Operator’s Occupational Health and Safety Management System
Operators must submit supporting documents for our review that demonstrates they have a health and safety management system in place that meets our regulatory requirements. This includes having a safety plan which highlights all the necessary steps that are taken to ensure the health, safety and security of offshore workers on a marine installation or structure, vessel, aircraft, or support craft associated with the specific offshore activity or project. This assessment is completed before an authorization can be granted and helps us to determine the readiness of an operator to conduct activities in a safe, responsible and compliant manner.
Our experts have developed a joint Safety Plan Guidelines with the Canada Energy Regulator and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board to assist operators in meeting legislative requirements and associated regulations. The Safety Plan Guidelines provide our expectations for industry in meeting the statutory requirements. When reviewing an Operator Safety Plan, we ensure an operator’s written policies, programs and procedures focus on:
- Authorities/command structure
- Risk assessment
- Operations and maintenance
- Training and qualifications
- Contingency planning
- Physical environment monitoring
If an operator is not able to provide the required health and safety documents and demonstrate to us that they are able to conduct the work safely, they will not be granted an authorization to work in the Canada-Nova Scotia offshore area. If an authorization is accepted, the operator must continue to demonstrate to us that the accepted safety management system effectively identifies, assesses and controls health and safety hazards throughout the lifecycle of a project.
Although prevention is the primary focus, operators must, just as importantly, prove that they are prepared and able to respond quickly and effectively to an incident of any size, should one occur.
