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This series of messages is aimed at keeping you informed of the operations of NOPSA. Please let us know if you would like to be added to the distribution list
PERSONNEL: NOPSA welcomes: · Joe Boswell, who joins the Perth Office from the UK HSE Offshore Division in Aberdeen. Prior to his role as a UK inspector, Joe worked for British Gas.
· Gavin Guyan, who joins the Perth Office, also from Aberdeen. Gavin has spent more than 25 years in the oil & gas industry, principally working for drilling contractors in the North Sea.
· Ian MacGillivray, a Perth local, who joins the Perth Office from the onshore gas pipeline industry where he has many years’ experience at a senior level.
· Bryan Poole, who joins the Melbourne Office from the UK HSE Offshore Division in Aberdeen. Prior to his role as a UK inspector, Bryan worked in mine management.
Wayne Higgins has left NOPSA to pursue an opportunity with Addax Petroleum in Nigeria. We wish him well in his new role.
OBITUARY: We have received the sad news that Barry Jones, the retired Executive Director of the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA), has died after a short illness. Mr Jones was with APPEA for eight years before stepping down in July 2005. He had a long career in the public service before joining APPEA, representing Australia on the International Energy Agency, the Nuclear Energy Agency and the OECD Agriculture Committee. NOPSA management and staff send their condolences to his wife and two sons.
INDUSTRY MATTERS: · The CEO and CFO of NOPSA met representatives of the offshore petroleum industry to discuss the cost-effectiveness of the operations of the Safety Authority. The inaugural meeting was held on 18 November 2005 and was well attended by industry representatives in Perth, with attendees from Melbourne joining in remotely via the NOPSA office. The meeting was also attended by Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (DITR) and a representative of the NOPSA Board.
· DITR is undertaking a targeted review of NOPSA's cost recovery arrangements. The review will focus on the sections of the Cost Recovery Impact Statement (CRIS) that relate to assessing the fees and levies collected against NOPSA's regulatory activities. If you wish to make any submissions please contact the Department through Ms Linda Tindall-Mather on (02) 6276 1894 or email linda.tindall@industry.gov.au.
The relevant Act and Regulations are: Offshore Petroleum (Safety Levies) Act 2003 Offshore Petroleum (Safety Levies) Regulations 2004
· A second NOPSA industry briefing was held on 18 November 2005. The workshop covered NOPSA’s Enforcement Management Model, National Programmes for Lifting and Facility Integrity, and Validation. The presentations are available on the NOPSA website.
The events were well attended by over 80 oil industry personnel in Perth and 20 in Melbourne. NOPSA intends to host similar workshops in the future on topics of interest to industry. Suggestions are always welcome from industry and the workforce for topics.
A draft Validation Guideline is available from the NOPSA website.
· NOPSA met twice with the APPEA HSO Subcommittee in November. Discussions were held on a framework for voluntary reporting of unplanned gas releases, and detailed discussion of the Facility Integrity national programme.
· NOPSA has recently issued its first Request for Tenders (RFT) for technical consultancy services. The RFT can be obtained from the AusTender website.
STAKEHOLDER RELATIONS: A Health and Safety Representatives Forum is being organised at the Joondalup Resort, Perth, Western Australia on 27 to 28 February 2006. Details of the event are provided on the NOPSA website.
The main objective of Health and Safety Representative (HSR) forums is to provide an opportunity for offshore workplace health and safety representatives from all jurisdictions to meet, exchange information and develop possible strategies to assist in the management of offshore safety issues from a workplace point of view.
The Steering Committee is seeking corporate sponsorship for this important event. For a Sponsorship Pack, please contact the HSR Forum Steering Committee at the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources (DITR) via hsr@industry.gov.au.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: The Minister has approved the NOPSA three year Corporate Plan, commenting that “…for the first time, Australia’s petroleum industry has consistency in offshore occupational health and safety, leading to a considerable reduction in the regulatory burden.” The NOPSA Corporate Plan 2005-2008 may now be downloaded from our website. [PDF, 2288 kB]
VISITS: During the month, the NOPSA CEO accompanied, as an observer, inspectors from the Melbourne and Perth offices on an offshore inspection to a Bass Strait facility, followed by a visit to a second facility so as to meet a wider workforce representation. NOPSA encourages cross-team and inter-office working to ensure consistency of approach, and supplements this by oversight of operations by the CEO.
CONFERENCES: · The CEO gave a presentation – “Step Change in Safety. Leadership: the role of the Regulator” - at the IFAP SafetyWA 2005 Conference which was held in Fremantle 15-16 November. He also attended the 2005 IFAP/CGU Safe Way Awards presentation.
· Paul Finnigan gave a presentation entitled “The New Australian Offshore Safety Regime – Implications for Operators & Contractors” at the Inaugural International Conference on High Pressure Water Jetting held on 23 & 24 November 2005.
· Paul Finnigan gave a presentation on new projects and safety management at the Woodside Projects Open Day.
· The APPEA and NOPSA two-day offshore health and safety conference will be held in Perth in March 2006. The general theme of the event will be “engineering, systems people – bringing them together”. Planning for this event is well advanced, with confirmed speakers for most sessions. Details for delegates will be published shortly, and a link provided in a future CEO newsletter.
To complement the above, there is also to be a one-day stream on safety in the offshore petroleum industry on day 3 of the Safety in Action conference to be held in Melbourne from 16 to 18 May 2006. Almost all speakers for this event are confirmed. Details for delegates will be published shortly, and a link provided in a future CEO newsletter.
INTERNATIONAL: NOPSA notes the appointment of Trevor Harrison as Senior Advisor High Hazards to the NZ Department of Labour. We look forward to working with Trevor on issues of common interest.
NOPSA BOARD: The final NOPSA Board meeting for 2005 was held on 23 & 24 November. In addition to the standing agenda items, the Board reviewed NOPSA’s progress towards its risk management strategy and performance indicators. The Board also considered NOPSA’s Freedom of Information, Privacy and Duty of Care policies. The next meeting will be in Perth after the HSR Forum on 1 & 2 March 2006.
On 24 November 2005, the NOPSA Board met with The Hon Alan Carpenter MLA, WA Minister for State Development; Energy.
INCIDENTS, COMPLAINTS, ENFORCEMENT: Safety Case Assessment · Six (6) Safety Cases have been assessed this month, with a remaining sixteen (16) Safety Cases and one (1) Diving Project Plan in progress at the end of this period.
Inspections · Six (6) offshore inspections were conducted this month.
Incidents & Complaints: · Only four (4) incidents and two (2) complaints were reported during November. Two of the incidents were related to dropped objects.
EMERGING ISSUES: NOPSA is seeing a range of emerging health-related issues, such as poor standards of accommodation, shift patterns and fatigue.
Past issues of this newsletter are available from the NOPSA website at: |
