Posted By John Allen I'm not aware of any exemption although for confirmation from a drilling specialist you might like to post this question on the Step Change Discussion Forum as well. I would guess by the number of fatalities caused by falls from drilling derricks that the HSE OSD would be keen to ensure that they were well within the ambit of the Regulations.

Posted By John Allen William, Your query has made me check the Regulations for chapter and verse. Regulation 11 of the WAHR requires that where a person can fall or be struck by a falling object the workplace will sfairp be equipped with devices preventing unauthorised persons from entering the area. The Application Regulation applies the WAHR as a whole to offshore with the exception of Regulation 11 because of the existing requirement under Regulation 12 of the Design and Construction Regulations. This Regulation refers to Schedule 1, para 36 of which requires the Duty Holder to provide means to prevent unauthorised persons from entering the area where they are liable to fall or be struck by falling objects. So far from being exempt, the drillers have been under this requirement for nearly ten years. Your comment about nowhere to clip on safety harnesses surprises me as harness (and belts before them) have been in use for many years. What will cause the drilling industry more thought will be the need to eliminate work at height if possible and to use collective measures before individual. Hope this helps.

Posted By John Allen OK - I understand now - I thought you were referring to the stacking of stands in the derrick working from the monkey board.

Posted By Ian Waldram Just a minor point - but the WAH Regs have removed the old '2 metre rule'. Thus the issue isn't whether someone can fall more than 6ft, but is a serious injury likely if they do fall? As with many such situations, the answer is probably 'no, there are many hours of experience, and no major injuries' (though crushing against a pipe stand or another rack of pipes by swinging loads is a well-understood hazard on pipe decks) - until the first time it happens. Not an easy issue to decide, but the not dissimilar hazard of working on top of containers is now generally seen a something to be avoided offshore.

Posted By Frank Hallett Hi Frank [McLeod] In answer to your question on rescue/retrieval - YES, you must have a clearly workable plan! My apologies for not responding to your second question on the extinguisher issue but it was answered well enough by others - with whom I agree. If you have subsidiary questions, I shall be happy to consider them. Frank Hallett