Health & Safety Report 2014

9. Publications A key function of Oil & Gas UK is to lead or support the development of industry guidelines and to promote the sharing of good practice and information. Guidelines are typically developed by appropriate volunteers drawn from member companies and supported by Oil & Gas UK staff. This section summarises recently published health and safety related documents. 9.1 Supplementary Guidance on the RIDDOR Reporting of Hydrocarbon Releases

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Issue 2 published in April 2014 provides guidance to duty holders on assessing HCRs reportable under RIDDOR. The guidance is an update on an earlier document and is designed to achieve consistent, reliable, legally compliant regulatory reporting of HCRs. In addition to the publication, the work group produced an Excel-based assessment tool to enable reliable and consistent application of the methodologies used to set reportable limits. They also provided presentation material to help ensure consistent roll-out of the guidance 23 .

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9.2 Guidance on the Management of Ageing and Life Extension Work groups were established in 2012 to develop technical guidance that supplements and underpins the Oil & Gas UK management system level guidance on ALE published in April 2012. The priority subject areas for technical guidance were identified by reference to the HSE’s KP4 interim inspection findings as areas of common deficiency or need for improvement. That work has resulted in the publication of the following ALE documents 24 : • Guidance on the Management of Ageing and Life Extension of Offshore Structures • Guidance on the Management of Ageing and Life Extension Aspects of Electrical, Control and Instrumentation Equipment • Guidance on the Management of Ageing and Life Extension of UKCS Floating Production Installations The documents follow a broadly similar structure and are designed to help the industry identify significant ALE issues and challenges; the likely effects of ageing; the consequences of unmanaged ageing effects; the control and mitigation actions required; and life extension considerations.

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23 The guidance and supporting documents are available on the Oil & Gas UK website at www.oilandgasuk.co.uk/reporting-hydrocarbon-releases.cfm 24 The documents are available to download at www.oilandgasuk.co.uk/Technical_Guidance.cfm

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