties, background of firm, reason for resigning getting work through Pipco ('bodyhire') (1977-8). Work for Chevron Ninian Field development as Engineer; BP as Progress Chaser; Wood Group as Design Engineer/Estimater. Details re Wood Group activities etc. Explanation of work as Accounts Clerk, Postal Clerk etc, unwritten rules of contract work, hit and miss nature.
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Tape 3 Side B: Reasons for doing contract work, arrangements with agencies re sickness benefits etc. Construction Engineer, Sandy Scott Technical Services (1978-80), work on Beatrice Field Development with Mesa Petroleum, later BNOC. Explanation of naming of Beatrice. Shell, Chevron, Conoco naming traditions. Details re own work handling drawings etc. Description of planning procedures, design process of a platform. Details re certifying authorities, Offshore Certification Bureau. Problems with sequencing of activities when building a jacket etc, building parts in different countries. Role of Brown Roote. Problem when a contributing company went into receivership. Details re Beatrice wellheads, template. Impression of BNOC, its reputation. Impact of Lord Kearton, Flixborough, Courtaulds. Describes takeover of Mesa Petroleum by BNOC, jemmying open files etc. Reaction of staff. Own domestic, leave arrangements. Change in culture under BNOC. Changes to own role, reasons for leaving. Certification Engineer, EJ Weston & Co (1980-1). Details of role involving Occidental, in Certification Library. Effect of fiscal policy change, offsets of building etc costs, background to cancellation of North Claymore. Details re changes to certification procedures. Reference to Offshore Guidance Notes re building a platform. Details re storm cycles, precautions taken, problems with platforms. Circumstances leading to being made redundant from Weston's. Details re changes to certification schemes, attitude to breakdowns etc. Background to work as Commissioning Coordinator, Shell (1981-2) (through Asco) working on Fulmar Field Development. Recollection of being called offshore.
Tape 4 Side A: Commissioning Coordinator, Shell (1981-2) (through Asco) (cont'd). Recollection of first trip offshore, trip in chopper, smell of kerosene, noise. Details re helicopters, views of Aberdeen, platform. Details re handover at platform etc. Description of Fulmar platform, baggage handling routines. Procedures followed on platform, safety instructions etc. No movement on fixed platform. Movement on semi-submersible. Explanation of daily routine, Shell codes etc. Recollection of office politics. Describes own role re certification of every part of platform. Details re fire protection systems etc, physical procedure followed. Problems with a colleague's work, improvements to systems, 'partial handovers'. Description of atmosphere offshore, eg times when heads of departments not talking to each other, own situation. Appointment as Quality Engineer, Marathon Oil, Brae Field (1983). Details of job creating lists of quality assurance, inspection requirements for everything on platform; coding etc. System was still working 10 years ago. Comparison of Shell, BP, Amoco, Mesa, Marathon, Chevron, Occidental cultures - many Shell, BP staff from services. Own attitude to people. Occidental's pioneering of putting construction barges alongside platform. Opinion re Government attitude to oil industry, use of money from oil, re-education of workforce. Case of unwillingness of ex-shipyard people unwilling to learn new trades. Role of Margaret Thatcher, damage done in 1960s, 70s. Role of Scottish Enterprise, Strathclyde, Grampian, NESDA.
Tape 4 Side B: Feelings about Tony Benn, his attitude to oil industry, understanding of his actions re BNOC, OSO, BP. Attitude of oil companies to each other. Mentions Lord Kearton. Employment as Senior Technical Author, Focus Technical Services, Shell UK (1983-5). Details re responsibilities working on operations manuals. Details re Shell installations. Also worked on emergency procedures manual. Impression of safety regulations then. Cause of Piper Alpha disaster. Opinion of Shell procedures. Unlike other companies, Shell did not combine Production Supervisor and Offshore Installation Manager. Details. Comparison of Shell and other safety procedures. Recollection of severe emergency on Hutton; decision in 1985 to end own offshore work. Details. View on various safety procedures - helicopters, trawlers. Recollection of reports of cracks found in legs of Piper Alpha, repairs done with clamps; contribution of this to disaster. Explanation of 'armoured box' theory. Variation of approach of different companies in different environments. Mentions 1000-feet jackets in America. Other activities on job including plans in case of terrorist attacks. Details of duties. Explanation of platform shutdown procedure; possibility of blowing up platform. Details re security procedures. Health - had physical collapses. Details. Made redundant. Period of study (1985-6). Details. Employment as Quality Engineer, National Wellheads (1986). Details re certification work, dealing with down-hole subsea production equipment.
Tape 5 Side A: Story of 'Radioactive drawer' - contract with BP. Details re ending of contract with National Wellheads - typical of contract work situation. Details of job with JH Koomey. Out of work for a period 1985-6. Family details. Lot of people in same situation. Feelings of affected people about oil industry. Gives examples. Description of 'dog eat dog' situation. 1988, did off-campus degree from American university. Comments on Margaret Thatcher, feeling that industry shot itself in the foot. Mentions Japanese goods, 'I'm backing Britain' campaign, British industry. Feeling about union fights, own situation. Details re family's own political inclinations. Comments on Scottish nationalism. 1988 went to work in Egypt on quality management. Details. Return to job in UK as Quality Management Engineer. Details. Recollection of morning after Piper Alpha disaster, realisation of what had happened. Explanation of retrofitting of gas compression on Piper Alpha etc. Opinion re cause of disaster. Details re 'permit to work' system. Opinion of Cullen Report. Details re situation in Conoco. Story of experience of tea chest full of radio valves when working with Occidental. Details re Piper Alpha clamps, marine growths on platforms. Recollection of sloppy, unauthorised welding work in early days. Details of similar situations where unqualified work being done. There was emphasis on safety before Piper Alpha. Details. Opinion of reaction to disaster. Recollection of evacuation of another platform. Gives example of minor hazard ignored by company. Details re cracks in other platforms.
Tape 5 Side B: In 1970s Norwegians advocated risk analysis. Own work on criticality in 1989-90. Definition of risk management etc. Interest in risk analysis. Details. Impression of standards today. Opinion of OILC view re safety standards before Piper Alpha. Problem with lack of information from users of platforms etc. Example of explosion on Cormorant Alpha. Details re key figure in incident who was unable to use written emergency procedures. Example of communication problems, testing of systems, safety consciousness in pre- Piper Alpha days. Opinion of OILC. Recollection of safety awards; example of abuse of this. Explanation of own feeling about unions, family history with unions. Attitude to work. Quality Management Consultant (1989) with Shell, Northern Systems & Plants, setting up quality management system. Details. Explosion on Brent Bravo, inspection of process train, cracks found. Details re equipment inspection etc, findings. Comparison of onshore, offshore inspection standards etc. Own attitude to quality achievement. Reference to World War I. Senior Engineering Consultant, Crescent Engineering (1990). Recollection of work with Rockwater quality management re post-Piper Alpha sub-sea valves. Details re contracts, documentation, dealings with Shell etc, reason for being dumped. Explanation of subsequent Foster Wheeler job to set up corporate management system. Reference to ISO 9001 certification. Next job with Conoco on quality management, procedural information, systems control procedures for post- Piper Alpha safety case. Details. Reference to SEQAM (Safety Environmental and Quality Management).
Tape 6 Side A: Conoco job (cont'd). Report suppressed. Details re difficulties, process followed. Details of claims made by Conoco re safety case etc. Describes a critical meeting. Health - operation on wrist. Details. Best looking operations manual was from Piper Alpha but it was completely useless. Lack of standards re how to put manual together. No two platforms the same. Recollection of redoing a manual which was on the wrong platform. Some companies treat operations manual as operating manual. Details. Explanation of certification procedure. Continuing communication problems. Made redundant in 1992. Details. Reference to possibility of shutting down Murchison, Hutton. Since then has applied for overseas jobs. Family details, health situation. Current situation, its causes. Characteristics of contract work - good and bad aspects. Recruitment of personnel in Aberdeen. Recollection of earlier OIM, superintendent, engineering management etc job possibilities. Feelings about oil industry, maintaining own integrity. Examples of difficult situations. Oil industry, procedures in retrospect.
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