Workforce involvement is ‘essential' offshore
Workforce involvement is 'essential' offshore
Everyone working in the offshore oil industry has a part to play in driving up safety standards in the sector, the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) top offshore official has said. Nearly 200 participants heard the message at HSE's 'Play Your Part' offshore workforce involvement day held last week at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium. The event - the first of its kind - was organised by the Workforce Involvement Group (WIG), a sub-group of HSE's Offshore Industry Advisory Committee (OIAC). Ian Whewell, head of HSE's offshore division and chair of OIAC, said: 'It is essential that the offshore workforce is fully involved and is enabled to play its part in securing improvements in safety. In this the year when we remember the 20th anniversary of the Piper Alpha tragedy it is opportune to remember the importance Lord Cullen attached to this in his report on the disaster.' The 1988 oil platform disaster claimed 167 lives. 'The regulations introduced as a result provide a framework for involvement but I am still concerned that many offshore companies are not using safety representatives and safety committees effectively and not fully using the potential for real improvement which could be achieved by doing so,' HSE's Ian Whewell said. 'I hope companies will take the opportunity afforded by this conference to commit to real improvements in the way the workforce can be involved and demonstrate that commitment by agreeing to work with HSE and the trades unions to do so.'
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