HEALTH, SAFETY & ENVIRONMENT

The following text summarises the Health, Safety, Environmental and Security (HSES) Performance for Interconnector for the year to 30th September 2010.

Another excellent year’s performance is demonstrated by the statistics presented in the annual report. A number of key activities with high levels of potential risk were completed without incident.

Gas flows have been higher than in recent years with the resulting additional time pressure and wear and tear. Despite this, operational and maintenance requirements have been carried out safely and reliably.

An internal Pipeline Inspection Programme was completed. During each of the four PIG runs the gas flow had to be maintained at a particular level, which was extremely challenging to achieve at a time of high nominated flows.

The Bacton safety report was completed and rolled out. A number of actions to address these findings have been highlighted by this report and progress is in line with the plan that has been developed.

At Bacton, boiler house remedial work was carried out. The onshore section of pipeline within the terminal was excavated and inspected and passive fire protection applied. Work on the Bacton security upgrade, managed by National Grid, continued.

At Zeebrugge the dry gas seals were replaced on C compressor. Security upgrades were carried out. Initial vent system modifications have commenced.

Essential maintenance activities were carried out at both terminals during the annual shutdown.

In summary:

• There were no lost time injuries.
• There were no health, safety or environmental incidents or excursions that required regulator notification during the period.
• The Bacton safety report was issued and actions identified.
• An audit programme was executed to plan.
• Emergency and security exercises were carried out to plan and co-ordinated with neighbouring operators.

There were no Lost Time Injuries. All staff and contractors continue to contribute to a culture of safety awareness. The last LTI (24 hours absence from work) occurred at Bacton in June 2007. Since then approximately 865,000 man hours have been expended and over 3 calendar years without injury.

There were no Health Safety or Environmental incidents. Efficient emissions management and monitoring systems are in place and are regularly subject to inspection by the Authorities. These systems are expected to ensure compliance during the year ahead. A written scheme of examination and a comprehensive maintenance management system are in place to ensure compliance with the relevant regulatory requirements.

The Bacton Safety Report was issued and actions identified. The final report was issued and rolled out to the board, management and staff. A workshop was held to review the Risk Assessment / Improvement Plan section of the report and a plan of work/studies developed to address some of the issues raised. This work will continue during 2010 / 2011.

An audit programme was executed to plan. A number of audits took place during the year at both sites to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and best practices. These included audits on two key contractors at the Bacton site. A High Voltage Electrical audit at Zeebrugge was carried out by an independent external auditor. It was indicated during the close out meeting that there were no major non conformances though we are currently waiting for the final report. A number of internal audits were also completed across the sites. Findings are tracked through an action tracking register held centrally to ensure all actions are monitored through to resolution.

Emergency exercises were carried out to plan. A programme of emergency exercises took place during the year at all sites. The exercises ranged in nature from tests of specific aspects of the emergency procedures through to testing of the full emergency response procedures and took the form of table top and live exercises.

Where applicable the emergency services were invited to attend the exercises and neighbours and interested parties were involved as appropriate.

Current safety management activities include:

Safety Meetings. Monthly meetings are held at both Zeebrugge and Bacton involving all IUK and site contractor staff. The Health and Safety Manager and Senior Managers from London regularly attend these meetings as part of IUK's commitment to safety and provide input where appropriate. This will continue during 2010/2011. Regular inter-site safety representatives’ meetings are held at Bacton.

Process Safety. Bacton Safety Report - The final report was issued; an integral part of the report is an improvement plan that is actively being progressed.
Vent System – Initial vent system modifications were completed during the shutdown however engineering work continues to finalise the workscope.

Legislative Compliance. A legal register is currently being developed to identify all UK Health and Safety legislation applicable to IUK and key responsibilities.

Safety Management System. Improvements to the safety management system have continued. Technical Authorities have been identified for all procedures, review dates have been identified and all procedures are held and controlled by the Document Control Group.

In order to maintain continual improvement in our Health, Safety and Environmental performance, the following initiatives will be implemented during 2010/2011:

Health, safety and environmental policy (PDF - 27K)

^^back to top