What is Offshore Safety?
In the natural gas and oil industry, safety is a number one priority. Not following safety protocols and acting carelessly can lead to incidents that put the environment, your employees, and the entire organization at risk. Offshore safety includes a set of best practices and guidelines for organizations to follow when working at sea to ensure everyone’s safety and that all risks are kept at a minimum.
While there are many industries that operate at sea, offshore safety specifically focuses on the oil and natural gas industry. Accidents and failure to follow safety guidelines can lead to severe environmental damage and put your workers in danger. Thats why offshore safety is highly emphasized in these industries.
Who Regulates Offshore Safety?
There are a set of federal regulations in place to enhance offshore safety for drilling oil rigs at sea. The agency in charge of regulating offshore safety is the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Currently, they are responsible for regulating offshore gas and oil, which includes offshore safety.
The goal of this bureau is to ensure that all offshore oil and gas practices are compliant with federal regulations designed to create a safe and fair working environment. They are also in charge of ensuring that the environmental impact of these practices doesnt exceed what is allowed by the government.
Consequences of Not Following Offshore Safety
When organizations are found not complying or violating offshore safety regulations, the result is a hefty fine and civil penalties. Typically, the fines range from $46,000 to $48,000 for every day that an organization is found violating the regulations. Because of this, organizations are highly encouraged to follow all offshore safety rules and regulations. On top of ensuring compliance, abiding by these regulations puts your employees and organization in a safer working environment.
Who Needs to Practice This?
Offshore safety primarily applies to the oil and natural gas industry. Since there are so many variables to consider when working at an oil rig at sea, safety needs to be a top priority. This is why all organizations in this industry are required to abide by the relevant safety rules and regulations. This is not only for compliance but also ensures that all your workers are in a safe environment where their health and safety arent placed at unnecessary risk.
SafetyCulture for Offshore Safety
FAQs about Offshore Safety
Physical hazards are very common offshore safety hazards. This could mean noise, vibration, and even radiation hazards. Anything that can put your employee’s health and physical well-being at risk is one of the most common offshore hazards.
Other examples of offshore safety hazards include:
- musculoskeletal disorders from manually handling equipment;
- accidental ingestion or contact with hazardous substances; and
the risk of falling and slipping in high-risk areas of the site.
Offshore safety in the oil and gas industry is regulated and overseen by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Within the organization, it’s important to have a dedicated safety officer in charge of overseeing all offshore safety concerns.
Offshore safety is in place to protect workers, organizations, and the environment from the common risks and hazards of the oil and gas industry. These regulations are in place to protect individuals in the industry from unnecessarily high-risk situations.
Leon Altomonte
