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Status of technical guidance and information on design, construction and operation of offshore installations

Introduction

1. This notice provides information on:

• the status of technical guidance originally published by the Department of Energy in support of regulations which have since been revoked;
• information on sources of new international standards;
• other relevant technical information associated with design, construction and operation of offshore installations; and
• a brief historical note on the original technical guidance (Appendix 1).

Current sources of technical guidance published by HSE

2. While the withdrawn guidance is no longer being maintained by HSE, consultation has indicated that certain sections of the guidance are of sufficient technical and informative merit to warrant preservation in another form. Accordingly, those sections of the guidance have been made available as individual reports in the Offshore Technology (OTO) series.

3. Work in areas covered by the OTO reports has continued and where information has been developed, the references to that information are given under the OTO publication in Table 1.

4. Table 1 summarises the availability of the technical sections in the original guidance. Individual reports can be downloaded from the HSE website at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/offshore.htm, or can be purchased from HSE Books (http://books.hse.gov.uk).

5. Further information not related to the original guidance sections has also been produced and is presented in Table 2.

Applicability of guidance and technical information published by HSE

6. It is for the dutyholder to decide whether the information given in the OTO reports and the further information tabulated is appropriate . Where the dutyholder deems that the guidance is suitable, it should be noted that it may not necessarily contain the most current information.

Additional sources of technical guidance and information which constitute good practice

7. A new set of ISO documents for the structural integrity assessment of offshore installations is under preparation. To date, the following documents have been published:

• BS EN ISO 19900: 2002 Petroleum and natural gas industries. General requirements for offshore structures British Standards Institution
• BS EN ISO 19901-2: 2004 Petroleum and natural gas industries. Specific requirements for offshore structures. Seismic design procedures and criteria British Standards Institution
• BS EN ISO 19901-3: 2001 Petroleum and natural gas industries. Geotechnical and foundation design considerations British Standards Institution

8. This notice will be updated as appropriate to notify dutyholders of new standards, guidance and additional information which substantially supersede recommendations contained in the OTO reports listed above.

Further information

9. Any queries relating to this notice should be addressed to:

Health and Safety Executive
Hazardous Installations Directorate
Offshore Division
Lord Cullen House
Fraser Place
Aberdeen
AB25 3UB

Table 1: Guidance sections published as OTO reports

Guidance section	Topic	Information
11	Environmental considerations	OTO 2001 010 Environmental considerations New information: An appraisal of existing seismic hazard estimates for the UK Continental Shelf RR166 HSE Books 2003 ISBN 0 7176 2778 0
12	Corrosion protection	OTO 2001 011 Corrosion protection
14	Site investigations	OTO 2001 012 Site investigations
15	Loads	OTO 2001 013 Loads
20	Foundations	OTO 2001 014 Foundations
21	Steel	OTO 2001 015 Steel New information: Ship collision and capacity of brace members of fixed steel offshore platforms RR220 HSE Books 2004 ISBN 0 7176 2838 8
22	Pile/sleeve connections	OTO 2001 016 Pile/sleeve connections
23	Concrete	OTO 2001 046 Concrete New information: OTO 96 050 Guidance for concrete structures: background report OTO 2001 074 Deterioration and spalling of high strength concrete under fire
24	Materials other than steel or concrete	OTO 2001 017 Materials other than steel and concrete
30	Floating installations	OTO 2001 048 Floating installations New information: Accident statistics for offshore units on the UK Continental Shelf 1980-2007  HS029 Oil and Gas UK 2009 Review of the risk assessment of buoyancy loss (RABL) project RR143 HSE Books 2003 ISBN 0 7176 2729 2 OTO 2001 063 Marine risk assessment OTO 2000 097 Rationalisation of FPSO design issues OTO 2000 123 Review of model testing requirements for FPSOs OTO 2000 053 Collision resistance of ship-shaped structures to side impact OTO 1999 066 Effects of motion on cognitive performance OTO 1999 092 Human factors assessment of safety critical tasks   Offshore Information Sheet 5/2007 Ageing semi-submersible installations Wave slap loading on FPSO bows RR324 HSE Books 2005 ISBN 0 7176 2984 8 OTO 2002/006 Damage resulting from shuttle tanker/FPSO encounters OTO 2002/007 Resistance of semi-submersibles to collisions OTO 2000/052 Fatigue reliability of old semi-submersibles
31	Stability, watertight integrity and ballasting	OTO 2001 049 Stability New information: Stability RR387 HSE 2005 Flooding risk to machinery spaces of floating offshore installations: Guidelines on inspection of ship side valves; flood detection and control; inspection and training
32	Station keeping	OTO 2001 050 Station keeping New information Review of methods for demonstrating redundancy in dynamic positioning systems for the offshore industry RR195 HSE Books 2004 ISBN 0 7176 2814 0 IMO Code for the construction and equipment of mobile offshore drilling units Consolidated edition (IMO MODU Code, 2001) IMO Circular 645 (1994) Guidelines on equipment IMO Circular 737 (1995) Guidelines on anchoring systems IMO Circular 738 (1995) Guidelines on training requirements
33	Self-elevating installations (jack-up units)	OTO 2001 051 Self-elevating installations (jack-up units) New information: SPC/Tech/OSD/21 Safe approach, set-up and departure of jack-up rigs to fixed installations
42	Mechanical equipment	OTO 2001 065 Mechanical equipment
47	Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)	OTO 2001 066 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
52	Noise and vibration	OTO 2001 068 Noise and vibration New information: Controlling noise at work. The Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005. Guidance on Regulations L108 (Second edition) HSE Books 2005 ISBN 0 7176 6164 4
55.5	Helicopter landing area – structural design	OTO 2001 070 The structural design of helidecks for offshore installations

Table 2: Other technical information published by HSE

Topic	New information
All	A guide to the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005. Guidance on Regulations L30 (Third) HSE Books 2006 ISBN 0 7176 6184 9
Integrity	A guide to the integrity, workplace environment and miscellaneous aspects of the Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and Construction etc) Regulations 1996. Guidance on Regulations L85 HSE Books 1996 ISBN 0 7176 1164 7
Wells	A guide to the well aspects of the Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and Construction etc) Regulations 1996. Guidance on Regulations L84 HSE Books 1996 ISBN 0 7176 1194 9
Pipelines	A guide to the Offshore Installations and Pipeline Works (Management and Administration) Regulations 1995. Guidance on Regulations L70 (Second edition) HSE Books 2002 ISBN 0 7176 2572 9
Fire and explosion	Prevention of fire and explosion and emergency response on offshore installations. Offshore Installations (Prevention of Fire and Explosion and Emergency Response) Regulations 1995. Approved Code of Practice and guidance L65 HSE Books 1997 ISBN 0 7176 1386 0
Collision	OTO 1999 052 Effective collision risk management for offshore installations   OTO 97 058 Performance of standby vessel radar
Evacuation and rescue	OTO 2002 021 Compatability test protocol for lifejackets and immersion suits on offshore installations
Lifting equipment	Technical guidance on the safe use of lifting equipment offshore HSG221 (Second edition) HSE Books 2007 ISBN 978 0 7176 6229 6 (supercedes OTO 96 041)
Structural repairs and modifications	OTO 96 057 Repairs to offshore installations: background to Section 60 of the guidance notes

Appendix 1 Offshore installations: Guidance on design, construction and certification (Fourth edition) 1990 – historical note

The guidance was first published by the Department of Energy in 1974 to support the Offshore Installations (Construction and Survey) Regulations 1974 (SI 1974/289) to provide a consistent basis for the certification of offshore installations by Government-appointed certifying authorities. The guidance was regularly updated to keep up with evolving technical knowledge and the fourth and final edition was published in 1990. There were three subsequent amendments:

1. the first amendment containing:
   • a revised Foreword following 'The Cullen Report';
   • an addition to section 1 on Applicability of guidance to existing installations; and
   • minor changes to the section on steel;
2. the second amendment containing revised versions of:
   • section 4 Surveys;
   • section 10 Installation layout;
   • section 12 Corrosion protection;
   • section 33 Self-elevating installations;
   • section 40 Electrical equipment;
   • section 50 Living accommodation;
   • section 53 Illumination; and
   • section 55 Helicopter landing area;
   • together with minor amendments to sections 23, 32, 47, A1 and A22;
3. the third amendment containing revised recommendations on the fatigue part of section 21 Steel and a new section 46 Gas and liquid containment.

HSE withdrew the guidance from publication in June 1998 at the end of the certification regime.

Part I of the original guidance, comprising sections 1-8, is obsolete as this refers to requirements which have been superseded.

Part II of the document, comprising the remaining sections, gives guidance on a range of specific technologies and sets out what was to be believed to be good engineering practice in respect of particular topics. However, this is becoming increasingly out of date. In one case, the guidance (friction between steel and neoprene in clamps) in section 60.5(h), has been found to be unsafe. The guidance should not, therefore, be used without checking the validity of the relevant sections first. The original version of this notice stated the starting point for of the various Part II Sections and accompanying notes are given as Table 3.

Table 3: Guidance sections published as OTO reports (original position for all guidance sections)

Guidance section	Topic	Status	OT report number
10	Installation layout	Lapsed	N/A
11	Environmental considerations	OT Report	OTO 2001 010
12	Corrosion protection	OT Report	OTO 2001 011
13	Fire protection	Lapsed	N/A
14	Site investigations	OT Report	OTO 2001 012
15	Loads	OT Report	OTO 2001 013
20	Foundations	OT Report	OTO 2001 014
21	Steel	OT Report	OTO 2001 015
22	Pile/sleeve connections	OT Report	OTO 2001 016
23	Concrete	OT Report	OTO 2001 046
24	Materials other than steel or concrete	OT Report	OTO 2001 017
30	Floating installations	OT Report	OTO 2001 048
31	Stability, watertight integrity and ballasting	OT Report	OTO 2001 049
32	Station keeping	OT Report	OTO 2001 050
33	Self-elevating installations (jack-up units)	OT Report	OTO 2001 051
40	Electrical equipment and systems	Lapsed	N/A
41	Instrumentation	Lapsed	N/A
42	Mechanical equipment	OT Report	OTO 2001 065
43	Well control equipment	Lapsed	N/A
44	Gas flares and cold vents	Lapsed	N/A
45	Gas and liquid containment	Lapsed	N/A
46	Lifting and handling appliances	Lapsed	N/A
47	Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)	OT Report	OTO 2001 066
50	Living accommodation	Lapsed	N/A
52	Noise and vibration	Lapsed	OTO 2001 068
53	Illumination	Lapsed	N/A
54	Decks, stairways etc	Lapsed	N/A
55	Helicopter landing area	Replaced by CAA CAP437	N/A
55.5	Helicopter landing area – structural design	OT Report	OTO 2001 070
60	Structural repairs and modifications	Lapsed	N/A
90	Emergency facilities	Lapsed	N/A
91	Emergency shutdown systems	Lapsed	N/A

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