December 2016

1. Safety Champions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2. Safe by Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

3. Innogy – Occupational Health and Wellbeing. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

4. Diabetes – can we work with this condition in the offshore wind industry? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

5. Health & Safety Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

6. Vattenfall – Improve the safety and reliability of Wind Turbine Generator Service lifts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

7. Enhancing safety, monitoring asset integrity and increasing operational performance through collaborative partnerships with vessel owners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

8. Work Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

9. Contacting the G+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Contents

G+ Global Offshore Wind Health & Safety Organisation G+ Newsletter

G+ Newsletter December 2016

diversification

In 2014, The Crown Estate asked the G+ to take responsibility for the running and delivery of their Safe by Design workshops. The Crown Estate had run a number of these previously covering topics such as diving operations, lifting operations, wind turbine design and installation and the safe optimisation of marine operations.

By bringing the Safe by Design workshops into the G+ work programme, the G+ aims to explore industry operations and technologies with a focus on Safe by Design principles. The G+ workshops examine the current design controls relating to a particular topic, discuss where current design has potentially failed, identifies areas for potential improvement and then seeks to demonstrate the potential risk reduction to be gained from these new ways of thinking.

To date four workshops have been held under the auspices of the G+ covering: marine transfer/access solutions, escape from a nacelle in the event of a fire, lifting operations and WTG service lifts. The outputs from some of these workshops have also been made available in reports which can be downloaded from the G+ website to be used as a reference by the industry.

The G+ has produced an interim report covering updates on the recommendations which came out of the first two workshops and these will be presented at the Stakeholder Forum.

Due to the success of the Safe by Design programme to date, the G+ would like to continue to organise future events, with the aim to hold 3 workshops per year. The next workshop for 2017 is due to be held in February and will be on the topic of davit cranes. If you believe this topic would be relevant to you then please contact Andrew Sykes (e: asykes@energyinst.org) to register your interest in attending.

Safe by Design

In January 2016 the senior management team in Statoil gave their support to a safety initiative which involved joining forces with peer companies constructing offshore wind projects in parallel with Statoil's´ Dudgeon wind farm (2016-2018). The main element of the initiative was to develop a safety campaign on safety culture and agree a common approach towards engaging and working with large contractors and supply chain companies. The initiative was launched with the objective of improving safety performance in the offshore wind business, and to build on knowledge developed in Statoil's Oil and Gas business. The G+ agreed to support this initiative at their quarter one 2016 Board meeting.

The first G+ Safety Champions meeting was held in April 2016. The purpose of the meeting was to share information and best practice in order to establish, enhance and maintain an excellent safety culture at the "sharp end" of G+ construction projects. The overall ambition following the meeting was to agree on consistent messages on safety culture that could be communicated to contractors and supply chain companies. Given many contractors and supply chain companies move from one G+ member site to another, by having clear and consistent messages on safety during construction work, and by driving up standards at site level, the impact of the initiative is expected to be stronger.

At the meeting in April, G+ Project Directors shared experiences of safety campaigns being initiated or undertaken on their projects and following the meeting members were given access to each other's campaigns through a common portal so that these could be reproduced and used by all of the members.

At the second Safety Champions meeting in September, discussions were held on what campaigns could be taken forward as shared campaigns. This involved Project Directors sharing what campaigns they currently had initiated versus what issues the industry was currently experiencing and the types of campaign that would yield the most value.

G+ Safety Champions

2Image by London Array Limited

Image by London Array Limited

G+ Newsletter December 2016

"Can I still work offshore on the turbines with diabetes?" That was the first question I asked when applying to Siemens in the autumn of 2009. The answer came back 'yes', which pleasantly surprised me.

I have Type 1 diabetes, the type that is often hereditary and not lifestyle-related. In short, there was nothing that I could have done to prevent getting it, I was diagnosed at the age of 30 and it is insulin controlled (4 injections a day).

It hit me like a bombshell at first, but my medical routine quickly became part of my everyday life, like brushing my teeth or shaving. It's not 'big and brave', it's simply a necessity to keep me alive for a good few years yet, hopefully!

Working in the offshore wind industry brought a whole new set of considerations when it came to managing my condition. People with diabetes ideally like a routine, set meal times, set diet, set portions etc. It all helps to balance the blood glucose levels. Of all of these things, the most difficult one to control on the turbines was the timing of the lunchtime food intake. It is impossible to always eat at the same time; I could be mid-transfer, mid-task or simply at the other end of the turbine to where my 'pack-up' was. All this really meant was that I had to make sure I never let my glucose levels drop low. I adjusted my insulin dosage at breakfast and always carried glucose tablets in my pocket in case I needed an urgent sugar rush.

If I am honest I would have been disappointed with myself had this situation ever occurred. It would have meant that I'd made an error in insulin dosage, or gone far too long without a snack. My levels never dropped to a point where I suffered a hyperglycaemic attack (low blood sugar) in my five years on the turbines, although as a precaution, I always made my working party and colleagues in general aware of my condition.

The level of awareness of diabetes is much greater these days, partly due to the excellent first aid courses we all attend. The basic health advice for a person with diabetes is very similar to any other person really. Keep hydrated at all times; eat regularly and as healthily as possible. Limit alcohol intake, keep your weight down and exercise regularly. These are the rules I try to live by anyway, most of the time. I am not sure I did before I was diagnosed, so perhaps the condition has forced me to be a little more focussed in my daily health routine. Things have become a little easier since I moved into the office and off the turbines from a routine point of view. Although I'm sure my ageing body misses the regular exercise that a day offshore used to bring, I have tried to replace it with a cross trainer in my garage but it's not quite the same, or I must confess as regular!

I would always encourage anybody with diabetes to "go for it" if offered a position working on the turbines offshore. It's challenging and requires a bit of extra thought and forward planning but very achievable and rewarding, I never let the illness limit me in anything, I took control of it, not the other way round.

As a business, innogy UK recognises that a fit and healthy workforce is not only a legal requirement, but is the basis for good business. Like many organisations, innogy has improved its' safety performance over the years with a demonstrable reduction in accidents, incidents, incident frequency rates and near misses. The reality now is that many more days are lost to the organisation through health related issues than through safety related incidents.

The main health risks impacting the business are generally related to sickness absence, mental health conditions, musculoskeletal conditions, business travel and an ageing workforce. All full time employees (FTEs) at innogy have access to a wide range of services including a highly skilled and competent team of qualified nurses, physicians and psychologists, comprehensive health surveillance programmes, a wide ranging health and wellbeing programme, which includes stress assessment techniques, pressure points surveys and a healthy minds programme.

The Occupational Health (OH) team also promote wellbeing via roadshows, mini health checks (wellman MOTs), one to one health advice and promotion of UK wide initiatives such as change4life, healthy hearts, bowel cancer UK and Movember.

Clearly, all of these services are easily accessible if you are an employee who regularly works in office premises or an FTE employed on a project. However, the majority of the personnel employed during the construction phase of an offshore wind farm are contractors who pass through the construction and coordination base, usually at odd hours, in order to transit to the offshore site. Although every individual who works offshore is required to have an up-to-date medical, there is a risk that conditions can develop and go unnoticed between start and expiry dates – this becomes a much larger problem if the condition manifests itself whilst the individual is offshore; provision of first aid, access to competent advice, casualty extraction/evacuation and next of kin notification are to name but a few issues which may arise.

During a regular visit to his local gym, an innogy team member noticed a new addition to the furniture in reception. A closer inspection revealed that the new addition was a health kiosk used to screen an individual's basic health aspects (see Figure 1). An individual screening takes from 5 – 10 minutes and provides non-evasive testing for weight, body mass index, body fat content, blood pressure, heart rate and hydration. The individual is given a printed read out of the results which may prompt him or her to seek further advice or guidance.

For the Galloper Offshore Wind Farm project, the kiosk resides in the offshore reception area, which all personnel pass through in order to transit offshore. In addition to the kiosk, information, leaflets and guidance are available and an OH professional attends site on pre-determined dates. This gives individuals the opportunity to discuss the results in confidence, with a professional. A large part of the workforce now has additional OH support, which will benefit the individuals and the project over a period of time. In addition, monthly reports giving an anonymous breakdown of all of the findings can be produced allowing targeted initiatives within the company where trends are identified.

Diabetes - can we work with this condition in the offshore wind industry?Paul Dyer, Siemens Wind Power

Innogy – Occupational Health and Wellbeing

'Working in the offshore wind industry brought a whole new set of considerations when it came to managing my condition.'

Figure 1. Health kiosk installed at Galloper Offshore Wind Farm reception area.

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G+ Newsletter December 2016

The G+ is the recognised authority for offshore wind health & safety statistics and in June 2016, the G+, supported by the Energy Institute (EI), published two health and safety statistics reports for the offshore wind sector:

• G+ 2015 incident data report, and

• UK Offshore wind HSE statistics 2015 report.

These reports give a comprehensive insight into the health & safety performance of the G+ members from 45 sites spread across the UK and Northern Europe. Throughout 2015, the data from each quarter has been provided by G+ members and analysed internally by the EI. These data have been collected and categorised into development, project (construction) and operations phases.

Since the first report was published in 2014, the G+ has expanded the analysis presented to include dropped objects, medivacs and emergency response, and also high potential (HiPo) incidents. The reports also provide metrics for benchmarking.

G+ 2015 incident data report

This report is the third annual report in the series and it provides the latest figures on reported incidents in 2015. The overall Lost Time Injury Frequency (LTIF) is 5.99, a 3 % decrease compared to the previous year, while the Total Recordable Injury Rate (TRIR) increased by 4 % to 1.93. According to the report there were a total of 983 incidents categorised as:

• 41 lost work days; • 70 first aid cases;• 32 restricted work days; • 336 near hits; and• 54 medical treatment injuries; • 450 hazards.

UK 2015 incident data report

This report is the second annual report in the series and provides the latest figures on incidents which occurred in 2015. In addition to G+ member UK sites, the report includes an analysis of non-G+ member companies' data who are developing Round 3 projects in the UK via lease agreements with The Crown Estate.

According to the report there were a total of 790 incidents in 2015 categorised as:

• 28 lost work days; • 55 first aid cases;• 16 restricted work days; • 262 near hits; and• 31 medical treatment injuries; • 398 hazards.

Compared to 2014, the overall LTIF increased from 2.22 to 2.96 in 2015. Also, the TRIR increased from 6.05 to 7.94. Due to the increase in TRIR and LTIF figures relative to 2014 the G+ carried out a further analysis of the incident data. Whilst the number of incidents/events are broadly equivalent when compared to 2014, the number of hours worked reported was lower in 2015 (9.5 million) when compared to 2014 (14.9 million)

The G+ is currently undertaking further analysis work to establish the reasons for this increase and will update the industry in due course.

The primary aim of the G+ is to deliver world class health and safety performance in the offshore wind industry. Through the sharing and analysis of the health and safety incidents provided by G+ member companies, an evidence-based understanding has been developed of the risks encountered during the development, construction and operational phases of an offshore wind farm project. This information is being used by the G+ to identify the risks in the offshore wind industry, allowing the group's work to be focused in areas of high risk exposure. The G+ has also received positive feedback from the supply chain, who appreciate the access to these reports and the G+ transparency with these data.

Health & Safety Statistics

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G+ 2015 incident data report UK 2015 incident data report

G+ Newsletter December 2016

Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds Limited (GGOWL) awarded BMO Offshore a contract for providing vessel motoring systems in September 2015. All GGOWL chartered vessels at site are fitted with BMO Offshore 'Vessel Blackbox' motion monitoring systems. The ultimate aim of these systems is threefold: to enhance safety, to monitor asset integrity and to increase operational performance.

The recording of the vessel motions allows effects on passengers, during transits to the wind farm, to be monitored and notifications issued when thresholds are exceeded. This helps to ensure transits are optimised both for passenger comfort and the days' work ahead.

During personnel and cargo transfers, the monitoring of dockings, vessel fender push-on stability and station-keeping allows an insight into each individual transfer offshore. During dockings, the BMO system provides instant feedback to the vessel Master on how a docking was conducted.

Vessel motion monitoring systems enable the fact-based assessment of vessel utilisation and help to quantify the added value of innovative solutions (e.g. access systems). The system provides independent factual information to support informed decisions by the vessel Master, Marine Coordination and Site Management. Over time this information creates a profile of the windfarm's operation and allows improvements in performance to be made. BMO Offshore are working closely with GGOWL to develop additional benefits, integration with existing systems and various other 'tools' to improve safety and reduce costs in the offshore wind industry.

In collaboration with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Vattenfall has proactively commissioned the Health & Safety Laboratory (HSL) to undertake a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) study of service lifts.

A fatal incident occurred within Germany (completely unconnected to Vattenfall) involving an onshore Wind Turbine Generator (WTG) service lift. These service lifts are used to enable personnel and equipment to be raised and lowered inside the turbine in order to undertake maintenance, repair and inspection activities. Following the incident, very limited information was placed into the public domain about the root cause of this accident and any remedial actions necessary.

As a precautionary approach, Vattenfall voluntarily withdrew service lifts in its turbines from operational service pending further information being available. Following collaborative discussions with the HSE, Vattenfall commissioned the services of competent independent engineers in HSL to undertake a FMEA exercise to study the design and construction of these lifts from first principles. The FMEA study was augmented with a physical internal examination of the lift components, professional imaging and materials analysis. This involved an external investment by Vattenfall and investment of considerable operations, maintenance and safety professionals and front-line staff across the business and contracted service partners.

As a result of undertaking this work a number of actions were identified as essential prior to the lifts being returned to service. These were promptly implemented by Vattenfall and the lifts returned to operation, with an evidence-based justification for doing so. A number of lower-priority improvements were also identified, which Vattenfall is in the process of addressing with their lift manufacturers. The recommendations from this FMEA will also be shared within the G+ in order to ensure that any relevant recommendations can be implemented across the whole industry.

The overall outcome of the work was that business continuity has been maintained, the service lifts have been returned to service with confidence that they can provide safe and reliable service. The work has also provided Vattenfall with additional intelligence that can be used during the procurement of future WTGs. This will enable Vattenfall to obtain value for money, maintain operability and ensure the safety of staff and contractors.

Enhancing safety, monitoring asset integrity and increasing operational performance through collaborative partnerships with vessel owners

Vattenfall – Improve the safety and reliability of Wind Turbine Generator service lifts

5Image by www.chpv.co.uk

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G+ Newsletter December 2016

a) Dropped objects in the offshore wind industry - Guideline review and development

The G+ incident data shows that there were 69 dropped object incidents which occurred in 2015. Of these, 6 resulted in lost work day incidents, and a further 73 % were classified as near hits. Most of these incidents occurred during lifting operations. Some G+ members are seeking to develop dropped object survey tools to better record and analysis these incidents.

The G+ Focal Group believe that dropped objects continue to present significant safety challenges in the construction and operational activities at offshore wind farms. Investigations into the incidents by individual G+ member companies have shown that these occurred as a result of number of contributing factors, including: work processes, behaviour, design, environment and the inappropriate securing of tools and equipment.

There are a number of existing tools already available, which the offshore oil & gas industry use to reduce the number of dropped objects, including the Dropped Objects Prevention Scheme (DROPS). This is also referenced in the G+ Good Practice Guideline: Working at height in the offshore wind industry in the sections on falling object risk management.

The G+ Focal Group agree there is a need to review the DROPS literature in order to identify the level of transferability to the offshore wind industry. Should guidance specific to the offshore wind industry need to be developed, this workstream will prepare bespoke guidance which will assist offshore wind developers to establish the underlying causes behind dropped object incidents, identify and assess the hazards and apply appropriate preventive and mitigating controls and barriers. Some G+ members are already developing dropped objects guidance for their offshore wind businesses and these will be used as inputs into this study.

b) Reducing manual handling and ergonomics related incidents in the offshore wind industry

In the 2015 G+ incident data, there were a total of 44 manual handling incidents reported, split evenly across project and operations sites. Of these, 7 were classified as lost work day incidents and a further 8 were classified as first aid cases through to restricted work day cases. The number of incidents which have occurred during manual handling activity is broadly equivalent to what has been seen in the 2014 and 2013 incident data.

It is recognised that within the offshore wind industry technicians are often required to:

• undertake tasks requiring the manual handling of heavy loads;

• access restricted areas, and

• assume difficult working positions including working above shoulder height.

All of these work activities can potentially lead to an increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders if not undertaken properly. This workstream will review the more serious manual handling incidents that have been reported through the G+ and establish what could have been done differently to avoid the incident / reduce the severity of the consequences, and also prepare a good practice guideline which provides recommendations to offshore wind operators on how to reduce the likelihood of manual handling incidents occurring at:

• port/quayside/warehouse/load out facilities;

• vessels, and

• WTG turbine/nacelle/offshore structure (including TP ladder and access).

Work Programme

c) Update of G+ Good Practice Guidelines

The G+ Good Practice Guidelines (GPGs):

• Working at height in the offshore wind industry

• The safe management of small service vessels used in the offshore wind industry

were published in December 2014. Since the publication of these guidelines, a number of G+ members have undertaken site audits against the recommendations contained within them in order to ascertain the level of compliance with the GPGs. This work has been complemented through the use of the guidelines by various supply chain companies, references in a number of IMCA and ISO standards, and also used by the regulatory authorities as a benchmark to assess safety performance at offshore wind farms.

G+ members and supply chain companies, trade associations, regulators and other key industry stakeholders were invited to provide feedback on both of these GPGs earlier on in the year and also given the opportunity to identify where updates were required. Based upon a review of this feedback within the Focal Group there was agreement to update the GPGs in order to ensure they remain fit for purpose and are continued to be used by industry to improve H&S performance.

d) A detailed ergonomics assessment to identify the key risks to technicians (long term and short term) associated with ladder climbing in the offshore wind industry

In response to G+ incident data, the increased ladder climbing experienced in the industry and as a proactive step in response to larger WTG with taller tower sections and ladders, the G+ Focal Group has agreed to conduct a detailed ergonomics assessment with the aim of identifying the key risks to technicians (long term and short term) associated with ladder climbing. This research will build on the report written by Robert Gordon University (and commissioned by RenewableUK) entitled: Health Effects Associated with Working in the Wind Power Generation Industry: A Systematic Review.

If you would like to find out more details about any of the articles included within this newsletter or on other G+ related items then please do not hesitate to contact us. Details are as follows:

Kate Harvey, General Manager, e: Kate.Harvey@sse.com

Andrew Sykes, Technical Manager, e: asykes@energyinst.org

Bir Virk, Technical Officer, e: bvirk@energyinst.org

The G+ welcomes input to any of the articles included within this newsletter so if you feel you can contribute then please get in touch.

Further details on the G+ and all workstreams can be found on the G+ website at: www.gplusoffshorewind.com

G+ also has a twitter page - @gplusglobalofw

Contact the G+

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