The Development Of The Uk Safety Case Regime: A Shift In Responsibility From Government To Industry
Authors: Sefton A.D. 
Published: October 2008

INTRODUCTION

On 6, July 1988 an explosion and fire occurred on the Piper Alpha platform on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS). 167 men lost their lives. The UK Government setup a public inquiry into the disaster, headed by Lord Cullen. Lord Cullen's Report,(1) published in November 1990, made 106 recommendations for immediate improvements to safety practices on the UKCS: a major safety research programme: and, not least, fundamental changes to the regulatory regime.

These changes involve:a change in responsibility for regulating offshore safety. This responsibility previously vested in the UK Department of Energy, was moved to the UK national health and safety authorities - the Health and Safety Commission and Executive (HSC/E) in April 1991;the development of new offshore safety regulations; anda new approach to regulation, based on a goal-setting philosophy.

GOAL-SETTING LEGISLATION

These changes herald a fundamental shift of approach to regulating safety on the UKCS based on the view that those who create and manage major accident hazards must be responsible for controlling the risks, not the regulator. This is the philosophy of self-regulation and goal-setting which has shaped health and safety legislation onshore, in the UK, since the beginning of the 1970's when the Health and Safety at Work Act (2) was passed.

The key elements in this new regime have been:first a requirement for operators and owners of offshore installations to prepare a safety case for each installation to be submitted for acceptance by HSE:second, development of new goal-setting regulations to reform existing, prescriptive offshore legislation leading to the rationalisation and simplification of offshore health and safety legislation.

SAFETY CASE REGULATIONS

The first element was achieved with the making of the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 1992 (3).

Timetable

These Regulations form the keystone of the new offshore health and safety regime. They require that, horn May 1993, all new installations must submit a safety case to be assessed and accepted by HSE before they can operate on the UKCS. Operators and owners of existing installations had to submit safety cases for their installations by 30 November 1993. HSE will assess and accept safety cases over the period up to 30 November 1995. After that date no offshore installation will be able to operate on the UKCS unless its safety case has been accepted by HSE.

Requirements

The main aspects of the Safety Case regime are:the life cycle approach. Safety cases have to be prepared at concept design stage (for fixed installations): before first operations (for both fixed and mobile installations); and abandonment (for a fixed installation). Safety cases also have to be prepared and submitted for combined operations; at 3 year intervals; and if major modifications are made to the installation;The integrated approach. The safety case must cover the full, range of activities on or in connection with an offshore installation including those in particular which could give rise to a major accident;