UK: SgurrEnergy Launches New Health and Safety Guidelines for Offshore Energy

SgurrEnergy has developed new health and safety guidelines for the offshore wind and marine energy industry on behalf of RenewableUK.

The offshore wind and marine energy sectors are growing rapidly in the UK and are increasing in scale and complexity, with larger developments, situated further from shore, in deeper waters. These changes bring many opportunities, but also introduce risks to the people and companies involved.

The new Offshore Wind and Marine Energy Health and Safety Guidelines address the principal offshore activities and hazards over the life cycle of a development, within the context of current regulations, with the aim of supporting the safe development of the sector. As offshore health and safety is such a broad area, the guidelines address almost 50 different topics, highlighting key issues, and signposting relevant guidance from existing sources, in order that the new guidelines can become the first point of reference for the industry, without duplicating existing sources.

Over the past year, the development of the guidelines has included extensive consultation and a programme of workshops with representatives of leading developers, manufacturers and contractors, to make sure that the guidelines address the real issues being faced by the industry, and reflect good practices currently being adopted.

David Malcolm, senior mechanical engineer at SgurrEnergy, said: “Throughout the development of these guidelines, the commitment of industry leaders to health and safety has been very clear, as demonstrated by the time and expertise that was given to support the consultation process. We have worked hard to produce a document that meets the industry’s needs, and will make it easier for users to find the information that they require.”

Chris Streatfeild, director of health and safety at RenewableUK, said: “The publication of the Offshore Wind and Marine Energy Health and Safety Guidelines is an important milestone for the renewable energy sector, and for offshore wind and marine energy projects in particular. We acknowledge the time, effort and professionalism of SgurrEnergy, who were able to coordinate and deliver an extremely complex project to such a high standard. In addition to building on the extensive knowledge and experience gained through the consultation process – SgurrEnergy provided substantial added value and insight in producing what we are confident will be benchmark industry guidelines for some time to come.”

The offshore health and safety guidelines will be used primarily by developers and clients in relation to offshore renewable energy projects designed, constructed, operated and maintained in the UK but will also act as a useful reference source for manufacturers, contractors and professional advisers.

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Press release, April 11, 2013; Image: safetytechnology