10/02/2018 A BSEE Inspector discusses the fired vessel risk-based inspection with an Gulf of Mexico operator July 18, 2018.
BSEE Issues Safety Alert Resulting from Recent Risk-Based Inspection
NEW ORLEANS, LA –
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement issued a safety alert today summarizing its findings and recommendations from a recent risk-based Inspection. BSEE’s team of inspectors and engineers developed several recommendations from inspection findings to reduce risks associated with fired vessels. Fired vessels are hydrocarbon processing vessels on offshore oil and gas facilities with self-contained, natural or forced draft burners.
“Risk-based inspections are a vital component of BSEE’s overall inspection program ensuring safe and environmental sustainable operations,” said BSEE Gulf of Mexico Director Lars Herbst. “These risk-based inspections focus on high-risk operations and help reduce the likelihood of future incidents on the Outer Continental Shelf.”
Between July 17 and July 20, BSEE inspectors visited 27 platforms operated by 14 unique operators to focus on personnel competency, mechanical integrity of fired vessels, managements systems, and maintenance of fire suppression systems.
BSEE inspectors also tested the effectiveness of operators’ Safety and Environmental Management Systems (SEMS) by witnessing the application of safety management principles and processes.
“We developed a specific protocol for these inspections which ensured a standardized approach,” said Jason Mathews, BSEE Gulf of Mexico Region Office of Safety Management Chief. “After the inspections were complete, a team of engineers and SEMS specialists reviewed the results to determine if any trends or significant findings were uncovered.”
Risk-based inspections were added to BSEE’s national inspection program in March 2018 and are performed quarterly. Other BSEE risk-based inspections in 2018 focused on gas releases and crane operations, and also resulted in safety alerts to the offshore energy industry.
Safety Alerts are tools used by BSEE to inform the offshore oil and gas industry of the circumstances surrounding an accident, near miss or hazard. They also contain recommendations that help prevent the recurrence of similar or related incidents on offshore oil and gas facilities.