Supply chain issues for offshore accidents in the Southern North Sea

The Health and Safety Commission set out a number of targets and strategies in Revitalising Health and Safety that were aimed at improving UK health and safety performance over the period 2000-2010. One such strategy included a better understanding of health and safety responsibilities through the contractor client interface and the supply chain. The supply chain is particularly important in the offshore industry where approximately 80% of work carried out offshore is by contract staff. This pilot study is concerned with identifying the issues that may be affecting the apparent plateau of incidents on offshore installations in the Southern North Sea (SNS), in particular the affect of the workforce supply chain. The research is based on comparison of factors identified through analysis of underlying causes of ninety six incidents recorded by one duty holder, with previous research on workforce perceptions of significant factors influencing the existing health and safety performance of duty holders in the SNS. The factors that emerge from this comparison include adequacy of maintenance regimes, training and competency and recording of accident/incidents. The incident analysis also highlighted issues related to procedures. These factors are discussed in relation to the targets and actions plans outlined by the Offshore Safety Division and the Offshore Industry in response to Revitalising Health and Safety. This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy. ISBN 0 7176 6116 4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Background During the late nineties the UK government reviewed the need to revitalise and provide new impetus to Health and Safety at work. The government's aim was to reinvigorate health and safety, to identify new approaches to improving workplace health and safety performance, particularly in smaller enterprises, to ensure that health and safety regulation remains compatible with trends in the development of industry and to ensure coherence between health and safety legislation and other government programmes. This resulted in the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions and the Health and Safety Commission developing a Strategy Statement on " Revitalising Health and Safety ". …