Safety cases

The Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 (SCR05) aims to reduce the risks from major accident hazards to the health and safety of the workforce employed on offshore installations, and in connected activities. The regulations implement the main recommendations of Lord Cullen's Report of the Public Inquiry into the Piper Alpha Disaster.

This site helps dutyholders to comply with the legal requirements, and shows HSE's procedures for handling safety cases and other submissions.

• Material change to a safety case (Offshore Information Sheet 3/2011)
  This sheet provides guidance on what constitutes a material change revision to a safety case.
• Conference on Safety Case Thorough Reviews held at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre - 10 November 2009
  HSE Offshore Division held this conference in order that we could share with the Oil and Gas Industry our expectations and each other's experience of Safety Case Thorough Reviews. We also wanted to increase awareness of HSE expectations of how dutyholders should thoroughly review their safety cases. The following presentations were given:
  • Thorough Reviews and the Offshore Installations Safety Case Regulations 2005 [PDF]
    This presentation gives an overview of the Safety Case Regulations with focus on the Thorough Reviews and the guidance available.
  • HSE's experiences so far [PDF]
    This presentation gives background on the Thorough Review Safety Cases we have received to date.
  • Duty holder feedback [PDF]
    This presentation gives details of a survey carried out by Offshore Division involving a sample of dutyholders who had carried out Safety Case Thorough Reviews.
  • Managing Ageing and Thorough Reviews of Ageing Installations [PDF]
    This presentation introduces HSE guidance on the management of ageing and thorough reviews of ageing installations'.
• Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 [PDF]
  Regulation 12 demonstrating compliance with the relevant statutory provisions (Offshore Information Sheet 2/2006) Explains the key change in the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 with respect to the ALARP demonstration, and advises dutyholders on how this change should be addressed in their safety cases.
• Guidance on risk assessment for offshore installations [PDF]
  (Offshore Information Sheet 3/2006) Guidance for asset managers, safety managers and safety engineers in the offshore industry on suitable and sufficient risk assessment, particularly in the context of the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005
• Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 Regulation 13 thorough review of a safety case [PDF]
  (Offshore Information Sheet 4/2006) Summarises the requirements of regulation 13; explains HSE's views on the extent of a thorough review; and explains how HSE will consider and use the review.
• Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 (SCR05) - Submission of notifications, thorough review summaries and safety cases
  (Operations Notice 74) Guidance on sending notifications, safety cases and thorough review summaries to HSE.
• Verification during decommissioning and dismantling [PDF] (Offshore Information Sheet 2 /2008)
  Guidance on revising the written scheme of verification where the boundaries, scope or requirements for safety critical elements (SCE's) or specified plant (SP) change as a result of decommissioning and/or dismantling projects to ensure these measures are (or will be) suitable at all times.
• Asssessment Principles for Offshore Safety Cases (APOSC) [PDF]
  In reaching a decision about acceptability of a safety case, HSE assesses the content, the APOSC principles that guide that assessment.
• Guidance for the topic assessment of the major accident hazard aspects of safety cases (GASCET) [PDF]
  Framework of topic assessment principles and guidance in respect of the assessment of the major accident hazard aspects of offshore safety cases and is intended primarily to assist HSE's topic assessors in undertaking assessment activities.
• Guidance on management of ageing and thorough reviews of ageing installations [PDF] (Offshore information sheet 4/2009)
  Guidance for asset managers, safety managers and safety engineers in the offshore industry on taking account of ageing of the installation during thorough review, which is required by the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005
• Offshore Installations Safety Case) Regulations 2005 (SCR05) - Timescale for thorough review
  (Operations Notice 75) Guidance on the timescales required for carrying out periodic safety case thorough reviews.
• Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 - HSE's involvement in the design and construction process (including processing of design notifications) [PDF]
  (Offshore Information Sheet 11/2007) A framework for HSE's involvement in the processes associated with the design and construction of an offshore installation.
• OSD procedures for safety cases assessment and processing of other submissions
  Codifies OSD's approach to assessment of offshore safety cases, and the processing of other submissions required by SCR05.