Offshore oil and gas companies are being urged to focus more closely on the potential for human error to cause major accidents, after an inspection of a platform operated by Apache in the North Sea found failings in plans to prevent fires and explosions.
News
HSE urges offshore oil and gas firms to focus more on safety risks from human error
By
on 23 July 2024
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) issued a “major accident warning” to offshore firms on 22 July, in which it warned about the risks that human error can pose when performing safety critical tasks on oil and gas platforms.
HSE has issued a warning to all offshore firms to consider more closely the impact that human factors could have on safety critical tasks on oil and gas platforms. Photograph: iStock/Arild Lilleboe
The warning followed an improvement notice served by the regulator to Apache North Sea Limited in May, which said: “You have failed to take appropriate measures with a view to preventing fire and explosion – in particular to prevent the uncontrolled release of flammable or explosive substances, namely hydrocarbon fluids during main oil line (MOL) pig launcher operations, on the Forties Delta offshore installation.”
The notice added that human and organisational factors issues had not been addressed in the design of the pig launching system, or in the supporting procedures and competency management systems.
Apache, which has not appealed against the notice, has until 9 November to comply.
The action against Apache prompted a wider warning from HSE to all offshore firms to consider more closely the impact that human factors could have on safety critical tasks on oil and gas platforms.
“Offshore companies need to understand and evaluate where and how these safety critical tasks might be vulnerable to human error,” said Mary Marshall, a principal specialist inspector at HSE. “Safety Critical Task Analysis (SCTA) is an established, structured process that will help companies demonstrate that these tasks can be carried out safely, reliably, and that the risks are managed to as low as reasonably practicable.”
While several offshore companies have launched SCTA programmes, HSE says they have been implemented “with varying degrees of success”. Common failings include “a lack of sustained commitment and progress with the work, and inconsistencies in the quality of assessments”.
NEWS
Unsafe disposal of millions of vapes a week causing environmental damage and rise in lithium-ion battery fires
By Kerry Reals on 19 December 2024
More than eight million vapes are thrown away or recycled incorrectly every week in the UK, resulting in environmental damage and an increased risk of lithium-ion battery fires, according to non-profit group Material Focus.
Government seeks to address link between work and health as it unveils plan to ‘Get Britain Working’
By Kerry Reals on 26 November 2024
Reforms aimed at reducing unemployment and tackling economic inactivity will focus on helping people with long-term health conditions return to work, preventing health conditions from developing in the first place and expanding access to mental health support, the UK Government has announced in a new white paper.
UK workplaces among the unhealthiest in Europe, finds new study
By Belinda Liversedge on 26 November 2024
UK workplaces rank among the worst in Europe for workplace demands, control at work and job strain, a new report has found.