Sharing & Learning

Derek embarked on his HSE career a little differently from most. He started within local authorities in the early 90s before moving into the training environment in 2001 as an Instructor with RGiT Montrose (latterly Petrofac Training) delivering training solutions to the Oil, gas and renewables sectors in the UK and Trinidad before transferring to mainstream Petrofac in 2008 as an HSE Advisor on their Duty Holder projects. During this time he also spent 11 years ‘on call’ with HM Coastguards local Search & Rescue team conducting shore based SAR operations.

Derek joined Wood in 2013 and is part of Wood’s EMEA HSSE&S leadership team managing the HSE team in the Operated Assets business within the UKCS. He leads a team focused on delivering safe and sustainable operations to support facilities and producing assets across multiple clients.

He is an IOSH chartered Safety Practitioner with 30 years multi sector/ industry HSE experience providing a comprehensive and varied knowledge of the industry.

From 2006, Karen Bowman was employed as Police officer with Grampian Police and then Police Scotland with a broad range of experience within response policing, intelligence handling and as a Detective Constable within the PUBLIC Protection unit working to investigate serious sexual offences against children and vulnerable members of the public. In 2013, following an injury Karen took the difficult decision to leave behind her career in Policing and commenced studies into Health and safety.

With a clear passion for working with and ensuring the safety of members of the public , the transition from a policing role into health and safety seemed a natural career path to progress, diversify and build upon the unique skillset gained from her Police Service. Securing a position at Aker Solutions as a Health and Safety Advisor providing health and safety support to the subsea division and onshore workshops.

Thereafter an HSEQ position with Stork which enabled her to gain a broad spectrum of knowledge and understanding relating to various aspects of the offshore oil and gas industry, including but not limited to, scaffolding, rope access, confined space entry HVAC, NDT, painter blasting, asbestos and TAR campaigns, with work pack preparation for major Operators within the Stork portfolio.

From 2015, Karen secured a position as a Safety and sustainability Performance advisor with the Norwegian Operator Statoil, before progressing into a Senior Consultant role supporting the project Huc and Operational phases of the Equinor-operated Mariner field and currently supports the Operations teams for the Mariner field. Karen's main passion in regards to health and safety relates to ensuring the sharing and learning of incidents to prevent recurrence in particular the prevention of major accidents and major accident hazards.

Keith served in the Royal Air Force Regiment for 12 years. Deciding to pursue a career path that could offer a better work-life balance, he entered the thriving energy industry in 2014.

During his military time, Keith developed invaluable skills such as leadership, management, and training – skills he still uses now. His experience also left him with essential life qualities such as integrity, teamwork, safety, and an unparalleled work ethic aligning well with industry core values.

His HSEQ career began at Safelift Offshore Ltd where he led their training programme, supporting multiple operators and contractors with equipment operations both onshore and offshore.

Keith then joined to Stork Technical Services as an HSEQ Advisor. He has supported key offshore contracts, as well as multiple refineries & nuclear facilities in England. He strives to improve safety culture and make a real difference in the industry, something he is extremely proud of.

He is also proud to be Stork’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Team Lead, directing a team of volunteers in contributing to community care initiatives such as working with local care homes, fundraising, and supporting the next generation of workers through education programmes.

Keith believes that sharing the valuable lessons learned from oil and gas, as well as identifying transferable skills and trades, is vital to achieving a successful energy transition. This combination makes him optimistic about the energy industry's future.