Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) has issued Equinor with a notification of order, after a safety audit on working environment risk at Grane identified five serious regulatory breaches.
The audit took place between 25 May and 18 June 2020. The objective was to verify that Equinor’s and the contractor’s management of working environment risk prevents employees from being exposed to health hazards and the risk of sickness absence.
Five non-conformities were identified, relating to:
- management of working environment risk at Grane
- management of the risk of musculoskeletal disorders
- management of the physical and chemical working environment
- manning and competence
- training of the safety delegates
On the basis of our observations in the audit, PSA has ordered Equinor to:
1. Review the company’s management system and practices for working environment follow-up in order to ensure that:
– potential working environment risks are identified in a systematic manner
– mapping of working environment conditions is undertaken that is appropriate for assessing health risks
– comprehensive risk assessments of working environment factors are made at group level and are used as decision support for measures
– measures are followed up and their outcomes are validated and verified by qualified personnel
2. Perform a comprehensive review of working environment conditions at Grane.
The deadline for complying with the order is 26 February 2021. A time-delimited schedule for complying with the order shall be sent to the PSA by 15 November 2020. The schedule shall describe how this work is to be performed and followed up and when the order will have been complied with.
Equinor must now follow up the non-conformities that have justified the notification of order. The company must also report on how the other non-conformities in the report will be addressed by 21 December 2020.
The Grane oil field, located around 185 kilometres west of Haugesund in the North Sea, has been developed with an integrated accommodation, processing and drilling platform with a fixed steel frame construction resting on the sea bed.
