Britain's Offshore Oil and Gas Index

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BRITAIN'S OFFSHORE OIL & GAS Safety In terms of social sustainability, safety performance within the industry is one of the most important elements. Nothing has a higher priority than safety. Safety is always the principal concern in every aspect of the offshore oil and gas industry's activities. Following the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988, the industry quickly implemented safety improvements, including the Safety Case approach, based on goal-setting regulations, seeking to ensure such a tragedy would not happen again. Workers are encouraged to report any potential safety problems. The drive to achieve continuous safety improvements was reinforced in 1997 when the industry launched its "Step Change in Safety" programme. This was followed in 2000 by a Government-sponsored initiative "Revitalising Health and Safety." Both these programmes have set ambitious targets for further enhancing industry safety. Major advances have been achieved, but there is still much work to be done. In recent years increasing attention has been paid to the behavioural aspects relating to safety performance. Detailed information on safety performance and targets can be accessed on the "Step Change" website at http://step.steel-sci.org/