An oil worker was killed and a colleague injured in a poorly-managed lifting operation on the Bleo Holm support vessel in the North Sea, north east of Aberdeen.
Talisman Energy, the operator of the rig, owned by Bluewater, and Aker Kvaerner Offshore Partner, the sub-contractor that employed the two men, were each fined £600,000 after the men were struck by falling steel clamps on the floating production and storage offloading (FPSO) installation on 6 January 2007.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard on 9 October that Matthew Grey, from Darlington, and his colleague, Norman Jackson, from North Shields, had been carrying out extensive work inside a cargo oil tank 20 metres below the deck on the unit, which was in the Moray Firth.
The court was told that a pneumatic hoist was being used to lift items out of the tank through a small hatch at main deck level. Two steel beam clamps, weighing 21.5 kilograms, were among items that fell from the load, striking the men below.
Talisman Energy pleaded guilty to breaching s3(1) of HSWA 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of non-employees, while Aker Kvaerner pleaded guilty to breaching s2(1) of the same Act by not ensuring its employees’ safety. The fines included a discount of 25 per cent for guilty pleas.
HSE Principal Inspector Colin Richards explained that, for the conditions that existed at the time, the permit to work stipulated the use of radios but, in this instance, “the companies involved had not ensured that radios were supplied and used, [and] visual signals were being used in inappropriate conditions”.
In mitigation, Talisman said it had made “meaningful changes” to key areas of its operations — principally lifting and rigging procedures and practices — and to the application of its permit-to-work system, and communications.
Nick Walker, senior vice-president of Talisman, said in a statement: “We have shared our findings and actions with staff, contractors, the trade unions, and our industry peers, and we will continue to do so. There are some lessons in this incident for the industry around rigger competence standards, and we are working with our peers with the aim of persuading them to take this on as an industry initiative.”
Inspector Richards commented: “This tragic incident should remind everyone in the offshore industry and elsewhere that lifting operations are hazardous and must be carried out in a safe manner.” He said a safe system of work should include methods to prohibit personnel from entering a danger zone while a lifting operation is taking place.
“It must also include an effective and agreed system of communication among the personnel involved,” added the inspector. “This system must include the final confirmation that the lifting operation has been completed. Only then is it safe to allow personnel to enter the designated danger zone.”
Approaches to managing the risks associated Musculoskeletal disorders
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, we hear from Matt Birtles, Principal Ergonomics Consultant at HSE’s Science and Research Centre, about the different approaches to managing the risks associated with Musculoskeletal disorders.
Matt, an ergonomics and human factors expert, shares his thoughts on why MSDs are important, the various prevalent rates across the UK, what you can do within your own organisation and the Risk Management process surrounding MSD’s.
