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§ 18 Working environment analysis

The responsible party shall carry out necessary analyses to ensure a sound working environment and provide support in the choice of technical, operational and organisational solutions. The analyses shall e.g. contribute to improving the employees' health, welfare and safety and to prevent personal injuries, fatalities and work-related illness as a result of
  1. mistakes that can result in hazard and accident situations,
  2. exposure and physical or psychological effects.
The operator shall perform comprehensive working environment analyses for employees who work on simpler facilities and are accommodated on vessels as described in the Framework Regulations Section 4, second subsection.
Section last changed: 01 January 2011

There are also requirements to analyses of the working environment in the Regulations relating to conduct of work (in Norwegian only). They relate to
  1. use and handling of chemicals, cf. those regulations chapter 3, with the exception of sections 3-23, 3-24 and 3-27 as far as offshore petroleum activities are concerned,
  2. risk of being exposed to biological factors, cf. those regulations chapter 6,
  3. exposure to factors detrimental to reproduction, cf. those regulations chapter 7,
  4. exposure to noise and mechanical vibrations detrimental to health, cf. those regulations chapter 14, with the exception of sections 14-1 – 14-7 included, and 14-10, all as far as offshore petroleum activities are concerned,
  5. exposure to artificial optic radiation, cf. those regulations chapter 16,
  6. conduct of manual work which may imply risk of strain detrimental to health, cf. those regulations chapter 23,
  7. danger of snowslides, cf. those regulations chapter 30.
Necessary analyses mean e.g. analyses in connection with planning, operation and shutdown of offshore and onshore facilities, in connection with modification of existing offshore and onshore facilities, in connection with procurement or hire of new equipment, when chartering facilities, in connection with signing contracts with contractors and for organisational changes in the activities.
To ensure a sound working environment, the various analyses should complement each other so that they cover both hazard and accident situations and exposure to working environment factors. The analyses should include the use of data on
  1. the personnel’s individual or group workload and exposure to working environment factors, as well as data on how the employees experience the physical and psychosocial working environment,
  2. working environment factors in the respective areas of the offshore or onshore facility,
  3. work-related illness and work accidents
To fulfil the requirements for working environment analyses, the ISO 11064 standard, Part 1, should be used for design and manning of the control room.

Petroleum activities on offshore facilities
To satisfy the requirements for working environment analyses, the NORSOK S-002 standard, Chapter 5 with Annex A, should inter alia be used when engineering new facilities and in connection with modifications. Assessment of psychosocial factors during engineering can be in the form of comparative analyses using empirical data from operations phases with similar workplaces and work areas.

Petroleum activities on simpler facilities with use of vessels for accommodation
Working environment analyses as mentioned in the second subsection, should be seen in conjunction with other analyses that form the basis of safety and work environment conditions in the activity. The analysis shall cover conditions as described in the Activities Regulations Chapter VIII on working environment factors. The regulations on working environment, etc. on ships can be used as a norm to fulfil Chapter VIII but for the assessment of noise load on restitution and resting in cabins, it should be strived to achieve a noise level down to 50 dB(A). This is not to be understood as a technical requirement for the vessel, see also the guidelines to the Framework Regulations Section 4.