Supervision

In accordance with the Offshore Installations Act and the Subsoil Act, the Danish Energy Agency supervises health and safety aspects of the work carried out on offshore installations.

A basic pillar of this supervision is the oil companies’ management system for health, safety and the environment, which is meant to ensure that the public authorities’ requirements are complied with and that the performance of work and the design of installations and workplaces pose the least possible hazard to persons, the environment and property. As part of this system, independent classification and certifying societies also carry out verification.

The requirement for a safety management system is laid down in section 24 of the Executive Order on the Performance of Work on Offshore Installations and section 14 of the Executive Order on Safety, etc. on Offshore Installations.

The supervision is carried out on the basis of information from the relevant companies and inspections of the individual workplaces. The Danish Energy Agency bases its supervision on Danish rules and regulations as well as the plans, terms and conditions underlying the Authority’s approval of individual activities.

The supervision is targeted at individual and more general aspects of offshore work and is adapted to the specific conditions. These activities include the following elements:

Focus areas

, where the supervision involves attaching particular weight to certain matters for a specific period of time. This ensures systematic follow-up with regard to several installations/companies.

Campaigns

, where the relevant companies’ efforts require general clarification/intensification. All companies working within the areas covered by the campaign will be requested (in identical letters) to explain how they ensure compliance with specific Danish rules and regulations. On the basis of the information received, the Danish Energy Agency will evaluate the need for any additional efforts in general or with regard to certain companies/workplaces.

Audits

, meaning inspections of installations or visits to a company’s onshore base during which the Danish Energy Agency systematically reviews the company’s ability to establish, within designated areas, compliance with Danish rules and regulations (and special conditions applicable to the installation) in the planning and performance of its work.

Supervision/inspections

, where the Danish Energy Agency visits an installation to inspect its general conditions, carries out an audit, follows up on focus areas and any problems revealed during the inspection or audit, and holds a meeting with the safety organization on the installation.


In carrying out its supervision, the Danish Energy Agency makes due allowance for the supervisory responsibilities of other Danish authorities on offshore installations and coordinates its activities with these authorities, as and when required.