Britains HSE Unveils Offshore Safety Represenative Regulations Report

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently released the report on the Inspection Project conducted in 2010 looking at compliance with, and the effectiveness of, the offshore Safety Representative regulations, "Offshore Installations (Safety Representatives and Safety Committees) Regulations 1989", commonly referred to as SI971.

 

 

According to a report from HSE, the findings of the report show that significant numbers of 'duty holders' (Installation owners and or operators) are falling short of the mark and in a few cases are well below the standard expected. In particular, duty holders are found to be failing to properly consult workers on issues affecting health and safety, a cornerstone to engaging and involving workers in health and safety matters. (WCxKit)

 

 

RMT Regional Organizer Jake Molloy noted, "We've had these regulations for 22 years now and for each and every one of those 22 years industry stakeholders have been speaking about ways of improving 'workforce involvement' in health and safety. What this report shows is the industry is fundamentally failing to involve workers in health and safety matters, as the most basic element in that process – consultation – is not occurring. It's clear the duty holders are either reluctant or unwilling to properly consult; after all they've had 22 years to get in the way of it! It's therefore time the Safety Reps were adequately equipped to fully engage with duty holders and compel them to consult with the workforce. To do this the scope of training for safety reps must be improved." (WCxKit)

 

 

In the "Conclusions" of the HSE report it states; "An area where DHs (Duty Holders) often failed to involve SRs (Safety reps) was in consultation. DHs should review their own practice on consultation to make sure they maximize the opportunities for SR involvement in decisions that affect health and safety." 

 

 

To see the full report, visit: http://www.oilc.org/si971_2011.pdf .