Notifying incidents

Telephone: +47 51 87 32 00

Notification and reporting of hazard and accident situations

When is notification mandatory?

We must be notified by phone of incidents which have led, or which could have led under slightly different circumstances, to:

  • Serious or acute injury
  • Acute life-threatening illness
  • Serious weakening or failure of safety functions or other barriers, so that the facility's integrity is at risk
  • Acute pollution

The notification must be confirmed in writing.

If incidents of the type listed above are less serious or less acute, the operating company must give us individual written notification on the first working day after the condition arose or was discovered.

See section 29 of the management regulations for details

Our follow-up

Depending on their level of seriousness, we follow up hazards and accidents within our area of authority. This response may take the form of our own independent investigation, a check of the operator company's system for following up incidents, or consideration of investigation reports submitted by the operating companies at our request.

Our duty officer system ensures that we are notified of any hazards or accidents, and can pass on such notifications to other government agencies concerned pursuant to established agreements.

Requirements for investigations by the responsible party 

Pursuant to the regulations, the responsible party (operator company, contractor or employer) has a duty to investigate defined incidents and accidents which occur in its own activities.

  • Requirements for employer registration of injuries and illnesses are specified in section 20 of the Norwegian Working Environment Act.
  • Requirements pursuant to the management regulations for recording and investigating incidents mean that the responsible party must investigate hazards and accidents

As specified by the management regulations, this duty thereby extends beyond the requirements of the Working Environment Act. In addition to requiring that incidents are registered, this provision also stipulates that incidents must be investigated by the “responsible party”.