Improving Offshore Crane Safety

Since mid-2020, NOPSEMA has observed a significant increase in reports of dangerous occurrences relating to offshore cranes. Following 29 investigations, NOPSEMA has highlighted crane safety as an area of increased risk and hence a priority for compliance monitoring.

Across 35 fixed facilities regulated by NOPSEMA, there are 67 pedestal cranes, as well as several other types of cranes in operation. It is clear that a crane is both an essential piece of equipment on many facilities, and also one of inherent risk, making it important for duty holders to be mindful of operational pressures on their decision-making when it comes to crane operations and the consequences for workforce safety.

Globally, the offshore industry has seen many catastrophic incidents involving cranes collapsing or loads being dropped resulting in death and serious injury, damage to equipment and infrastructure, and the release of hydrocarbons with safety and environmental consequences.

In May 20201, NOPSEMA issued the Safe operation of degraded cranes with reduced capacity safety bulletin in response to three incidents involving cranes that were being operated with degraded capabilities. In one of the more concerning incidents, the duty holder had failed to use its management of change procedures to assess the risk of using a crane with structural corrosion, failed to use any recognised standard during a load test of that crane and failed to examine the crane after the load test before putting the crane back into operation at a reduced lifting capacity. These findings indicated that the crane was operated in a condition that increased the potential for failure, placing workers at risk.

During NOPSEMA’s investigation, the duty holder took the crane out of operation and it remains out of operation to date. NOPSEMA issued an improvement notice to ensure the duty holder completed all the necessary steps to reduce risk to as low as reasonably practicable.

Further to the safety bulletin, NOPSEMA is preparing to publish an Improving Offshore Crane Safety discussion paper outlining its observations and expectations. This includes common failures identified across all reported dangerous occurrences such as management of corrective maintenance, competency of personnel, and applying lessons learned.

NOPSEMA hosted a workshop with industry duty holders and crane subject matter experts on 27 July 2021 to provide insights into the contributory, causal and other relevant factors of the recent crane-related dangerous occurrences and to identify leading practices, opportunities for improvement, regulatory requirements and perspectives. NOPSEMA's crane safety presentation, which was delivered at the workshop, can be viewed on our website.