HSSG - Press Release Fri 19th July The Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) met on Wednesday 17th July to discuss their position in light of the Directive from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in bringing the fleet of EC225 helicopters back to safe flight operations following acceptance of the root causes and the solutions identified by Eurocopter and independently verified. The HSSG accepts the root causes and safety barriers identified by Eurocopter and verified by independent experts and now fully supports the return of EC225 to service on the basis that multiple safety barriers will be put in place prior to any aircraft returning to service. The “Swiss-cheese” model (below) shows the barriers that will operate until Eurocopter’s redesigned gear shaft is made available from mid-2014. Les Linklater of Step Change in Safety said: “In addition to Eurocopter’s investigation, our own HSSG technical expert reviewed at all of the findings and provided HSSG with his conclusions, which support the view that EC 225’s can safely return into service” “Having supported the safety of return to flight, the immediate priority for HSSG is workforce engagement to ensure understanding of the investigation and safety measures and restore confidence in the EC225. The HSSG is committed to ensure sufficient information is provided at all stages towards the return to service. “We must acknowledge there will inevitably be workers who remain concerned and some offshore workers will need more reassurance than others.” said Linklater “On this basis we expect all employers and duty holders to continue to work together to engage with and inform our workforce about the measures taken to find and remedy the EC 225 problems” Information will include in-person presentations, internal company letters, videos on the safety measures, fact sheets and other materials, and the HSSG will encourage wide communication to the offshore workforce. There will be a series of ‘town hall’ sessions held for offshore workers, their families and members of the public with an interest in the return to service. The first three sessions will be held on 31 July at the AECC: 10am-noon, 2-4pm and 6-8pm. These meetings will offer an opportunity to listen to presentations and speak with members of the HSSG. Free to attend these sessions can be booked online. stepchangeinsafety.net/newsevents/events/comingevents.cfm The Helicopter Safety Awareness Course – scheduled for 17-18 September and 3-5 December – also helps improve understanding of helicopter safety. stepchangeinsafety.net/newsevents/events/event.cfm/eventid/113 More information can be found on the Step Change in Safety website stepchangeinsafety.net . More information can be found on the Eurocopter Knowledge Centre ec225news/index.html Ends. Notes to Editors: For further information contact Charlie Mayo, Senior Press and PR officer 01224 577279 Step Change in Safety is a tripartite organisation with the remit of making the UK the safest place to work in the worldwide oil and gas industry. It is charged with achieving this vision through cooperation, collaboration, sharing and adopting of best practices and learning’s. Step Change in Safety was founded in 1997 by the Oil and Gas industry trade associations. Membership and leadership of Step Change now includes Duty Holders, Contractors, UK Health and Safety Executive and the Trade Unions as well as direct representation from the offshore workforce. It is this broad stakeholder base that makes the Step Change group effective across the whole industry. Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) is one of five key work streams within Step Change in Safety. It’s tasked with supporting safe helicopter operations to and from our offshore installations through continued communication and engagement with all stakeholders and has lead the industry response to the two EC225 ditching’s in 2012. Its membership includes Duty Holder and major contractors, Helicopter Operators, Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Trade Unions – Unite, RMT and BALPA and members of the offshore workforce.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 06:02:51 +0000
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