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May/June 2023 issue

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Sector: Energy
News

Apache’s inadequate shift cover put oil rig operations at risk, says HSE

Open-access content Friday 31st August 2018
From the archive:  Just so you know, this article is more than 3 years old.

hse-logo-hero__8

The HSE argued that Apache North Sea's reduced staffing of the production technicians' rota on the Beryl Bravo platform, which included using trainees, apprentices and assistants to cover some shifts, had the potential to increase fatigue among staff and reduced also its ability to carry out critical work.

The improvement notice, which was issued on 19 July, said that Apache had agreed in November 2017 that, as part of a change in the rota pattern, there should be four production technicians each, on day and night shifts, for routine platform operations. This would include an allowance for two control room operators (CROs) per shift, but with an allocation of five per shift to cover sickness/absence/rota breaks as reflected in the current production technicians' rota.

However, a scheduled inspection of the Beryl Bravo platform found that both day and night shifts had only three production technicians, including one CRO, which the HSE said was "significantly lower" than the arrangements that Apache had identified as required to "safely operate the plant, conduct routine operations and allow personnel to have sufficient rest periods/breaks".

The HSE said that the use of trainees, apprentices and assistants to cover some shifts, who were "not deemed to be fully competent" according to the operator's own competency management system, also could not "be considered to provide adequate cover".

The scheduled inspection of the platform, which sits in the Beryl oil field, 290 km north north-east of Aberdeen, also found that the reduced rostering of production technicians was not an isolated incident and had been ongoing since the start of 2018.

An Apache spokesperson said the improvement notice, which related to a period of reducing manning arrangements, was the result of "unforeseen circumstances".

The spokesperson said: "Where this occurred, activities were proactively reduced to manage workload, thereby ensuring completion of safety-critical activities and the safe operation of the asset.

"Further enhancements are being implemented and Apache will continue to communicate our progress to the HSE until the matter has been resolved."

Apache North Sea, a subsidiary of the US-based Apache Corporation, has until 14 September to comply with the notice.

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 Long hours leave wind farm workboat crews at risk of fatigue

Monday 3rd September 2018
Signs of extreme tiredness include delayed reactions, poor concentration and corner cutting, all of which leave OESV operators open to making errors that can threaten the safety of their crewmembers. The trade association for the workboat industry has called on the offshore wind and workboat sectors to work together to eliminate instances of fatigue.
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 Court cuts utility company's ‘manifestly excessive’ fine by 85% with culpability revision

Thursday 6th September 2018
The company challenged the sentence on the basis that the fine was manifestly excessive given that Electricity North West had carried out a sufficient risk assessment which did not expose workers to a risk of harm.
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 Directors blame Ikon’s collapse on bad publicity from HSE death investigation

Monday 13th August 2018
Ikon ceased trading two months after 22-year-old Luke Allen died on 15 March after falling through the roof of the former sports café building in Bristol city centre. Allen was employed by a subcontractor on the project for which Ikon was the main contractor.
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 Unethical bosses face fines or bans under proposed ‘phoenix’ reforms

Friday 31st August 2018
The Insolvency Service’s powers to ban company directors will be extended to those involved in “phoenixing”, also known as “bumping companies”, in order to dodge paying a dissolved company’s debts to their own staff and creditors.
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 Council fined £200k for exposing primary school staff to asbestos

Tuesday 4th September 2018
Kent County Council was fined £200,000 for the oversight because, as the employer under the Health and Safety at Work Act, it had failed to ensure employees liable to be exposed to asbestos had been trained adequately. The school, Lansdowne primary, was not prosecuted because it had transferred to the Stour Academy Trust and was no longer run by the council at the time of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) initial visit.
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 Teen chef had no training before deep fat fryer fall

Thursday 6th September 2018
The 3 A Pub Company, trading as The Cross, pleaded guilty to breaching s 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act and has been fined £25,200 plus £5,900 costs. Environmental health officers from Warwick District Council found that the 18 year old had not received any safety training, information or instruction, despite having worked as an apprentice chef at the restaurant for more than a year. He had not been provided with the findings of risk assessments relating to work at height, use of fryers and contact with heat sources.
Open-access content
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Sector: Energy
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