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First-ever Induction Framework for Subsea Launched to Radically Improve Safety

Subsea UK’s safety forum is today launching the first ever pan-industry sector common induction framework to reduce accidents and improve safety performance through a greater understanding of the risks and what is required.

This is the first of a series of best practice initiatives that the industry body’s Subsea Safety Leadership Forum will be rolling out to improve safety through industry-wide collaboration.

The common induction framework will ensure that everyone working offshore, onshore or on-board vessels in the subsea sector will receive a common induction process before beginning work. It has been developed by sharing best practice from the main contractors to ensure a common approach to inductions.

Chief executive of Subsea UK, Alistair Birnie, said: “This is a major step forward in the industry’s collaborative approach to safety and is targeted at further improving performance across the sector.

“I have been particularly impressed by the willingness to share information, the transparency in the process and the commitment of members to work together for the benefit of the industry and its employees.

“By coming together, they have identified the best of what is being done by individual organisations and combined this into a single induction framework that will be available to everyone working on a subsea project.

The subsea sector operates in one of the most mission-critical and challenging environments of any in the oil and gas industry. Recent statistics on subsea-related incidents reveal that a substantial number of reported incidents are related to sub-contractor personnel. The priority was therefore to introduce an effective way of making sure there was a common standard for inducting people into their worksite. This is not about creating new safety guidelines but about making sure existing guidelines are communicated clearly and implemented consistently across all contractors.

The induction framework is primarily targeted at new employees in the sector and those going into a marine environment for the first time such as technicians from equipment manufacturing companies and those whose usual day-job is desk-bound. However, every worker should have the same level of safety competence so the framework applies to everyone connected with offshore subsea operations.

“Many of the people involved in subsea operations are not as familiar with the offshore environment and will not have had the same inductions as people working for the major contractors. By providing this standard guidance, we can ensure that everyone will be briefed through a common induction as to what to expect when travelling to and from and installation or working on a vessel at sea,” explained Mr Birnie.

At the launch of the induction framework today, Ken Robertson, the co-chair of Step Change in Safety said: “So often an employee’s first contact with health and safety is through their company’s induction training programme. Any tool that improves the consistency of such programmes must be welcomed. The Subsea UK common induction guide is such a tool. The guide provides a clear framework for inductions through its use of clear language and high quality graphics and is an important stepping stone in the subsea sectors drive towards improved safety performance.”

Subsea UK’s safety forum, established in 2010, brings together the leading players in the UK subsea sector to ensure that the UK is the safest place for those working in it from marine operators to subsea contractors and sub-contractors.

The forum has been sharing information and the lessons learnt from specific subsea instances and incidents. It provides leadership and direction on improvements which will be rolled-out in a planned and co-ordinated way.

The new chairman of the forum is Stephen McNeil of Subsea 7, who replaces Ron Cookson of Technip. The other forum member companies are DOF, FUGRO and Bibby Offshore

The induction framework is free to use and can be accessed at www.subseauk.com. It will be maintained and updated by Subsea UK and a steering group of safety professionals from the main contractors.

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