Contents
37.1 Objective
37.2 Scope of Application
37.3 Responsibilities
37.4 Workers' Rights
37.5 Risk Management Program and Risk Analysis of Facilities and Processes
37.6 On-platform Health Care
37.7 Specialized Occupational Safety and Occupational Health Services
37.8 Internal Committee for Accident and Harassment Prevention on Platforms
37.9 Occupational Safety and Health Education and Training
37.10 Commissioning, Expansion, Modification, Repair, Decommissioning and Dismantling
37.11 Platform Access
37.12 On-board Living Conditions
37.13 On-board Catering Service
37.14 Air Conditioning
37.15 Safety and Health Signage
37.16 On-board Safety and Health Inspections
37.17 Inspection and Maintenance
37.18 Operating Procedures and Work Organization
37.19 Electrical Installations
37.20 Cargo Handling and Transportation
37.21 Storage of Hazardous Substances
37.22 Boilers, Pressure Vessels and Pipelines
37.23 Fire and Gas Detection and Alarm System
37.24 Prevention and Control of Leakage, Spillage, Fire and Explosion
37.25 Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting
37.26 Ionizing Radiation Protection
37.27 Waste Drainage, Treatment and Disposal System
37.28 Emergency Response Plan
37.29 Accident Reporting and Investigation
37.30 Maritime Installation Declaration
37.31 Documents
Annex I Basic Course for Food Handlers
Annex II Symbols for Marking Ionizing Radiation Sources, Radioactive Material Storage Areas and Workplaces Exposed to Industrial or Natural Ionizing Radiation
Annex III Supplementary Course for High-voltage Electrical Installation Work
Annex IV Basic Safety Course for Cargo Handling and Personnel Transportation Operations
Annex V Supplementary Course for Crane Operators
Annex VI Platform Incident Report
Glossary
37.1 Objective
37.1.1 This Regulatory Standard aims to stipulate the requirements for safety, health and on-board working and living conditions of oil platforms in operation within Brazilian Jurisdictional Waters.
37.2 Scope of Application
37.2.1 This Standard applies to work on domestic and foreign platforms, as well as duly authorized Maintenance and Safety Units operating in Brazilian Jurisdictional Waters.
37.2.1.1 For the purpose of this Standard, the definitions are as follows:
a) Platform: Any fixed or floating facility or structure for drilling, production, intervention, storage or transfer, used for activities relating to the survey, exploration, production or storage of oil and/or gas from underground, inland waters or sea areas including the continental shelf.
b) Maintenance and Safety Unit: Vessels specially used for platform maintenance, construction and assembly, equipped with access bridge connection systems for docking with platforms.
37.2.1.2 Permanently interconnected platforms accessible to personnel shall be deemed as a single maritime installation for the implementation of this Standard.
37.2.2 This Standard shall not apply to offshore support vessels, seismic survey vessels and diving operation vessels.
37.2.3 Foreign platforms and Maintenance and Safety Units conducting temporary operation within Brazilian Jurisdictional Waters for a maximum period of six months and failing to meet the requirements of this Standard shall comply with international conventions, and obtain and maintain classification certification issued by classification societies recognized and authorized by the Brazilian Maritime Authority.
37.2.3.1 The provisions of Item 37.2.3 shall not apply if the interval between two consecutive temporary operation periods of the aforesaid platforms is less than three months.
37.3 Responsibilities
37.3.1 In addition to the provisions of other general and special Regulatory Standards, relevant legal provisions as well as stipulations in conventions, agreements and collective labor contracts, the installation operator shall:
a) Where public transport is unavailable, ensure serving Labor Inspection Auditors access to the platform via conventional means of transport free of charge for labor inspection purposes;
b) Where public transport is unavailable, ensure representatives of employees of the installation operator, contractor operator or dominant staff group access to the platform free of charge via conventional transport to attend labor inspections;
c) Ensure that safety and health requirements, platform access rules, hygiene standards and living conditions for on-site service provider employees are identical to those applicable to its own staff;
d) Manage the entry, stay and disembarkation of its own employees, concessionaire staff and on-site service personnel, and keep relevant records in physical or electronic form for no less than twelve months;
e) Ensure employees of service providers participate in safety and health training specified in Item 37.9.6;
f) Provide safety and health information required by contracted enterprises in relation to their assigned work;
g) Give prior approval to work orders, work permits and confined space entry and work permits for operations undertaken by staff of service providers.
37.3.2 In addition to complying with other Regulatory Standards, the contract operator shall conduct audits on the installation operator in accordance with management system provisions to verify compliance with obligations specified herein.
37.3.3 Service providers shall abide by safety and health requirements stipulated by the client, this Standard and other relevant Regulatory Standards.
37.3.4 In addition to complying with other Regulatory Standards, workers shall:
a) Cooperate with the installation operator to implement legal and regulatory provisions, including internal occupational safety, health and on-board welfare procedures;
b) Carry sufficient quantity of personal long-term medication together with valid medical prescriptions within the expiry period.
37.4 Workers' Rights
37.4.1 Workers shall enjoy the following rights:
a) Stop ongoing work based on professional knowledge and experience once finding serious and imminent risks endangering personal and others' safety and health, and immediately report to direct supervisors, or facility operator representatives in absence of supervisors as well as the platform accident prevention committee, so as to take rectification measures against non-compliance issues.
b) Be informed by the entity of all work-related orders, instructions, suggestions and notices issued by labor inspection authorities concerning working conditions.
c) Report any potential hazards liable to cause major accidents to employers and labor inspection departments.
37.5 Risk Management Program and Risk Analysis of Facilities and Processes
37.5.1 Facility operators and permanent on-platform service providers shall formulate and implement respective Risk Management Programs for each platform in compliance with this Standard and NR-01 General Provisions and Occupational Risk Management.
37.5.2 Organizations shall take the following factors into account when compiling the program:
a) Adopt environmental risk assessment methods stipulated under Brazilian laws. In absence of relevant provisions, internationally recognized methods or those specified in collective labor agreements may be used, provided they are stricter than statutory technical standards.
b) Risks arising from on-platform service providers.
c) Rationalize tolerance standards and exposure limits in consideration of exposure duration and different on-board working schedules.
37.5.2 Facility operators shall revise the Risk Management Program or formulate dedicated programs in case of platform renovation, expansion, scheduled shutdown, commissioning and decommissioning.
37.5.4 Facility operators shall allow service providers to conduct on-site occupational hazard and exposure assessments for risk factors listed in the platform Risk Management Program upon request.
37.5.4.1 Alternatively, facility operators may complete such assessments and deliver written assessment results with acknowledgement receipts to service providers.
37.5.5 Risk inventory and action plans of the Risk Management Program shall be accessible to workers and their representatives.
37.5.6 In accordance with the platform Risk Management Program, entities shall specify and record operations requiring:
a) Preliminary task risk analysis;
b) Approval issued by occupational safety practitioners;
c) Issuance of work permits;
d) High-risk or concurrent operations supervised by occupational safety practitioners.
37.5.7 Based on risk analysis results, facility operators shall determine the quantity and layout of emergency eyewash stations and safety showers on the platform. Such facilities shall be kept in sound working condition and easy to reach.
37.5.8 The Risk Management Program shall be linked with facility and process risk assessments formulated in accordance with the requirements set by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels.
37.5.8.1 Scenarios, safety barriers, notes and suggestions involved in facility and process risk assessments shall be informed to workers according to their job duties, and accessible to all on-board staff.
37.5.8.2 Facility and process risk assessments shall be reviewed or revalidated at intervals not exceeding five years.
37.5.9 The facility operator shall formally appoint one or more legally qualified practitioners to draft and verify facility and process risk assessments, determine applicable assessment methods, and provide technical justifications for method selection in risk assessment reports.
37.5.10 Risk assessment reports shall be compiled in compliance with the operational safety regulations issued by the National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels.
37.5.10.1 At least one on-board occupational safety specialist from the operator's specialized safety and occupational health service team and one experienced on-site worker shall participate in risk assessment work.
37.5.10.1.1 The above requirement is optional during the platform design stage.
37.5.10.1.2 For platforms exempted from arranging supplementary on-board specialized safety and occupational health services, the facility operator shall assign another in-house occupational safety practitioner to join the multidisciplinary team specified in the aforesaid operational safety regulations.
37.5.11 The highest-ranking manager stationed on the platform shall formally acknowledge receipt of the risk assessment reports.
37.5.12 The facility operator shall formulate a schedule specifying time limits and responsible persons for implementing approved improvement suggestions.
37.5.12.1 Failure to implement suggestions or meet scheduled time limits shall be justified and documented, provided such omissions do not individually or collectively constitute serious and imminent risks to workers.
37.5.13 Risk reassessment shall be conducted immediately in the following circumstances, otherwise it shall be deemed existence of serious and imminent risks:
a) Change of platform location;
b) Change of facility operator;
c) Installation of temporary facilities including temporary accommodation modules on board;
d) Prior to facility, process or production expansion and renovation as required by change management procedures.
e) Upon request from the Specialized Safety and Occupational Health Service or Platform Accident Prevention Committee, subject to technical approval by the legal person in charge of the platform;
f) In accordance with suggestions derived from incident analysis.
