Offshore staff
ABERDEEN-- Aker Solutions has developed a new training program aimed at tackling one of the key contributors to major gas leaks in the oil and gas industry.
Working with the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board and Tullos Training, Aker Solutions has created a two-day course designed to improve training around small bore tubing (SBT) failures. Recent industry reviews have pinpointed SBT failures as a main cause of a number of significant gas releases offshore.
The program, which is mapped to the ECITB National Occupational Standards for instrument pipefitting, was devised in response to the Health and Safety Executive’s request that operators review their workers training needs to assess whether further training on SBT was required both for those new to the industry and as a refresher for experienced personnel.
Aker Solutions and its partners spent six months to develop the program and following a successful pilot, courses are being offered to industry through Aberdeen-based Tullos Training.
“Some industry evidence has suggested that up to a quarter of SBT systems that are inspected or surveyed contain faults, the majority being under-tight connections, followed by assembly errors,” says Deborah McBeath, VP of Health, Safety, Environment, and Quality at Aker Solutions. “Many of these faults may be as a result of maintenance intervention and a failure to replace tubing and fittings correctly.”
07/29/2009
