General health and safety legislation in the UK is set in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 which places general duties on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of their employees and others who might be affected by their work.
The Act is supported by the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999) which requires employers to carry out risk assessments to identify measures that can be implemented to prevent accidents and protect people against accidents.
Offshore regulatory regime
The Offshore regime is based around the Safety Case Regulations (2005) which requires operators to have a safety case for fixed and mobile installations accepted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The safety cases need to be maintained and submitted to the HSE at various times throughout the life cycle of the installation.
The contents of a safety case are detailed in the Safety Case Regulations (2005) and should include:
- Details of operator
- Description of installation (with drawings) including
- Main/secondary structures, materials & plant
- Layout and configuration of plant
- Connections to pipeline, installation and wells
- Location plan of installation
- Operational parameters
- Maximum number of persons on installation
- Well control arrangements to:
- Control pressure in well
- Prevent uncontrolled release
- Minimise effects of damage to subsea equipment
- Description of pipelines including contents, dimensions and layout.
- Description of compliance with PFEER regulations which include description of risk assessments and the performance standards for safety critical elements.
- Arrangements for protection against toxic gas
- Measures or arrangements for protection from hazards of explosion, heat, smoke, toxic gas or fumes including provision for temporary refuge.
- Specification for design of installation/plant and description of suitability of safety critical elements.
The Safety Case Regulations is supported by other major regulatory documents as shown in the Figure below. The PFEER Regulations are particularly important for the management of fire and explosion hazards as they specify goals for preventive and protective measures and for securing effective emergency response.
