SGS Holds QHSE Presentation at Renewable UK Health & Safety Conference

SGS Global Renewables QHSE Manager, Jim Green was a guest presenter at the January 2013 Renewable UK (RUK) Health and Safety Conference held in the English city of Sheffield.

The presentation focused on quality, health, safety and environment (QHSE) in wave and tidal projects specifically regarding safety in the marine environment and highlighted the need for applied construction design and management to reduce overall risk. During his talk, Jim emphasized the necessity for the production of risk registers and mitigation against catastrophic failure which have, in the past, been a cause of concern within the wave and tidal prototype sector.

 RUK Celebrates Ninth Year

Organized by Renewable UK, the United Kingdom’s leading not-for-profit renewable energy trade association, the conference attracted many industry leaders. Based on the feedback from sponsors, exhibitors and delegates, the 9th Annual Renewable UK Health and Safety conference was a complete success. The active networking during and the energetic buzz surrounding the conference clearly illustrated participants quest for a deeper knowledge of safety issues and solutions affecting this exciting industry.

Jim Green Talks Safety for Wave and Tidal Projects

Companies developing devices are now well aware of the health and safety risks associated with the development, manufacture and deployment of both prototype and proven devices implemented in wave and tidal projects. Such devices can be highly problematic, complex and subject to catastrophic failure. Jim’s presentation identified significant risks and suggested actions to be taken to minimize those risks.

Projects following Construction, Design and Management Regulations 2007 (CDM) policies mandate that well-defined processes are adopted by the developer and other responsible project partners. The client, designer, the construction, design and management coordinator (CDM-C), the principal contractor (PC) and general contractors all have specific duties to fulfill.

Clients are called upon to appoint a competent principal contractor, qualified designer and an experienced construction, design and management coordinator in order to have the ability to comply with standards required to meet legal obligations. In the design stage, a design risk analysis with consideration of the harsh marine environment and a failure mode analysis are conducted to identify and minimize potential risks.

Once the partner roles have been assigned and preliminary analysis is completed, critical health and safety (H&S) documentation such as the Pre-Construction Information Plan, Construction Phase Plan, Risk Analysis Management Systems (RAMS) and the Health and Safety File must be submitted. Only then are CDM zones set allowing appropriate RAMS to be put in place and arrangements for Marine Coordination and Active Safety Management Systems to be made.

These precautions in safety and emergency procedures are to be implemented in the planning and maintenance programs for offshore, onshore and intertidal projects as well as sea route CDM corridors to offshore sites to raise the health and safety culture of the principal contractor to the highest possible standards in order to avoid preventable failures and accidents.

When one considers the overwhelming inherent risks to be avoided, it is clear that the highest of standards for principal contractor and client management systems must be met and maintained. This requires careful interface management to expeditiously close dangerous gaps. Workshops and mentoring programs for principal contractors can be helpful tools in ensuring quality safety measures. In cases where initial mobilization doesn’t go particularly well and incidents occur, staff may have to be retrained or removed from the project. Early appointment of a qualified and experienced CDM-C supported by the client can result in the adoption of a systematic approach achieving success without incidents or problems.

 Construction Design & Management Regulations 2007

Required by law, CDM is probably the most important mandated management tool to significantly impact risk reduction and positively influence the business risk model. The emphasis should be on planning and control supported with auditing and inspections.

 SGS QHSE Services

SGS fully understands the aspects of quality management key to increased productivity. Customer satisfaction, increased effectiveness, maximum output and quality control are the building blocks of success.

The SGS community of specialists is dedicated to providing training, auditing and certification services to ensure that quality management systems are effective and in accordance with the highest global criteria. SGS enjoys the largest network of highly-skilled and extensively experienced auditors, trainers and inspectors worldwide with facilities and laboratories around the globe available round the clock. SGS strives to provide clear assessments of processes and organization to empower and encourage staff to consistently put quality first.

SGS thanks Jim for his informative and important presentation putting marine environment QHSE issues at the forefront of the planning and execution of such extraordinary projects.

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Press release, February 25, 2013