My day begins with a 5pm alarm, usually snoozed until around 5.15pm. I’m on nightshift and my shift start time is around 6pm.  I’m not usually hungry when I wake up on nights so I will skip food and wait until midnight, that’s if I don’t divulge in a couple of chocolate digestives around 9pm with a cuppa. 

Usually I tie in with the Project Execution Manager first thing, he will let me know if there has been any accidents or incidents during the day, if there has been, then the shift ahead is going to be a busy one collecting statements, documentation and photographic evidence.  Fortunately for me, good safety standards in the North Sea mean it isn’t often that I have to conduct an accident investigation.  After tying in with the Project Execution Manager we will have a pre shift meeting with all project nightshift personnel at 6.30pm.  I am currently based on a vessel as part of a walk to work campaign and this meeting is to let people know who will be required to work across on the platform.  The limit for the number of personnel allowed on the platform at any one time is restricted due to safety case arrangements and must be strictly adhered to.

All personnel including myself then head to the locker room to don our full PPE, we climb the stairs to the bridge of the vessel where we swipe our ID card to register ourselves onto the platform.  We then put on our lifejackets, at this point I will check everybody’s PPE to make sure we all have the correct equipment.  Everybody then heads across the Amplemann gangway onto a transfer deck.  The gangway swings around and lands on the platform, the gatekeepers on the platform let the operator know it’s safe to cross and we then follow a traffic light system, one person at a time.

Once everybody is across onto the platform safely we will conduct a pre shift brief, this is usually led by the OIM and then I will go through the main points for safety, we hand out a £5 bond voucher to the person who won the observation card of the day from the previous day then I will make a point of key safety messages.

At this point I might have platform inductions to take for people who have not been to the platform before, I will show them the orientation DVD which will make them aware of site alarms, emergency procedures and other various safety critical elements related to the platform.  I will then ask everybody to leave their mobile phones inside the accommodation area and I will take them outside for a platform tour.

During the platform tour I will point out what to do if a person falls over board, how to raise a platform alarm, how to shut down the platform and how to release the deluge.  I will point out all methods of escape from the platform, noting primary and secondary muster point locations, showing everybody the escape to sea and demonstrating where to find the life rafts and donut descent devices.  After, the tour personnel are required to complete a questionnaire, this is my opportunity to see how much attention they paid to the induction.  If anybody is struggling with the details I will explain it a little more thoroughly as it is important that everybody knows what to do in a life or death situation.  The OIM then signs off the induction sheets and I will take the new personnel to their direct supervisor.

The next part of my shift usually involves reviewing the observation cards handed in over the past 24 hours, this is a good opportunity to find any health and safety trends appearing and to go and look at any reported hazards that require my attention.  I will usually ask the OIM to pick a card of the day and I will relay this information into the brief for the next day.

I try to do between four and six tours of the platform throughout the evening, I visit as many work parties as possible to engage in safety related conversations, topics discussed might range from tool selection and hand arm vibration to process safety or what to do in an emergency.  Perceptions of a HSE Advisor are that we are there to catch people out but this isn’t the case, I have a genuine care for every person I work with and I want to help everybody go home in the exact same condition they arrived in. 

Tool box talks are held before the start of every job, this is an opportunity to identify the risks at the worksite and decide who is going to do what on the job.  It is also the last chance for everybody to raise any issues or concerns before the job starts.  I will go to at least one of these tool box talks every day to see if people are participating and offer coaching to those who are not as confident at joining in.

I will have a tea break around 9pm and 3am with lunch at around midnight.  This is a good time to catch up with all the guys and learn a little more about their personal life.  I usually find that the guys see me as a bit on an agony aunt, I think this is because I am usually the only female on the platform.   

My lunch is something I prepared earlier over on the vessel that can be heated up on the platform.  The platform is normally unmanned and therefore doesn’t have a galley.  We have been really lucky on this job because the vessel has an excellent chef who never fails to supply good food, this isn’t always a good thing as I often worry that my flight suit won’t fit me any more on the way home

After lunch I will prepare the daily brief for the following day, this will provide information on any accidents or incidents that may have occurred, the observation card of the day, trending information picked up from observation cards and any assurance tasks required to be completed the following day.

I usually have another walk around the platform and several cups of tea before it is eventually time to get our life jackets on and go back across the gangway at 6.15am to the vessel. Once back on the vessel I will go to the galley for breakfast which is confusing because technically its dinner.  It’s always quite tempting to get a fry up but I try to go for something lighter knowing I’m going to bed and that I’ve probably ate more biscuits than I should of during the night. After breakfast I will try to go to the gym, then it’s time for a shower and bed, before it all starts again the next evening.