THE Big DEBATE - PEScdn.pes.eu.com/assets/misc_new/pp14-19-108-111roundtable... · 2012-09-04 ·...

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As our industry matures, H&S is becoming ever more important, which is why we decided to devote our entire roundtable to the sector in this issue. As always, we’ve brought together a roster of some of the finest minds in the industry, and pitched them a selection of challenging questions. Their answers are in equal parts engaging, illuminating, educating – and sometimes surprising. ROUNDTABLE: HEALTH AND SAFETY SPECIAL THE BIG DEBATE PES Wind: Europe 14

Transcript of THE Big DEBATE - PEScdn.pes.eu.com/assets/misc_new/pp14-19-108-111roundtable... · 2012-09-04 ·...

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PES Wind: Europe14

ROUNDTABLE: HEALTH AND SAfETy SpEciAL

As our industry matures, H&S is becoming ever more important, which is why we decided to devote our entire

roundtable to the sector in this issue. As always, we’ve brought together a roster of some of the finest minds in the industry, and pitched them a selection of challenging questions. Their

answers are in equal parts engaging, illuminating, educating – and sometimes surprising.

ROUNDTABLE: HEALTH AND SAfETy SpEciAL

THE Big DEBATE

PES Wind: Europe14

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PES: Welcome to the magazine. Before we head into the main subject of the day, can you tell us a little about your company and how it serves the industry?

Laurent Schneitter: We are the ActSafe Representation in Beijing, China, and are also, under the name Vertical Consulting, an IRATA certified operator and training company.

We promote a safe method of work, mainly in the rope access segment, which means mainly for blade inspection and repair, but also for the tower.

We have developed a rope access using power ascenders, to reduce fatigue and also increase safety while working on ropes… Personally, I’m an IRATA assessor and auditor, environmental and HS engineer.

Christian Bo Sørensen: Falck Nutec has provided emergency preparedness and Health and Safety courses for oil and gas, shipping, renewable energy, military and aviation industries worldwide for over three decades.

We are present in five continents and offer a wide range of training solutions from our 26 purpose built training centres. Our team is made up of over 1,000 highly skilled and experienced personnel and last year over 240,000 delegates benefitted from our training.

Falck Nutec in Denmark has since 2002 customised training for the wind industry in close cooperation with both operators and manufactures. This training has evolved from STCW training and oil and gas courses which in the beginning were commonly used by the wind industry, to courses that later on was specifically designed to meet the needs of the wind industry. On-site training on Horns reef 1 and advanced first aid is some of the

examples of this and it is this experience that in December 2010 gave us the opportunity to do the GWO test course which formed the platform for the new GWO standard.

Tapio Kallonen: Obelux Oy is manufacturing LED aviation obstruction lights, also known as aviation warning lights for wind turbines and wind measurement masts.

Since 1997, Obelux Oy has focused exclusively in LED technology. These LEDs offer a large number of advantages including their low weight, compact design, low power consumption, reliability, robustness, and extremely long maintenance-free operating time, which all contribute positively to the H&S of aviation and the maintenance staff as well as the general public.

Obstruction lights are considered very important to the wind parks due to their visual impact on the environment. In order to provide correct light distribution and minimum light scatter to unnecessary places, yet maintaining the optimal intensities to meet aviation safety needs, it is very important that the optical design is made professionally fulfilling all international regulations.

Marian Georghiou: The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) is a non-profit organisation with over 700 members, from 65 countries. These members include wind turbine manufacturers, component suppliers, research institutes, national wind and renewables associations, developers, electricity providers, finance companies, and consultants.

EWEA coordinates international policy, communications, research and analysis and provides various services to support members’ requirements. EWEA also organises high-profile industry events

including an annual exhibition and conference - the next one being in Vienna in February 2013.

EWEA analyses, formulates and establishes policy positions for the wind industry on key issues, cooperating with industry and research institutions on a number of market development and technology research projects.

In addition, the lobbying activities undertaken by EWEA help create a suitable legal framework within which members can successfully develop their businesses.

Dr. Ralf Woestmann: Bremeninvest (WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH) is responsible, on behalf of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, for developing, strengthening and marketing Bremen as a location for business, trade fairs and events. Our paramount aim is to deliver services and products that help secure and create jobs in Bremen and which provide businesses in Bremen with an optimal environment for entrepreneurial success. Our services include advising and assisting companies wishing to locate in Bremen, developing innovation clusters, as well as developing and marketing commercial properties and industrial estates.

PES: And what’s your on-the-ground assessment of the state of the sector at the moment?

Laurent Schneitter: In China, the inspection and maintenance sector is growing very fast, even faster than the construction of new turbines.

If the question is related to HS, I would say that more and more safety requirements come from the manufacturers. You have to fulfil their requirements if you want to be an actor. I think this is a very good thing, especially for countries having no or poor work (at height) regulations.

ROUNDTABLE: HEALTH AND SAfETy SpEciAL

LauREnT SChnEiTTER Head of ActSafe Representation, ActSafe

ChRiSTian Bo SøREnSEn Product development manager, Falck Nutec Esbjerg A/S

TaPio KaLLonEn Export Manager, Obelux Oy

MaRian GEoRGhiou Health and Safety Officer, European Wind Energy Association

DR. RaLf WoESTMann, Innovation Manager, Bremeninvest for the maritime industry (WFB Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH)

Contributors

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“Currently the wind industry is focusing most on obstruction light regulations due to the increasing number and height of erected new turbines”Tapio Kallonen

Tapio Kallonen: Obelux Oy is working together both with aviation authorities and wind power associations on the regulations and requirements for obstruction lights on wind turbines. Currently the wind industry is focusing most on obstruction light regulations due to the increasing number and height of erected new turbines. One of the challenging issues is that the obstruction lights installed on top of the nacelle are not marking the highest point of the turbine as blade tips go well above the nacelle. We need to continue to work to find the best solution for both; to offer a safe air traffic environment, and to minimise all unnecessary light scatter which might annoy neighbours.

Dr. Ralf Woestmann: Things are stirring in this sector. The potential is enormous. However, we can currently identify two major ‘building sites’, so to speak, where a lot of work needs to be done: in addition to the financing situation, which is rather unstable, it is also imperative that a solution be found for connecting offshore wind farms to the national grid. There is also potential for optimisation in the maritime safety and security field, which includes the issue of where government responsibility stops and individual responsibility on the part of companies starts.

In this regard we have now made a major step forwards, in that we are now jointly developing the European Offshore HSSE Centre in Bremen with partners from industry. Also on board is the Gesellschaft für Maritimes Notfallmanagement mbH (Maritime Emergency Management Agency), a subsidiary of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger – DGzRS), which aims to provide safety in the north German coastal areas with a unique emergency response centre for offshore wind farms.

PES: has your company been affected by the economic situation in Europe? What challenges have you faced?

Laurent Schneitter: Wind energy is a market in full development phase in China at the moment, so we can say that we haven’t been affected by the crisis at all.

Christian Bo Sørensen: The economic

situation in Europe has set new demands for the workforces within the various industries. Flexibility and the ability to adapt your own skills to new or similar industries is today essential to get employment. This has been broadly recognised by both the European politicians and the workforce itself, so education and skills training will naturally increase in times with limited opportunities for the individual. Secondly the world is getting smaller and especially within the wind industry we see more and more different nationalities attending our courses.

After the release of the GWO standard this February we have had people from Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and Poland at our training centre in Denmark.

The heightened competition between the sub-contractors servicing the various industries has meant a change of some customers rather than a loss of customers. Due to this Falck Nutec have seen an increased and wider demand during the last couple of years. This positive tendency has boosted the number of training providers which off course is positive for both the industries and the training providers, as the higher the level of competition the higher chances are that only providers with high quality training for the right price will have a chance on the market in the long run.

There will however be a transition period where more or less serious providers deliver training with a big span in regards to the quality of the courses.

PES: What are the most common h&S considerations faced by the wind sector?

Laurent Schneitter: The fall arrest sector remains something very sensitive. Most companies agree with a one day training, which is definitively not enough, but better than nothing.

Compared to rope access companies (I mean certified rope access companies) working with high safety standards an statements, technicians using fall arrest equipment mostly work on their own, with no supervision, no control. Another issue is rescue – for both on- and offshore.

Christian Bo Sørensen: One of the biggest issues for the industry over the last

10 years has been the consideration in relation to which personnel needs what training, to what level and according to which standard. The renewable industry has more or less from the beginning had people working cross European borders and as there was no, or very little ,requirements for the sector, a lot of the safety training requirements have had to come from the industry itself.

There has never been any doubt that the wind industry always have taken the safety very serious, but the lack of requirements has meant that each of the operators have had their own requirements which even in some cases differed from wind farm to wind farm. Some companies have used the maritime STCW training standards or the oil and gas courses to get an internationally recognised certificate.

The only problem was that these courses in no way was related to the wind industry. Others used customer specific courses which was highly related to the industry, but held no international recognition. The exact same problem was faced with the medical certificates.

This meant that especially the sub-contractors had to get new and similar courses every time they got a new contract for a new operator or even on a new wind farm for the same operator. This problem has led to a long row of attempts to form standards for basic safety training specific for the industry, and even today new attempt are made in individual countries.

The strange thing is that these attempts has never been coordinated within the companies of the wind industry, which meant that the same companies who was supporting the creation of one standard in one country also supported another in a second country. In the end this typically led to the failure of both attempts.

Other standards has been laid down as an attempt to create a standard for the requirements in one specific country, even though it should be commonly recognised that it is not what the industry needs in a global market, but yet again the same global wind companies supported the local standards while they at the same time had representatives working on a global standard.

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“There is also potential for optimisation in the maritime safety and security field, which includes the issue of where government responsibility stops and individual responsibility on the part of companies starts”Dr. Ralf Woestmann

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So when you ask what is the common H&S considerations faced by the wind sector I am not in doubt that it is down to the very basic of deciding what standard to use and support it fully. This as the basic safety training is the first meeting new employees typically have with H&S and if this can’t be agreed by the industry it is difficult to see how the more complex H&S issues should be addressed.

Tapio Kallonen: The first issue is the need for unified and clear rules and standards for everyone to follow. These have to be extended over the lifetime of the wind turbine. Second issue is the right and sufficient education and training of the staff

working with wind power industry. Lastly, open communication about incidents and accidents over the whole wind industry is very important.

Marian Georghiou: In terms of occupational H&S, the installation of the wind farm and maintenance of the wind turbines come with a number of hazards due to the magnitude and complexity of the procedures. Working on wind farms implies transport of large components, lifting and handling of heavy loads, working at heights and in confined spaces as well as electrical safety and mechanical hazards while working in the nacelle of the turbine.

Moreover, offshore operations require a special focus as personnel are faced with added risks and more challenging conditions like working over water, transfer from vessels to wind turbines and vice versa, emergency response and safety at sea. Not to mention the more extreme weather conditions, like stronger winds, high waves etc.

PES: Conversely, where are we making the most progress with regard to h&S?

Laurent Schneitter: Even if I have said before that the fall arrest training is too short to be really efficient, I have to say that the general level is far better than it has

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been a couple of years ago – which doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be improved.

Christian Bo Sørensen: The release of Global Wind Organisation “Basic Safety Training” standard the 10th of February this year must without a doubt be the biggest process in regards to H&S.

With the hosting by EWEA and the fact that it is made based on actual risk assessments and agreed as the minimum standard by the renewable industry, the GWO standard is the first who has the potential to be fully recognised and adapted in Europe and later on worldwide as best practice.

What is also worth noticing is that GWO was formed in November 2009 so the work with the five modules has been done within 27 months which demonstrate, how serious the renewable industry have taken it and just how important it have been. In comparison, the oil and gas sector started with an individual standard for each of the individual countries operating in the North sea basin and it took eight years to agree on a true mutual recognition of the basic safety courses, which just as in the case with the GWO standard was initiated and driven by the industry itself.

Marian Georghiou: General national legislation for Health and Safety at Work broadly takes into account the hazards of working on wind farms (working at heights, working with loads…). However, the diversity of national laws can be a burden for companies that develop wind farms internationally and offshore. For this reason, there are several programmes looking at creating best practice, guidelines and standards for H&S, to be able to use the same staff and training programmes in operations throughout Europe. This would save companies time and money, and enable companies to work together collaborate with each other under clear safety guidelines.

Another important action is the collection and analysis of accidents in the wind industry. A number of national wind associations, with the help of their members and local H&S authorities, are working on accident reporting schemes in

order to provide the industry with more accurate statistics on accident records. With this important information, the wind industry can review the success of safety procedures, identify new risks, training and behavioural safety weaknesses and reinforce accident prevention plans.

Dr. Ralf Woestmann: The greatest progress is the fact that health, safety and security for the offshore industry is now a common effort. At our European Offshore Centre, more specifically, this means that the DGzRS is actively supporting operators’ emergency systems. This involves a transfer of risk for the sector, because those who participate in the scheme can be sure that they are well prepared and that they are adopting the best possible concept. The great advantage is that scale effects are generated. Maritime safety and security is often perceived as nothing but a cost factor.

The primary focus of our work in Bremen is to demonstrate the value added that it produces. There is enormous potential to be tapped here, if a real-time overview of the situation in the German Bight can be used simultaneously to optimise logistics services, as well as the flow of materials and personnel. Different operators can access a shared infrastructure and thus optimise their cost structures.

PES: how can we improve the process of transposing complex h&S guidelines into simple, ‘real world’ practice?

Laurent Schneitter: That’s the core of the problem.

Improvement should happen at different levels. The procedures are something very general, sometimes also only generic. It should first be ‘translated’ into a proper work statement, then into checklists that are easy to read and to use for technicians

We are trying, as much as we can, to work with short checklists; the biggest difficulty is to get technicians used to working with them, especially for tasks they repeat day after day.

Christian Bo Sørensen: I think that the first step is to remember and recognise

that accidents and injuries is not only hurting the companies who suffer it, but the whole industry. H&S related questions and solutions is therefore not to be seen as a company secret, but rather a way to strengthen one’s own H&S culture by sharing and gaining experiences with and from others. When that is said it seems that a lot of the companies within the renewable industry has already recognised this and is already sharing their knowledge and experience. Most of it does however seem to be a bit by coincidence at various network meetings and workshops.

I think that one of the most important things to remember is that it is much easier to implement procedures and guidelines efficiently, when the issue is relevant and can be related to a specific and recent event or solution, thus the order of implementation is not without relevance. The relevance within a specific company is relatively easy to monitor via reporting systems, newsletters etc. but what is most relevant for the whole industry as of now is a bit more tricky.

Of course there is all kinds of forums, organisation and association who focus on a given subject but getting the relevant information require, that you attend or follow all of this which is not realistic and won’t add value in comparison to the time and money spend. So what is an efficient way of sharing knowledge and reach the whole industry?

In Denmark, the council for the seafarers’ work environment “Sea Health Denmark” has made a near miss database, that allow the Danish maritime industry to share and seek knowledge of how others have handled various H&S issues. This approach adapted to the renewable industry would help getting all relevant information for a new guideline and making it spot on the first time thus avoiding reinventing the wheel. Second of all most corrective actions has already proven themselves efficient in the real world. But of course, for this to work there need to be only one or at least very few database which means that it should be hosted by recognised associations such as EWEA in Europe or similar.

“Wind energy is a market in full development phase in China at the moment, so we can say that we haven’t been affected by the crisis at all”Laurent Schneitter

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Christian Bo Sørensen: A lot of the complex guidelines today are really not necessarily caused by the complexity of the task itself, but more due to the fact that a lot of HSE-Q departments seems to be paid by the word and think that the longer the guideline the better it is. It is much easier to add to a guideline than to delete from it, as when the text is there, it all seem so very important. With that in mind the personnel for whom the guideline is meant for should ideally make it without the interference from the HSEQ department and as short as possible. This to ensure that it is written in a language suited for the personnel it is addressed to and second of all they know what simple ‘real world’ practice is for them and therefore also existing and future colleagues.

Marian Georghiou: In every sector, as well as in Health and Safety, a combination of theoretical and practical training achieves better results than either alone. One compliments the other and gives a clearer picture to the trainee. Good training standards result in competent professionals.

In H&S, our aim is not to ‘wow’ or overwhelm personnel with long words and incomprehensible material. Complex H&S guidelines, if understood only by H&S experts have failed their purpose. Guidelines should be custom made for the audience. Language, education and profession all play a major role in understanding and absorbing information. Presentations must be kept short and written in simple language. The use of visuals is vital since the message will go cross language barriers.

Results from on-site inspections are a good reflection of how successful and comprehensible ones guidelines are. It is therefore of great importance to engage regularly with on-site managers and inspectors, in order to monitor the success of the guidelines in real-life situations.

Dr. Ralf Woestmann: That is a matter for the licensing authorities, first of all. In Germany, the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie – BSH) examines, evaluates and approves

company emergency plans. In addition to that, it is possible to improve the process still further by getting the various stakeholders around a table and approaching the matter on a joint basis. This dialogue is currently producing some very good results.

PES: Do you believe that the industry has a positive attitude towards h&S culture? What more could be done to encourage this?

Laurent Schneitter: Not more or less than other industries. It depends more on the companies than on the industry. There are many different levels, from almost no safety culture to 100 per cent safe.

But because wind energy exposes technicians at height, and is very spectacular, some companies invest a lot of money into safety. I can’t judge if they do it as a safety culture issue, or only because an accident could damage their reputation.

Based on my experience, most of the leading manufacturers have a positive attitude towards H&S.

Tapio Kallonen: We believe that H&S issues are taken very seriously among the whole industry, including turbine manufacturers, contractors, and service companies. There are normally clear and strict internal processes when accidents and near-miss situations occur.

H&S issues have also been taken into account to protect the general public. In Finland, there is a wind park marked with signs and lights when there is a risk of ice piling on blades and increasing the risk of accidents for the by-passers during winter time.

The H&S culture has changed for the better during the past years, but it needs to be constantly fostered. It is also important to keep up with the latest developments in the industry, and the opportunities they offer for improved H&S measures.

Marian Georghiou: Companies active in the wind industry are more and more aware of the importance of H&S training. As the industry expands and annual installation rates increase, there will be more operations carried out and more employees involved. If H&S is not taken seriously, we

would see increased accidents which, in turn, increases costs. For these reasons, companies generally have H&S management systems in place and their personnel undergo regular training to ensure the best results.

We are also seeing an increased amount of collaborative H&S projects between various companies and national authorities and associations, in an effort to overcome common H&S issues and concerns within the industry.

Dr. Ralf Woestmann: The attitude is certainly positive. We notice from the responses of those in the market that this particular issue is gaining increasingly in importance. Training standards have to be kept high in order to continue supporting safety and security standards. Only suitable and skilled personnel should be deployed at sea. A training consortium or network would be a good idea. Standardised training levels at EU level would also be welcome.

PES: Where can we identify common behavioural safety weaknesses in the industry? how can these be addressed?

Laurent Schneitter: Using incident and accident statistic, as far they are recorded and having independent commissions looking for solutions.

Tapio Kallonen: Sharing public information and databases about accidents and near-miss situations play an important role in terms of educating both new and also experienced staff in the industry, and creating improved procedures and benchmarks. In addition, ability to accept change and embrace new, improved technology solutions such as LED instead of earlier used Xenon-technology, is a way to develop improved H&S approaches.

Dr. Ralf Woestmann: The offshore industry is a pioneering industry. As with all new technologies, initial experience is still being gained here, and workflows have not been perfected as yet. Everything is still under construction. In general, experience has shown that new sectors of industry, especially in such an unpredictable environment as the open sea, inherently involve risks. One is exposed to the forces

...cONTiNUED fROM pAgE 18THE Big DEBATE

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of nature here, so risks can be offset to only a limited extent.

PES: of course, we are not just focussed on the h&S impact upon staff. how can we do more to improve the wind sector’s relationship with the public?

Tapio Kallonen: One of the focus areas should be relevant communication and new publications in an understandable manner to the public. Obstruction lights and their impact on the environment is a common public interest discussion topic. Obstruction light manufacturers have a lot to contribute in this area, and at Obelux we take pride in focusing our efforts on the sharp and accurate optical design of the LED lights in order to minimise unwanted light scatter. In addition, we need to keep all the parties, such as turbine manufacturers, aviation authorities, wind power associations, service providers, etc., updated on different ways to take advantage of available technology to optimise the sufficient light output.

PES: is there a gap between the h&S capabilities of in-house and contracted staff?

Laurent Schneitter: It is an eternal and elementary question.

Companies may write tons of procedures to fulfil certification requirements, but it does not really change what happens in the field. We have to consider HS as an entire system that includes all actors, from top manager down to technicians. Sometimes procedures are written by persons having no close relationship with work sites.

The company may say that technicians should respect and follow the procedures, but we have to remember that most technicians face other problem, timing is one of them.

A simple way, for example, to win time, is not to respect the fall arrest requirements when they climb/descent the tower. It happens every day.

We recently met technicians doing inspections inside a blade, where the temperature was clearly over 60°C; the procedure said not to work in these conditions, but they had no other choice

than carrying on with the job, even after repeated phone calls to the company’s main office.

PES: Do you believe that companies invest enough time, money and effort in h&S training?

Laurent Schneitter: Definitively: no.

Dr. Ralf Woestmann: I believe that companies are doing their best at present and will also do so in future in order to afford their workforce maximum protection and to provide safe working conditions.

PES: of course, we are not just focussed on the h&S impact upon staff. how can we do more to improve the wind sector’s relationship with the public?

Dr. Ralf Woestmann: A fundamental debate is currently being conducted in Germany on whether renewable energies are resulting in rising costs. There is a need for more information and education, especially with regard to grid expansion. The public must be informed better about the opportunities and benefits of renewable energies. The wind industry must not be portrayed as a cost driver.

PES: There is a risk that h&S can stifle growth and innovation. how can we address this?

Laurent Schneitter: It has been the same argument for all industries: HS costs a lot and brings less or even nothing, this has been heard for years. If you compare HS today and 25 years ago in the car industry, the improvement has been considerable. Does it mean no growth and no innovation? HS is not measurable in terms of productivity and performance – and that is one of the main HS problems. HS belongs to company’s culture, and is a long term view. Too many companies focus on the short term, in the wind energy as everywhere.

Christian Bo Sørensen: It is obvious that there need be a balance between time and money spend on H&S and the resources spend on running the business. All has shown that H&S is good business for all companies, and that underestimating this can be fatal to the company itself. So in general it is all about getting the most of your money and find the best solutions for the right prices.

Identifying your company’s needs is therefore key to the question. As most accidents is caused by human error it seems very clear that the competence of the personnel is not the right place to save money. But then again not having the right equipment at hand can be fatal as well. Sadly there is no answer book showing the right solution, but a lot of resources can typically be saved already in the design and planning phases where actions can be taken to avoid risk and the need of extra safety precautions, equipment or inspection of the latter. Furthermore, there is equipment on the market which does the exact same thing as similar products, but don’t add requirements for extra training because it is now red or blue.

Often there is a lot of money saved in a proper test of similar products, rather than just rushing ahead and invest in what is seemingly the best product or what similar companies do. The good thing is that this is but a few issues that can be addressed and all of this can be done without compromising H&S. In short terms the economical part of H&S and resources spend on it, is not much different than running the rest of the business, optimise without compromising the product or task ahead, invest in new methods and suddenly H&S can add to growth and innovation rather than stifle it.

Marian Georghiou: This is a misconception. Health and Safety can be an obstacle only if unnecessary time, effort and money are spent on it due to lack of organisation, specialisation and efficiency. ‘Getting lost’ in all the information on H&S, providing unsuccessful training, putting the wrong controls in place and overcomplicating procedures can result in frustrated and unmotivated personnel and can place ‘blinders’ on design and development. However, when addressed correctly, H&S can in fact boost growth and innovation.

With a positive H&S culture, a correct H&S management system in place, clear guidelines and effective training, a company will see a reduction in occupational accidents, thus a reduction in medical costs, temporary staff, damaged equipment etc. This will lead to more money available

“Health and Safety can be an obstacle only if unnecessary time, effort and money are spent on it due to lack of organisation, specialisation and efficiency”Marian Georghiou

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ROUNDTABLE: HEALTH AND SAfETy SpEciAL

for design, development and operations. Moreover, better work force morale can lead to increased productivity and a good reputation for the company, not only as an employer but also as an associate for other companies.

H&S should be integrated into design and development in order to produce safe and long-lasting products that need less maintenance and repairs, thus decreasing the exposure of personnel to hazards, and decreasing product replacement costs.

Dr. Ralf Woestmann: The fact that many innovative platform technologies that enhance safety at sea are being applied in the field of maritime safety and security is a major opportunity for technology developers and suppliers to address this market. As early as 2009, we successfully brought companies, research institutes and customers from the offshore wind industry together in the ‘Marissa’ competence cluster – which stands for Maritime Safety and Security Applications – in order to develop innovative products and services. This collaboration is generating numerous opportunities to tap into new fields of business.

PES would like to thank all our roundtable

contributors. For more information, please

visit their respective websites:

Laurent Schneitter,

ActSafe: www.actsafe.se

Christian Bo Sørensen, Falck Nutec

Esbjerg A/S: www.falcknutec.dk

Tapio Kallonen, Obelux Oy:

www.obelux.com

Marian Georghiou,

European Wind Energy Association:

www.ewea.org

Dr. Ralf Woestmann,

Bremeninvest for the maritime industry (WFB

Wirtschaftsförderung Bremen GmbH):

www.wfb-bremen.de

Hal l 4 Stand C02

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uptime. anywhere.

opinion makers and idealists wanted!

Would you like to sit on the next roundtable? We’re currently looking for contributors and would welcome applications. Please contact the editor, Simeon de la Torre, at [email protected] for details.