This audit was conducted in 2021.
Background
In recent years, the PSA has undertaken a number of audits concerning follow-up of alarm systems on drilling facilities, at onshore plants and on production facilities.
This work has found that these alarm systems fail to meet the company's requirements. Furthermore, other audits have identified high alarm rates and many standing alarms.
These findings suggest that deficiencies may be present in both follow-up of the systems and understanding of the impact high which alarm rates and many standing alarms may have on working conditions for control room operators.
The PSA audited the control rooms of most Norwegian offshore facilities and onshore plants in 2021.
Objective
The objective of the audit was to verify that the operator company follows up the alarm system and working conditions for control room operators in compliance with the regulations and the company's internal requirements.
Result
In the audit of Tjeldbergodden, there were no observations characterised as non-conformities, but we discovered one factor categorised as an improvement point. This concerned:
- Deficient follow-up of the alarm system
What happens now?
We have asked Equinor to provide us with their assessment of the improvement point observed by 31 January 2022.