Tuesday 6 October 2009

Step Change in Safety event keeps focus on workforce engagement

At its network meeting on Wednesday, 07 October 2009, Step Change in Safety will bring together over 180 safety representatives, company focal points and site leaders for one of its regular safety summits. The meeting, which will be held at the Britannia Hotel in Aberdeen, gives a voice to those directly involved in offshore safety, providing an opportunity to raise issues of concern in an open forum and share experiences, lessons learned and best practice.

Ian Crossan, leader of the Step Change support team, said: "One of the key work areas for Step Change in Safety is to increase workforce engagement on safety issues. It is those working on the installations who can actually tell us where we need to improve and help us focus our efforts on those issues that can make a real difference to offshore safety.

"A significant part of this meeting will look at the role of the offshore safety representative. In its KP3 review, which was published earlier this year, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) gave us the challenge to make the role of the offshore safety representative more effective. With more than 80 safety representatives set to attend, the network meeting will focus on their role offshore, the effectiveness of training and the support they receive from onshore management.  

"We will take all feedback from the day back into the Step Change Leadership Team and the relevant workgroups to ensure that the function of the offshore safety representative is strengthened across all offshore installations."

Also speaking at the event will be Steve Walker, head of the HSE offshore division. He explained: "I firmly believe that including the workforce has a positive effect on health and safety performance benefitting everyone offshore. I am very pleased to be speaking at this event and talking through the results of the recent HSE offshore workforce survey of close to 4000 offshore workers who gave us their views on a range of issues and how health and safety is managed and the role they play. It highlights that there is a high level of awareness of the benefits of workers playing their part and that there is positive work already ongoing. It also showed that there is opportunity to do more, something that has been recognised by the industry and will be taken forward through Step Change in Safety."

Further speakers include Jake Molloy, regional organiser for RMT, and Bob Keiller, CEO of PSN and chair of the Helicopter Task Group.

Britta Hallbauer Oil & Gas UK media relations

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