Working on offshore sites can be a dangerous job no matter how many safety rules are put into service.
Great Britain’s biggest union, Unite, recently told the UK Transport Committee that offshore workers want reforms to helicopter safety in order to rebuild the confidence lost after five major incidents in four years, resulting in 20 fatalities.
More than 50% of offshore workers who participated in Unite’s Back Home Safe consultation said they were not confident in the safety of offshore commercial helicopter transfers to installations in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), with 77% stating that confidence declined over the last year.
The Transport Committee’s inquiry into helicopter safety took evidence from offshore trade unions and industry bodies in Aberdeen, with Unite believing that helicopter operators and the industry should listen to the increasing number of workers supporting the demands of its Back Home Safe campaign.
Moral Obligation to Make Transfers Safe
Unite regional industrial officer John Taylor, who gave evidence to the committee, commented, “Helicopter transfers are the only efficient means of transferring workers to and from offshore installations but the industry and the operators have a moral obligation to make these transfers as safe as possible in order to get its people back home safe.
“The workers have sent a clear message to the industry that there is a confidence issue and it needs to be addressed. This isn’t scare-mongering; it’s a reality that must be faced-up to after five incidents and twenty fatalities attributed to offshore helicopter transfers since 2009.
“We believe our modest proposals for changes to helicopter seating configuration, improved on-board lighting, survival training and personal safety equipment present an opportunity address this problem, not as a panacea but as a means of better protecting lives should a major incident occur and we hope MPs on the committee support this.”
The demands of the Unite Back Home Safe campaign are:
- Safer emergency lighting and seating configuration in all offshore helicopters to aid evacuation;
- Immediate implementation of all safety recommendations from past offshore helicopter incidents;
- Independent review to improve contingencies in the event of a ditching (to maximize the survival time for workers); and
- Improved survival equipment and training for workers.
Author Kori Shafer-Stack, Editor, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in post-injury response procedures and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: kstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
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