OSRL continues to maintain a workplace where accidents do not happen, where no one is exposed to health hazards, where environmental sustainability is of the greatest importance and personal security is not compromised.
Health
Our work takes us into environments that may impact on the health of employees, hence our risk assessment process ensures that all necessary measures for prevention and mitigation are in place. In addition, we institute follow-up medical monitoring and advice as required. This would be the case, for instance, when personnel are regularly exposed to high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). To maintain a state of readiness, all our operational personnel take part in an inoculations programme to protect themselves against diseases endemic in the regions we are likely to visit.
The keystone to staff health awareness is education, not only through focussed stand-down days but by targeted programmes such as smoking cessation and healthy eating initiatives. Our Southampton base continues to promote the ‘Cycle to Work’ scheme through a government-backed initiative.
Safety
There was a significant decrease in reported incidents and accidents this year, mostly minor injuries. Unfortunately, there was a reportable lost time incident this year involving a contractor. The incident investigation identified certain deficiencies in the use of Safe Systems of Work and contractor training. Following the investigation, significant measures have been put in place to prevent reoccurrence including a formal ‘Take 5’ process to assess hazards and enhanced risk assessment of contractor activities on bases.
There has been a significant increase in the number of unsafe situation reports raised during 2011. This maintains the increasing trend in reporting and is an indication of an increased level of hazard perception brought about by having a higher standard of safety training in place. A high proportion of these reports relates to minor issues such as housekeeping and site maintenance.
Encouraging and monitoring the reporting of unsafe situations is a very effective way of identifying trends which will enable us to reduce accidents and further improve our safety performance in the future. In 2011, we have also encouraged improved reporting of unsafe situations in the field during oil spills.
Security
Our activities require personnel to travel to locations which are potentially hazardous due to political, security or terrorism issues, disease or natural hazards. With response and business travel constituting well over 1,000 trips in the year - a significant percentage of which were to medium or high risk countries - management of travel security is critical.
In addition to our own systems, we engage a number of organisations to provide us with specialised support. We continue to investigate new technologies to improve emergency communication and tracking of personnel in the field.
OSRL’s Crisis Management Plan provides the framework for the command, control, coordination and communication of our response to a crisis, emergency or major incident affecting our staff, ability to respond, reputation or finances.
The Plan was activated in Bahrain in March amid political and social unrest. Our actions comprised two phases: the removal of non-essential personnel and the assessment of our ability to respond to an oil spill under the circumstances.
Environment
We closely monitor the effectiveness of our energy and environmental initiatives as part of our ISO 14001 objectives. Our in-house Environmental Working Group actively explores options to further reduce our impact on the environment.
Several energy reduction initiatives have been introduced. In Southampton, energy efficient windows and passive infrared motion sensors have been installed. In Singapore, staff participated regularly in established programmes such as ‘Lights Off Hour’ and ‘No Car Days’.
An Integrated Waste Management system has reduced the amount of waste destined for landfills by over 90% in Southampton.
The introduction of Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) into our Singapore and Bahrain bases enabled us to look at more environmentally friendly alternatives to the products we use, further reducing the levels of hazardous waste for disposal.
Corporate social responsibility offers another avenue to mitigating our impact on the environment. In Singapore, staff and their families took to clearing local beaches of waste as part of the annual International Coastal Cleanup, a global grassroots initiative, while in Southampton, a ‘coppicing’ (woodland management) day took place in Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve.
Quality
Our quality systems underpin both our preparedness and response delivery to Members and our management of HSE issues. These are brought together in an Integrated Management System (IMS) which is accredited through an independent assessment body, DNV.
In 2011, we finalised the review and update of our IMS such that our systems are common across all sites wherever possible, taking into account local legislation and delivering global best practices. In October, a global recertification process commenced using the new aligned Company Manual which details our ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 policies and procedures. The establishment of the Technical Development Group will also enhance our ability to define standards and audit them independently.
View our Corporate HSSEQ Policy.