Now that COVID restrictions have eased and people are returning to the workplace or to leisure activities in larger numbers – and with the possibility that even those who have preferred to remain working from home may now choose to work from the office as fuel costs rise – what could be the consequences for our health as we move into winter?
“We've got to learn from what others have gone through, but at the same time pass on our own learnings to other industries,” says Offshore Energies UK’s (OEUK) new safety boss Mark Wilson.
Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) is planning a review of medical certificates which could limit the number of people going offshore with heart conditions.
If Covid-19 has taught the world anything, it is that the power of digital technology to save time and money and improve our lives was not being used to its full advantage.
Ineos has been given an improvement notice after being accused of failing to take “all measures necessary” to prevent major accidents at its site at Grangemouth.
A Norwegian politician has launched a new working group to produce a white paper on offshore safety in the region.
Unattended health issues not only threaten the worker – but can also threaten the productivity and profitability of their organisation.
Statoil has been given consent to use the Huldra facility in a cold phase in the North Sea.
A safety warning has been issued to helicopter operators after a fault was discovered which could potentially endanger crews. The warning was issued on Wednesday by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), after a problem was found in rescue hoists. The fault was traced during a safety test on an Airbus Deutschland Helicopter MBB-BK 117 C-2.
Statoil has been criticised by the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) over a number of maintenance failings at a North Sea field. The body said a number of non-conformities were found in connection with maintenance of offshore cranes, wire ropes and training of emergency preparedness personnel.
Energy giant Total has been fined £1.4million after a worker was killed in an oil refinery explosion. Contractor Robert Greenacre, 24, was working under a distillation column containing hot crude oil, which was released and caught alight at the huge plant in North Killingholme, North Lincolnshire five years ago. A colleague was able to escape with minor burns but Mr Greenacre died at the scene.
A tornado in Texas has left three people injured after hitting a natural gas drilling rig in Texas. According to reports, one victim suffered minor injuries, another had non-life threatening injuries to his face and a third had suffered an injury to their abdomen.
More than 80 crew were evacuated from an offshore support vessel after a blaze broke out in its generator room. Thirty-five firefighters were called to Peterhead harbour after the alarm was raised on board the 426ft Fugro Symphony. Two units from Peterhead, two from Ellon and one from Maud went to the scene. A specialist foam unit from Aberdeen was also called and three firefighters wearing breathing apparatus along with a member of the ship’s own fire team pinpointed the blaze in the ship’s generator room on one of its lower decks.
The PSA (Petroleum Safety Authority Norway) has warned a man who fell overboard from a mobile drilling unit could have been killed. The safety body has been investigating how a worker fell through a gap directly into the sea 13.5metres below from the drilling unit Scarabeo 8 in February this year. The incident had occurred when subsea personnel were preparing to bring the blowout preventer (BOP) back into service after about four weeks of maintenance. Two subsea engineers, who were working in the moonpool area at the time of the incident, entered the BOP carrier used to move he unit between the well centre and the parked position.
An oil worker has died and more than a dozen others have been injured after a fire broke out on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The incident happened on the Pemex operated Abkatun Alpha platform in the Bay of Campeche earlier today. A spokeswoman for Pemex confirmed one person had been killed while 16 others had also been hurt. Two of the workers are believed to be in a serious condition.
An energy industry safety group has moved to allay fears that offshore workers could be left stranded at sea if they don’t comply with new rules for helicopter flights. In line with size restrictions that come into force today, passengers need to have had their shoulders measured so that they can be assigned a seat next to a window large enough for them to crawl through in the event of a ditching. On Monday, an Aberdeen-based workplace healthcare provider, RPS, said workers whose measurements have not been recorded will be allocated an “extra broad” seat by default. It went on to warn that unmeasured workers might find that there is not enough room for them, as there are a limited number of XBR seats on a helicopter.
An offshore worker has been airlifted to hospital from a North Sea platform following a medical emergency. The crewman was working on the Tiffany platform which is 155 miles north east of Aberdeen. A Bond 1 helicopter from the Miller Platform flew to the Tiffany platform after the alarm was raised.
The Environment Secretary has called on the UK Government to review the provision of emergency tugs after several shipping incidents in Scottish waters. Richard Lochhead urged Westminster to extend funding for emergency towing vehicles beyond March 2016 during a debate at Holyrood on Scotland’s draft national marine plan. The move follows the grounding of the Lysblink Seaways cargo ship at Ardnamurchan Point yesterday and the overturning of the Cemfjord, which sank in the Pentland Firth with eight sailors on board last month. In a third incident last October, the Danish ship MV Parida carrying radioactive nuclear waste caught fire and began drifting in the Moray Firth.
An investigation has been launched after a North Sea worker was exposed to radiation. The incident happened 145 miles east of Aberdeen on the Lomond Installation. The worker, who is employed by offshore firm Sparrows, has undergone medical evaluations both offshore and onshore and has been confirmed as safe from any potential harm.
More than 60,000 offshore workers are to have the span of their shoulders measured ahead of new regulations on body size coming into force in April. Industry group Step Change in Safety has revealed its measurement strategy for helicopter passengers travelling to and from offshore installations that will ensure all can escape from windows in the case of accidents. Workers whose shoulders measure greater than 22in will be classified as “extra broad” (XBR) and will be required to sit in a helicopter seat that’s closest window is compatible with their shoulder size.
A hearing over legal action for access to voice recorder data from accident investigators following a fatal helicopter crash is to be held. Four people – three men and a woman – died when a Super Puma crashed off Shetland in 2013. Sarah Darnley, from Elgin, Gary McCrossan, from Inverness, Duncan Munro, from Bishop Auckland, and George Allison, from Winchester, all lost their lives.
A ruling that obesity can be classed as a disability will cause “confusion” and may open a “can of worms”, it was claimed yesterday. Politicians and business chiefs were divided over the consequences of the European Court of Justice judgment on the case of 25-stone Danish child-minder Karsten Kaltoft. Dame Anne Begg, Labour MP for Aberdeen South and chairwoman of Westminster’s work and pensions committee, said: “It’s difficult to tell what the impact will be.
An offshore worker has been airlifted to hospital from a platform 130 miles east of Aberdeen. The man was flown to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where he was met by an ambulance and a team from the coastguard. An Aberdeen coastguard spokesman said they received a call at around 1.30pm on Monday afternoon.