By LAWANI MIKAIRU

Bristow Helicopters (Nigeria) Limited is the leading Helicopter Operator in Nigeria. Bristow, whose core business is helicopter transportation to the offshore oil and gas industry, search and rescue (SAR) services, helicopter maintenance, modification or repair, helicopter pilot training , took aviation reporters on a facility tour of their Nigerian Air Force Base facility, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

This Port Harcourt NAF Base facility of Bristow is the company’s biggest facility in Nigeria and one of the busiest Bristow Helicopter facilities in the world. It has a full complement of runway, airside, departure and arrival lounges with check in counters manned by trained professionals.

Most of the multinational oil and gas exploration companies operating in the oil rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria employ the services of Bristow Helicopter to transport their staff to oil rigs in the off shore and the creeks in the region.

Fielding questions after the tour, Mr J S Bains, Base Manager, West Africa Business Unit, which include Bristow operations at the Port Harcourt NAF Base said Bristow almost One Hundred per cent safety record is one of the biggest selling points of the company. Adding that they are the world’s safest helicopter transportation provider. He said the company developed and introduced its unique and industry leading “Target Zero” programme in 2007.

According to Bains “ The purpose of Target Zero is to issue a call to action and engage all employees to become proactive for safety, urge them to look for unsafe behavior or conditions in their workplace and speak up when they see any nonconformance, listen to employee safety concerns, and take action to eliminate hazards and minimize risks.”

He added that from its initial focus on Zero accidents, harm to people, and the environment, Bristow recently has expanded the programme to additional areas, Target Zero Accidents, Target Zero Downtime and Target Zero Complaints. He further said “ Bristow is proud to announce that it has consistently performed better than the industry average when it comes to safety”.

Also talking about the safest record of Bristow, Mr. Mayowa Babatunde, Head Commercial and Business Development, Bristow Helicopter, who was also on the facility tour with the reporters, said “Our goal is perfection: Zero Accidents. Yes, we really do think it’s possible. Since 2007, when we first introduced our Target Zero culture of safety, our safety record has improved in the air and on the ground. “

The NAF Base Manager, Bains further explained that Bristow accomplished that by making it clear to every emplo-yee “from the cockpit to the cubi-cle: safety is everyone’s respon-sibility. Every day we reinforce that message in safety meetings and at shift changes in the 20 countries where we operate.”

On what has made Bristow a leading player in the helicopter transportation in the off shore business, Bains said integrity, safety, service, commitment are core values Bristow hold dear and all these have influenced the quality of service the company renders to its clients.

He also said the company has been able to operate for 994 Hours and 676 days without any accident or incidence. This has brought to the fore the Target Zero safety policy of the company which is one of the selling points of the company.

On why the Port Harcourt airfield of Bristow is one of the busiest in the world, Bains explained that the company has modern helicopter fleet with an average age of Ten years and frequent fleet renewal policy. Accor-ding to him “Our clients receive full safety briefings. They ride in modern helicopters outfitted with the industry’s most advanced safety equipment, some of which Bristow invented.”