HID's work activities are informed by the HSC Strategy 2010 and Beyond and the Major Hazards Strategic Programme. For 2004/05 programme working was introduced to HSE. The HSE definition of programme working is 'the co-ordinated management of our activities to deliver change'.
Programme Director's have been appointed, who are responsible for developing strategic programme plans and monitoring, challenging delivery of plans. Nick Starling is the Director of the Major Hazard Strategic Programme, to which HID's programme activities contribute. Not all HID's work is classed as Programme work, we have a series of core activities that are necessary to the functioning of HSE's business or have external stakeholders' expectations/demands so great they cannot be stopped.
As part of these new arrangements, a Delivery Board has been created to oversee delivery of targets. As a subsidiary (and subset) of the HSE Board, it is concerned with ensuring that the finite HSE resources are allocated and managed in such a way as to maximise the improvements which can be achieved in the target areas.
This plan has been prepared to clearly set out to HID's staff, and HID's stakeholders within and outside HSE, how it will contribute to HSC/E's strategic aims and objectives over the coming years. These are put into a HID context and HID's planned activities are presented against the specific objectives, targets and outcomes to which they contribute.
HID is responsible for enforcing health and safety legislation in offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration and production, diving at work, underground mining, opencast coal sites, onshore oil refining, the manufacture and storage of chemicals, including explosives and the conveyance of dangerous substances by pipeline and road.
Via Corporate Topic Groups, HID is also responsible for undertaking primary regulation of Dangerous Pathogens (DPs) and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) as well as fire and explosion prevention and pressure systems integrity.
Chemicals & Downstream Oil:
The chemical industry is one of the UK's largest manufacturing industries and its products are the basis for almost every manufacturing activity. The sector has faced increasing international competition, particularly from the Far East (India, China, Korea & Malaysia) and has expressed concerns about regulatory burdens in Europe & USA acting against a level playing field. Onshore oil refining is concentrated at major estuaries, and the downstream chemical production generated by refineries tends to be located nearby. There is a tendency for the larger companies to operate worldwide because in the current competitive climate companies are striving to gain product differentiation, therefore research and development needs to be maintained and companies which have a wide customer base and product portfolio can fund new product development more easily.
Recent trends in the global chemical industry include:
Other industry pressures include:
The chemical & onshore oil industry has recently experienced the onerous task of implementing the new Seveso II Directive, at the same time a charging regime was introduced. Recent major incidents in Holland and France have led to rising concerns amongst Governments & the public about major accidents. These conflicting pressures have led to some strain between industry and regulators.
The Chemicals & Downstream Oil sector works with industry stakeholders to improve relationships, with competent authority partners to support regulatory efficiency, and to develop a regulatory programme to underpin the major hazard Public Services Agreement target.
Offshore Oil & Gas:
The UK offshore sector has been one of the world's largest producers of offshore oil and gas since the early 1980's, but is moving into a steadily declining discovery & production phase with installations approaching the end of their design life, the same time as operators looking for novel means of recovery of hydrocarbons from marginal fields & increasingly cost reducing measures as profitability declines.
The rate of change of the offshore industry is possibly faster than any other industry at this time. A small number of major oil companies, having a common management system over a large number of installations, are now giving way to smaller and frequently new operators. This, combined with such matters as: increased use of contractors; cost cutting; skills shortages; an ageing workforce; multi-tasking and multi-skilling; increased gas production; and installation ageing and abandonment issues, means that there is a continued need for effective intervention by an operationally fit regulator.
The UK's offshore health and safety regulations differ from most other producing nations, in that we consider the primary duty holders to be installation owners or operators. Elsewhere, eg. Norway and USA, the primary duty holder is the licensee. Hence, in Britain, under the UK offshore permissioning regulations and HSWA, drilling contractors have equivalent responsibilities to oil companies.
The mature regulatory regime has come under scrutiny with the resultant recognition by the sector and stakeholders that major regulatory change is needed to modernise the legislative framework. Equally important, the sector intelligence indicates that a challenge exists to ensure safety standards are maintained in an ageing installation base if a major accident is to be avoided.
The Offshore Oil & Gas sector identifies trends, manages the risks to HSE's reputation in the offshore industry, and works with stakeholders to develop programmes in support of the major hazard PSA and other targets.
With sustainability as the key issue facing the industry, a DTI Minister led forum known as PILOT (includes representatives from industry, Trade Unions, Treasury and HSE), aims to secure steady and high direct investment and hydrocarbon production. The sustainability effort raises many issues for HSE. With its encouragement, PILOT has adopted a vision for the UK to be the world's safest offshore sector by 2010. One of the terms of reference for the programme, endorsed by the Energy Minister, is for HSE to work in partnership with employers and workforce to secure delivery of the vision.
Gas & Pipelines:
The gas supply system has been the subject of significant liberalisation in recent years, new economic regulators have been introduced, and new operators have sought to improve the profitability of existing ageing networks. This process continues with proposals for further major restructuring of the gas distribution networks. Safety issues related to security of supply compound these changes. The objectives of the much wider range of players have not always been entirely consistent with maintaining safety standards.
The Gas & Pipelines sector works to assess the potential public safety impact of the tensions within the supply system, to act as voice of balance in cross Government debate, and to support the major hazard PSA target.
Explosives:
HSE carries out a programme of inspection work at explosives, acetylene and ammonium nitrate sites to ensure compliance with statutory provisions.
The rationalisation of facilities across the explosives sector often results in the release of land for other purposes and the need to decontaminate plant, buildings and land to allow safe working at the site during rationalisation activity and to ensure safety on an ongoing basis.
Explosives waste is normally destroyed by burning or incineration. This is potentially high risk and often neglected area of factory operations, and there have been a number of fatalities over the years.
Recent European incidents have the led to a review of the hazards arising from the storage of explosives and ammonium nitrate.
The Explosives sector has the knowledge and expertise to contribute to international & national developments to improve safety in these areas, also to further develop UK strategies and guidance to sustain HSE's and Local Authorities interventions to protect worker & public safety. Rationalisation of the industry is drawing upon the sector's expertise to support Government objectives on brown field land development.
Mines:
The deep coal mines sector has been through a period of substantial closures and fragmentation of the industry's traditional structures, with an associated rising concern from employee stakeholders about the impact on health and safety. Consequently Ministerial interest is at times focussed disproportionately on this small but potentially high hazard industry, not least from the DTI inheriting British Coal's liabilities for occupational disease claims. International and national health & safety infrastructures are being supported through a difficult period of transition to ensure that safety standards are not compromised.
The Mines sector works with the key stakeholders within the industry and across Government to ensure that health & safety standards are maintained in a shrinking deep coal mine sector where cost cutting pressures, loss of industry expertise, and reduced infrastructure support are likely to be quickly realised in a highly political sector extremely sensitive to any reduction in standards.
Diving:
This industry has a high fatal accident rate attracting parliamentary interest, is very diverse in operator character, and has varying safety standards across the range of activities within the industry sector.
The Diving sector works with international/national stakeholders to develop strategies, guidance, and standards to target improvements in the health & safety performance.
CTG 5:
The Unit's primary work areas are fire and explosion prevention and pressure systems integrity.
In spite of new regulations and improved technology, traditional problems continue to beset industry. Accidents and incidents continue to occur across the whole spectrum of activities, but particular examples include LPG highly flammable liquids, exposable dusts, failure of steam and air plant, and problems with the use of highly established technologies in new application areas such as sewage sludge drying in the water industry. Very often these incidents occur because of lack of knowledge of the hazards, lack of awareness of the extensive guidance and advice available, failure to assess risks and to take basic precautions, lack of inspection, poor maintenance, human frailty, and failure to learn from the experience of history.
There is a slow but steady increase in the use of natural gas as a cleaner alternative fuel for public transport and distribution companies. Similarly fuel cell technology and the 'hydrogen economy' are rapidly gaining momentum. Natural gas as a domestic fuel continues to cause injury and death when its use is not properly controlled.
The changing face of industry and increasing environmental pressure are making CTG 5 focus their attention on new and challenging areas whilst still maintaining an input to the more traditional activities.
CTG 6:
This group covers the topics of biological agents and genetic modification.
The work continues to have a high profile with the public and media. Activities are seen as having the potential to deliver health benefits and wealth creation to the UK and the safe development of the technology whilst maintaining public confidence is seen as vital to UK interests.
All major hazards present risk of major disasters, with harmful effects including: immediate deaths and injuries of many people, ill health, premature deaths (eg. from cancer), contamination of property and land, food bans, evacuation, rehousing, loss of on-site and off-site production facilities, disruption of transport; and subsequent on-going clean-up costs, social disruption, new legal constraints etc. The degree of intrinsic risk is determined by factors such as: complexity, visibility, controllability, sensitivity to fluctuations and internal and external hazards, pressures on operators.
Onshore:
Risk factors include the complexity and diversity of both chemical processes and the duty-holder base; relatively low start-up costs; low duty-holder competence at the bottom end of the market (e.g. fireworks storage, waste chemicals processing); multi-national companies involved at the top-end of the market; long-established sites in heavily populated areas; commercial pressures leading to frequent merger/de-merger and increasing contractorisation, leading in turn to dissipation of expertise.
The COMAH regulations cover a number of process, storage and distribution industries handling a wide range of dangerous substances, often at elevated temperature and/or pressure. The main hazards are societal and could involve large-scale accidental releases of such harmful substances with subsequent exposure of people and the environment, causing fires, explosions or toxic poising (including carcinogenic) substances.
The hazards associated with the explosives industry are primarily blast and missile throw. There is considerable variation across the industry, which ranges from small storage places holding low hazard products to larger factories manufacturing munitions and blasting explosives for quarrying.
A number of hazards exist in the natural gas supply and pipelines industries. Releases of natural gas from distribution networks can result in fires and explosions, there are also safety issues concerning security of gas supplies, principally to the domestic sector. Pipelines are also used to transport several other hazardous substances which can result in major incidents if not managed properly.
Major safety hazards in deep mining include fire; explosion; transport through shafts; transport below ground; and falls of ground. Coal mining has long been associated with the dust-induced lung disease pneumoconiosis, and this and other illnesses such as work-related emphysema and work-related chronic bronchitis still have the potential to occur. More recently there has been an increased prevalence of hand-arm vibration syndrome and musculoskeletal disorders.
Offshore:
The main hazards offshore are: the ignition of a large release of gas or flammable liquid with resultant explosion/s and fires; major structural failure with major loss of life and the collision of a large vessel with a significant offshore platform.
Risk factors in many areas are increasing due to having to operate in a maturing industry with diminishing returns and an ageing infrastructure. New entrepreneurial operators are increasingly replacing the established majors and these tend to be smaller companies often new to the UK regulatory regime. The accelerating rate of change in a low return environment requires innovative and frequently challenging and untested approaches, which include multi-skilling and downmannning, all at a time of an ageing offshore workforce and a resulting loss of skills.
Much of the Directorate's activities are driven by statutory duties on HSE arising from permissioning and licensing. The legislative framework governing our key activities, and our regulatory approach is outlined briefly below.
Onshore:
The Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations 1999 place specific functions on the competent authority1, including to: prohibit the use of any establishment where the control measures are seriously deficient; organise an adequate system of inspections of establishments; investigate major accidents (and notify the European Commission where accidents meet specified criteria); make specified information available through public registers; assess safety reports (top tier establishments only) and define public information zones.
Application of COMAH (and top/lower tier designation) is determined by the quantities of specified dangerous substances on an establishment. Top tier establishment operators must (as part of the demonstration that 'all necessary measures' have been taken) prepare, submit and maintain safety reports and emergency planning information. Lower tier establishments must prepare a major accident prevention policy; take 'all measures necessary' to prevent and mitigate major accidents and report major accidents.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) exists to enable the enforcing authorities that comprise the competent authority to jointly enforce COMAH. The policy is to assess all safety reports and to inspect all COMAH establishments in a systematic and structured way. Within HSE, this policy is implemented by HID's Chemical Industry Division.
The explosives industry is subject to a number of specific controls operated by the explosives inspectorate. All manufacturing and large scale storage is licensed, the principle effect of which is to specify the quantities and types of explosives permitted and set safety distances in and around the site. In addition, licences are issued for movement of explosives through ports and competent authority documents are issued for the classification and authorisation of individual explosives for transport, storage and supply.
The Pipelines Safety Regulations 1996 (PSR) require operators of pipelines
to ensure they are designed, constructed and operated safely. PSR places
duties on operators of major accident hazard pipelines to notify HSE about
their intended construction and operation, which are assessed by pipeline
specialist inspectors.
An ageing population of iron natural gas distribution networks supplying
gas to domestic premises receive particular attention. Failures have resulted
in serious incidents and HSE, in consultation with the Office of Gas and
Electricity Markets (Ofgem), have agreed a mains replacement programme
to ensure these are decommissioned over the next 25 years or so.
The Gas Safety (Management) Regulations 1996 (GSMR) require conveyors of natural gas to prepare safety cases to show they are safely managing the flow of gas in their networks. The main aim of the Regulations is to prevent supply emergencies which could have major safety implications for domestic consumers. The safety cases have to be accepted by HSE before gas can be transported. A safety case is also required from a network emergency co-ordinator (currently Transco plc) who has responsibility for managing potential or actual gas supply emergencies.
While the mining regulatory reform programme replaced much of the 1950's/1970's law with more modern, largely goal-setting provisions, some of it still remains. With the exception of the impending consultation on new Coal Mines (Inhalable Dust) Regulations, which are necessary to address changed health risks brought about by flexible shift working practice, no further regulatory initiatives are proposed.
Mining legislation gives rise to a number of permissioning activities, such as: exemptions from technically obsolete legislation; approvals of mining explosives, fuels etc. and some equipment; and consent and restriction of certain activities below ground. Equipment approvals work has reduced substantially in recent years with the progressive implementation of a number of EU Machinery and Equipment Product Directives. Whilst there is no legal obligation to do so the current policy is to assess all mining notifications and to follow up where there appear to be substantive issues.
Offshore:
The offshore permissioning regulations are the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 1992 (SCR). Testing and confirming that safety cases are acceptable and are being adhered to is and will remain a major priority for OSD as will compliance with the SCR through the enforcement of other relevant statutory provisions. The SCR require that an installation cannot operate unless it has an accepted safety case, which places significant obligations upon OSD to undertake assessment within the tight pre-activity timescales. The verification of the safety case is by planned strategic inspection and following up specific safety critical elements highlighted during assessment. Overall compliance with operating in line with the safety case is fundamental to OSD's regulation of the industry. Following the introduction of the safety case regime after Piper Alpha a 'norm' of two inspections per year, per manned installation, was established. At its current level of resource OSD aims to attend each manned installation at least annually.
In the main the industries regulated by HID are characterised by their classification as major hazard industries and the regulatory effort of the Directorate is therefore focused on delivering HSC's strategic objectives on the control of major hazard risks. Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets have been agreed aimed at the reduction of major accident hazard potential in the chemical industry and offshore. These are summarised below. Targets for individual programmes which will contribute to the PSA targets or revitalising health and safety targets are set out within this delivery plan against the specific programmes of activities and projects.
Onshore:
To reduce 7 types of relevant RIDDOR reportable dangerous occurrences, (eg. unintentional explosions, failure of pressure systems) by 6% by 2005/2006. All COMAH permissioning work is expected to contribute to achievement of the target. Specific activities include:
Offshore:
To reduce major and significant hydrocarbon releases offshore by 10% year on year to 2006. This hydrocarbon release target, a precursor to possible major fire/explosion is an extension of the target set for the key programme to reduce hydrocarbon releases that completes in March 2004. The original key programme target was agreed after extensive consultation with the industry.
Ongoing programme work to reduce hydrocarbon releases includes:
In June 2000 the Government and Health and Safety Commission published its long term Strategy for Revitalising Health and Safety. In this it agreed long-term targets to reduce the incidence of injury and ill health and the numbers of days lost from work related absence. Arising from the 2000 Spending Review HSC and Government also published a challenging public service agreement to achieve half the improvements under each target by 2004. These targets are to:
HID's contribution to achieving the targets will involve:
The Commission, Government and other stakeholders launched a long-term strategy to improve occupational health, Securing Health Together in 2002. This forms a central plank of the Revitalising Health and Safety Strategy Statement. It commits all concerned to achieve the health-related targets set out in RHS by 2010.
From 2003/2004 HID, along with other Operational Divisions, have been required to meet the targets set for four performance based OPMs which relate to operational productivity and report progress on a quarterly basis:
1 Environment Agency and HSE for England and Wales, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and HSE for Scotland