Health and Safety

DEA responsibilities

The Danish Energy Agency is the supervising authority of health and safety matters in relation to offshore installations. 

Furthermore the DEA is responsible for the implementation of EU directives.

In the DEA, offshore health and safety lies with the Offshore Installations Division.

Issues concerning emissions to the environment are handled by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, while other environmental issues lie with the Danish Energy Agency. Environmental issues in relation to offshore installations also lie with in the DEA's Oil and Gas Division.

Health and Safety for offshore installations

For any operation in Denmark, offshore installations must be in possession of approvals and permits issued by DEA. These include Operation Permit, Manning and Organisation Plan Approval and approval for the Contingency Plan.

To obtain an Operation Permit, there must be an evaluation of safety and health conditions for the installation and the operational conditions (Safety and Health Review / Safety Case) and other relevant information regarding safety and health conditions (e.g. certificates).

Offshore installations operating in Denmark must have a Safety Organisation in accordance with the relevant Danish regulations (fixed installations: Order 408/1999, mobile installations: Order 1102/1992). The regulations will normally require that safety representatives are elected for each work area on the installation. The safety representatives must - amongst others in safety groups and in the safety committee - co-operate with management representatives in order to ensure and improve safety and health conditions on the installation. Participants in the Safety Organisation must be trained in accordance with Order 907/2002.

Offshore installations operating in Denmark must have a Work Place Assessment System (WPA). When developing and using the WPA system, there must be co-operation between management and safety representatives, amongst others in the Safety Committee. The WPA system must ensure that all workplaces and all work functions are mapped and evaluated with regard to potential improvements of the safety and health conditions and that relevant improvements are prioritised (prioritised action plan) and implemented as planned.