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Our Vision Health and safety risks in the Australian offshore petroleum industry are properly controlled. 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 INDUSTRY MATTERS: NOPSA participated on the judging panel for the 2005 Woodside Health, Safety & Environment Awards in June and attended the Awards function on 20 July. The top two safety awards went to an initiative on driving safety in Libya, and a submission by a Woodside design project team, using risk based criteria to sift design concepts for a new Australian development. NOPSA held a briefing session for the service companies employed in drilling operations on 20 July. The briefing covered a number of topics including the goal setting nature of the legislative regime, employers’ duty of care, the role of Health & Safety reps, and NOPSA inspections and powers. Fatigue management emerged as a topic of interest to many of the participants. Service companies reported that they still face significant demands and pressures from some clients who continue to expect service hands to work unreasonable hours. NOPSA reminded the audience of the duties regarding avoiding fatigue imposed by the PSLA Occupational Health & Safety Regulation 4A. Both the workforce and management must have a clear understanding of their own company’s policy on working hours. The above event was over-subscribed and NOPSA will repeat the briefing for the benefit of those interested parties that were unable to attend the first session. Stakeholders located in Victoria who would be interested in attending a corresponding event in Melbourne or Sale should contact Karin Illenberger on (03) 8866 5700 or <karin.illenberger@nopsa.gov.au>. Subject to the level of interest a date and venue will then be decided. Andrew Chandran will be presenting NOPSA’s risk-based approach to “Occupational Health regulation in the offshore petroleum industry” in Melbourne on 1 September 2006 at 10:30am. All interested parties are welcome. This presentation was made in Perth during June. If you wish to register your interest for the Victoria event, please contact Karin Illenberger on (03) 8866 5700 or <karin.illenberger@nopsa.gov.au>. Venue details will be advised when booking. Most NOPSA Inspectors have now received their Maritime Security Identity Cards, (MSIC’s), which will be required for most offshore workers from 1 January, 2007. Further information is available at: http://www.dotars.gov.au/transport/security/maritime/msic.aspx#part CONFERENCES: The CEO gave a presentation entitled “Working globally to achieve world best practice” at the WA Public Sector Leadership Convention held on 24 and 25 July. The theme of the conference was “Global influences & engagement”. A copy of the presentation is available on our website. NOPSA’s Team 2 recently held an informal forum with a number of its allocated operators on the theme: ‘Sharing experience, improving safety’. Some of the issues discussed included the importance of senior management participation, undertaking meaningful hazard identification workshops, the extent of offshore experience across the workforce, consideration of workforce health and wellbeing, and the challenges of commissioning activities. BOARD: The NOPSA Board met on 5 and 6 July. Themes for the meeting included an overview of NOPSA’s balanced scorecard approach to risk management; key indicators for industry performance measures; consideration of potential strategic and policy issues; NOPSA Board performance measures and a review of the Board’s communication strategy. The next Board meeting is to be held in Darwin on 13 and 14 September. INTERNATIONAL: We note with sadness a fatality on a pipelay vessel in the US Gulf of Mexico, where an employee apparently became trapped between two pipes. It is because of potentially high individual risk levels that pipelay vessels are now included in the safety case regime in Australian waters. The UK ‘Piper Alpha’ anniversary on 6 July was marked in NOPSA by a reflection on the incident shared by an Inspector who lost a colleague. This was a timely reminder of the possible consequences of a major offshore incident, and the need for continuing vigilance by everyone involved in the offshore industry. Many of the underlying causes of the incident are still present in the industry today. A recent incident was reported in the UK ‘Sadie’ safety alert database, (http://step.steel-sci.org/SADIE/main_sadie_fs.htm), concerning a TEMPSC air bottle which failed whilst being repressured. The potential for serious injury or fatality was clearly present. Operators are reminded of the need for retesting of all compressed gases holders / pressure vessels at appropriate frequencies. NOPSA, by its contacts with fellow International Regulators Forum (IRF) member, the Norwegian PSA, has been notified of further studies on certain types of freefall lifeboats, carried out for the OLF (the Norwegian Operators Association). Following a number of incidents there, it has been advised that the NORSAFE freefall boats, types GES 40/GES40MB as well as the GES 30, needed structural reinforcement, and changes to seating configurations. Any Australian Operator with these types of boats, or UMOE Schat-Harding models, should contact their equipment vendors for further guidance. NATIONAL PROGRAMMES: The NOPSA Facility Integrity National Programme is an initiative aimed to reduce the number of uncontrolled hydrocarbon releases. As a joint initiative with APPEA and to ensure a consistent approach in reporting uncontrolled hydrocarbon releases, some operators of hydrocarbon producing facilities will be requested to report uncontrolled hydrocarbon releases in a standardised format using the form N-3000-FM207 Uncontrolled Hydrocarbon Release Report. This will enable NOPSA to regularly assess and identify trends and to report back to the industry in a generic and manner. At this stage, this initiative is not applicable to all operators of facilities. Individual letters for this request will be sent out to the relevant operators for this reporting. NOPSA is also seeking historical uncontrolled hydrocarbon release data and will request relevant operators to complete as many details as possible in a History of Uncontrolled Hydrocarbon Release form for each uncontrolled hydrocarbon release. REGULATORY ACTIVITIES: The following activity occurred during July. Activity and incident quantities identified here may vary as further information becomes available. Safety Case Assessment During July assessment decisions were issued for five Safety Cases. There were no Diving Safety Management Plans (DSMP) or Pipeline Safety Management Plans (PSMP) assessed during this period. At the end of July seventeen Safety Cases, including one PSMP were under assessment. Inspections There were two inspections conducted this month. Inspections included crane integrity; heat stress prevention; well integrity (surface casing corrosion); and corrosion of platform (maintenance issues). Incidents & Complaints: During July NOPSA investigated fifteen incidents and two complaints. One third of the incidents (5) resulted in injury to offshore personnel, and one third related to equipment failure or damage. One reported incident was an occurrence of a well casing collapse during work-over activities. This occurred at a time when the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has noted that there are “Well integrity challenges on the Norwegian shelf”, after every fifth well examined by the PSA in a comprehensive study showed uncertainty and weaknesses in well integrity. As the PSA notes, “this has consequences both for safety and recovery rate/economy”. NOPSA provided technical assistance to the Timor Sea Designated Authority in investigating a fire on board a MODU in Joint Petroleum Development Area waters. Enforcement There were no Improvement Notices or Prohibition Notices issued in July. NOPSA assisted Victorian Department of Primary Industries in their investigation into a serious injury that occurred on a mobile drilling unit offshore Victoria in late 2004, shortly before NOPSA’s commencement of operations. NOPSA met with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) to discuss regulatory interfaces between the two agencies, particularly in the area of enforcement in offshore areas. NOPSA is also keen to share ‘best practice’ investigation techniques that AFP utilise, to ensure NOPSA’s regulatory activities comply with legislative requirements. EMERGING ISSUES: NOPSA have noted that we continue to receive a significant number of safety submissions that either do not comply with the regulations or do not follow guidance provided on our website. Operators should note that Safety Case submissions have been, and will be, returned to operators if they are not properly submitted. Operators should ensure they understand the requirements for submission and the amount of time allowed to the Authority for assessment. NOPSA is reviewing Escape, Evacuation & Rescue (EER) provision in Australian waters, with a focus on helicopter availability in the cyclone season. NOPSA will be working with helicopter providers, and Operators, to source information on this topic. Another issue is the apparent over-reliance, by some Operators, on the public services for medical evacuation. NOPSA would prefer offshore operators to contract their own helicopter operators not only for routine day-time crew transfer flights, but also for 24 hour standby for medical emergencies, where this is practicable. The public services have other duties, and also may be limited in their offshore operational capabilities, meaning that they are best considered only as a back-up to contracted aircraft. Past issues of this newsletter are available from the NOPSA website at: http://www.nopsa.gov.au/CEO_emails/ |
