OPITO collaborates with UK offshore oil and gas industry to increase helicopter safety

(WO) – OPITO has launched a new standard to ensure increased competency and safety around helideck activity, benefiting the global offshore workforce reliant on safe transfers to energy installations in an open sea environment.

The new Helicopter Administrator Workplace Competence Assessment standard complies with the best practice and requirements for helicopter administrators as detailed in Civil Aviation Authority’s Civil Aviation Publication CAP 437: Standards for offshore helicopter landing areas (CAP 437).

It assesses the candidates’ knowledge and skills in providing administrative support required to safely operate the helideck and manage helicopter movements within their role in the workplace.

The Helicopter Administrator Workplace Competence Assessment will be undertaken in the candidates’ workplace and consists of five units.

Lucie Booth, Product Development Manager at OPITO, said, “OPITO is committed to creating workforce development solutions to build a safe and skilled energy workforce. The launch of the Helicopter Administrator Workplace Competence Assessment standard will assess helicopter administrators in their role within the workplace, to ensure they are contributing meaningfully to safe operational activity in often challenging offshore environments.”

Created in conjunction with Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and wider industry in response to a previous amendment to CAP 437, this standard follows the introduction of OPITO’s Helicopter Administrator Training standard, launched in March 2023.

During development of the new standard, OPITO and OEUK engaged closely with industry stakeholders, including Spirit Energy, Harbour Energy, HCA, bp, Repsol Resources UK, TAQA and TotalEnergies, to ensure employer needs were met.

Graham Skinner, Health and Safety Manager at OEUK, said, “The UK’s offshore energy industry has used helicopters for more than 50 years – developing some of the highest safety standards in the world. The industry drives forward a programme of continuous improvement that is focused on reducing risk, and this is another step forward. We look forward to working with OPITO and our members to ensure we support the roll-out of this new standard.”