The Oil & Gas Inquirer recently had an excellent arcticle (Service Firms Plead for a Coordinated Safety Registry System) that highlights the controversy surrounding contractor registries, with a particular focus on ISNetworld.

  

Some of the more unflattering comments were:

    "...we're not really sure if there is a positive impact on the industry's safety performance."
    "It's an ongoing irritant to the contracting community."
          -  Wally Baer, President and CEO of Enform

    "You just don't need it here."
    "There is no value-added.  I don't think it assists the operator a whit in determining what is a safe rig."
          -  Don Herring, President of CAODC

    "ISNetworld is driving a proprietary standard that does not seem to support openness or data sharing..."
          -  Cal Fairbanks, President and CEO of Canadian HSE Registry

Personally, I feel that ISNetworld is being judged on its ability to deliver improved safety performance, which isn't entirely justified.  Contractor registries really only do one thing well: manage risk for prime contractors.  I mean really... how can a registry improve safety when the workers play absolutely no part in getting a company green-lighted in ISNetworld?  All the work is being done by each company's safety department (or increasingly by consultants) to write new policies that satisfy RAVS protocols.

By forcing contracting companies to write and submit more comprehensive safety policies, the prime contractors have satisfied their due diligence requirement.  What service companies may not realize is that the process exposes their companies to increased risk.  The sub-contracting firms must now adhere to the standard levels they've set for themselves in the policies.  This means service companies must properly communicate policies to employees, provide comprehensive awareness training, and so on.  If (and only if) the service companies do their part, and implement better safety management systems, will safety performance actually improve.

This is where Enform and their Certificate of Recognition can come in.  They actually send auditors to the service companies to review records and interview employees.  The COR process could either point out that the policy binders are simply collecting dust, or they could collect reports from a Safety Management System that demonstrates compliance.  This transformation is likely coming soon, so its probably best to invest in a Safety Management System like SAFETYSYNC and be prepared.