UK Health and Safety Performance – Introduction and Background

Offshore health and safety performance within the UK is measured using statistics from the Health and Safety Executive, who regulate the industry offshore. A key feature of the UK offshore regulatory regime is the safety case. The Safety Case Regulations came into force in 1992, as a response by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to key recommendations from the Cullen Report, following the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988. (for further information on the Piper Alpha Disaster see http://www.oilandgasuk.co.uk/issues/health/faq.cfm).

Oil & Gas UK (then UKOOA) were active in the Cullen Inquiry and in assisting industry with the implementation of other recommendations from Lord Cullen’s Report. Oil & Gas UK have continued to work closely with regulators on health and safety issues, and worked closely with HSE on the full revision of the Safety Case Regulations – completed in 2005. The purpose of the revision was to build on the successes of the ‘92 Regulations and to rejuvenate the value of the safety case, while also removing unnecessarily bureaucratic provisions.

With the Piper Alpha disaster approaching its 20th Anniversary, improving the health and safety performance of the offshore industry continues to be of the utmost importance as, unfortunately, fatalities continue to occur within our industry. Our performance is measured using statistics from the HSE, including RIDDOR (The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) reportable injuries and comparisons with other industries in the UK. See next section for more detail.

The industry is also working towards improving installation integrity offshore. A new joint industry and HSE initiative on installation integrity was kicked off in 2004. Feedback from HSE inspectors and duty holders on good practices, in particular in maintenance management, has been compiled by Oil & Gas UK into the Asset Integrity Toolkit. In addition, high level, key performance indicators (KPI) were developed to set targets and track industry progress. These are explained in more detail in the following section.

The Step Change in Safety initiative was launched in 1997 to further improve the industry’s health and safety performance through leadership, communication and cooperation at all levels of the industry.

UK Health and Safety Performance – Key Statistics and Commentary

A key feature of the UK offshore regulatory regime is the safety case. The concept requires the installation operator (duty holder) to show in a document that he has the ability and means to control major accident risks effectively. The safety case demonstrates that the installation operator has arrangements in place which, if implemented, are capable of achieving compliance with the regulatory objectives set in the supporting regulatory framework; including as the Offshore Installations (Prevention of Fire and Explosion, and Emergency Response) Regulations 1995, and the Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and Construction, etc) Regulations 1996. The case must also describe the arrangements the operator has in place for auditing compliance with his safety case. This case for safety must be accepted by HSE before operations can commence. The case provides a comprehensive core document that can be used as a check by both the installation operator (and HSE) that the accepted risk control measures and the health and safety management systems are in place and operate as intended.

HSE publish offshore injury, ill-health and incident statistics which show that the safety performance of the offshore sector remains mixed. The statistics published by the HSE relate to RIDDOR - reportable injuries only. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1996, require reporting and recording of all fatal, major and over-3-day injuries, as well as dangerous occurrences.

Although 2004/05 saw no reportable fatalities, there were unfortunately 2 fatal (RIDDOR) accidents during 2005/2006; and 2 fatalities in 2006/07. Any lessons which can be taken from the final accident reports for these fatalities will be shared around the industry.

The over-3-day and major injury rates also remain stubbornly high, with 39 people being seriously hurt offshore in 2006/2007. It is worth noting that this is a decrease of 22% on the previous year and is now the lowest for over 10 years.

Based on provisional figures for 2006/2007:

• the main causes of major and fatal injuries were related to slips/trips/fall (19), being trapped, struck by or striking against equipment (8), or injuries associated with lifts/pulls/pushes/swinging of loads (7) accounting for 83% of the total;
• 15 major injuries were to the upper limb;
• 25 major injuries were due to fracture.
  

HSE Accident Statistics for UKCS Offshore Sector, 2001/2002 to 2007/8

* based on a frequency per 100,000 people

Based on provisional figures for 2006/2007:

• 484 dangerous occurrences were reported, which is 7 less than during 2005/06, representing a decrease of 0.2%;
• Main types of dangerous occurrences reported were Hydrocarbon releases (35.5%), fail equipment offshore (26.4%) fail well (8.9%) and lift related (6%).

It is important to note that RIDDOR specifically does not apply to events that are reportable under the Air Navigation (Investigation of Air Accidents involving Civil and Military Aircraft or Installations) Regulations 1986; The Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents) Regulations 1989; and The Merchant Shipping Act 1988, and Orders and Regulations made or to be made there under – therefore, industry-related aviation and marine accidents which are covered by any of the above regulations are not included in the RIDDOR-derived statistics.

In 2006, this included the loss of the Meridian Guard Vessel in October, which resulted in the death of 4 crew members; the Morecambe Bay helicopter crash in December which resulted in 7 fatalities; the Bourbon Dolphin capsize in April 2007 which resulted in 8 deaths; and the Viking Islay confined space incident which resulted in 3 deaths. These incidents may not be included in the data above but they resulted in the loss of colleagues, which has been felt keenly by the entire industry. These incidents will not be forgotten and we will endeavour to learn any lessons which may arise from the final investigation reports and help prevent similar incidents occurring again.

UK Health and Safety Performance – Supplementary Statistics and Commentary

For more information, see the Supplementary Statistics Section.

Additional Information on RIDDOR

The RIDDOR reportable injury types are defined below:

Fatal Injury: An accident which results in the death of a person on the work site.

Major Injury: This includes fracture (not fingers/toes), dislocation, amputation, loss of sight, serious burns or any injury which leads to unconsciousness or requires resuscitation; and any other injury requiring admittance to hospital for more than 24 hours

Over 3 Day Injury: An injury which is not major but results in the injured person being away from work or unable to carry out their normal duties for more than 3 days (including non-work days)

Dangerous Occurrence: An occurrence which does not result in a reportable injury but clearly could have done. This includes hydrocarbon release, explosion, dropped object, well incident.

For more information on RIDDOR visit www.hse.gov.uk/riddor