Comparing labour and management risk perceptions of offshore helicopter safety: Gaps, shifts and worker participation

Abstract

This qualitative case study compares labour and management risk perceptions of offshore helicopter transportation and worker participation in general and in two specific safety issues: survival suits and night flights. Verbatim transcripts of the parties’ testimony in a public inquiry into a fatal helicopter crash in 2009 were analysed with supplementary documentation. A persistent but shifting perceptual gap was found with limited worker and union involvement despite the accuracy of their perceptions. Potential explanations for this overall pattern focus on the social construction of risk: fateful moments, power differentiation, safety management systems, and balancing of production, safety and corporate reputation.

Analysing the interactions and complexities of the operations in the production area of an FPSO platform using the functional resonance analysis method (FRAM)

“…This function is the only one from the communication set that has coupling with the resource of ‘interaction with inspection and maintenance teams’, another key function of this system. The partnership between these teams is a critical element for the operation of the entire process plant, as it guarantees not only the regular working of the equipment but also the technological resources to respond to emergencies and guarantee a safety shutdown (Hart 2019 ). Indeed, the complexity, time pressure and harshness of offshore workplaces demand assertive and objective ways of communication, which is a key element for process safety and workers’ health (França and Hollnagel 2020 ).…”

Offshore Helicopter Travel: Is the U.K. Oil and Gas Industry Failing Workers?

“…These are the main actions taken. However, as the Head of a Canadian Public Inquiry into an oil and gas helicopter fatal crash stated “let us look for a moment not at what industry says but at what it did” 1 in relation to improving helicopter safety.…”

“…In addition, unlike rebuffed requests for a public inquiry in the United Kingdom, after a helicopter crash in Norway which led to fatalities in 2009, a public inquiry into helicopter transport safety was announced one month after the crash. 1…”

“…1 Recognition of the importance of power within the workplace enables explanations of different perceptions of risk 1 between management and employees. There is a persistent perceptual gap 1 between the two sides in its definition, “seriousness and remediation,” 1 with “different realities.” 1 Managers believe safety is better than employees 1 ; however, despite the risk perception of the work force seen as historically biased towards lower safety levels, 1 “risk perceptions of workers and union were largely consistent with inquiry experts.” 1 Further, there is a “strong societal culture working towards union and worker legitimacy in decision-making” 1 with recognition “cost-cutting adversely affecting worker participation and remediation of hazards.” 1 As we have mentioned above, U.K. Health and Safety law does little to give workers an effective voice since they have only the right to be consulted and make representation. In some countries including Norway, safety delegates have unilateral power to stop work they deem dangerous without legal liability and they have power to influence management and achieve change, 1 “a right not available to offshore workers in the UK.” 1 This lack of legal protection provides more power to employers.…”

“…Workplace safety is a very sensitive topic involving issues of legal liability and social responsibility on the part of the employer. 1 Since 1965, 2 helicopters have been used to transfer workers to and from offshore oil and gas installations in the U.K. Continental Shelf (UKCS) across an open sea environment that is both challenging and hazardous. 3 Since then, in this region, 132 lives have been lost as a result of helicopter accidents within the UKCS (Online Appendix 1).…”