Page 426 - Offshore Electrical Engineering Manual

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CHAPTER

Introduction to UK DCR 1

Regulations and the

Duties of an Electrical ICP

INTRODUCTION
To make good use of this chapter, it is recommended that the reference documents at
the end of the chapter are at hand. Also look at the HSE webpage ‘Offshore health
and safety law’.
(Note 1 SCR 2015 has been extended to bring the management and control of
environmental major accident hazards within its scope in line with the new EU
Directive (Directive 2013/30/EU; see Reference 1)).
(Note 2 The Offshore Installations (Offshore Safety Directive) (Safety Case etc.)
Regulations 2015(SCR 2015) came into force on 19 July 2015. They apply to oil and
gas operations in external waters (the UK’s territorial sea or designated areas within
the continental shelf (UKCS)). But they only replace the Offshore Installations
(Safety Case) Regulations 2005 in these waters, subject to certain transitional
arrangements. Activities in internal waters (e.g., estuaries) will continue to be cov-
ered by the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) Regulations 2005 and its guide L30).
In the time of publishing of the first edition of this book, the Piper Alpha disaster
had not long occurred and there was no time to include a section on the new UK
legislation which came into force following the disaster. The latest (2017) versions
of these documents are referenced at the end of this chapter.
This chapter is intended to cover all verification activities that electrical engineers
may be requested to undertake on behalf of a duty holder, or their contractor(s). This
includes verification required by the Safety Case Regulations and Prevention of Fire
and Explosion, and Emergency Response Regulations. The electrical Independent
Competent Person (ICP) may also be consulted on parts of the Well Examination
Scheme (WES), where controls and instrumentation are involved. Note that the well
examination requirements have changed in SCR 2015 (see regulations 11–13).
It is applicable to verification of UK offshore installations, for both existing facil-
ities and new installations (i.e., during the project phase). The approach may, how-
ever, also be suitable, with adaptations as necessary, for ‘verification’ of installations
outside of UK waters.
This chapter covers activities that engineers may be contracted to provide to a UK
duty holder, or their contractor(s), including:

1. Review of safety and environmentally critical elements,
2. Review, or writing, of performance standards,

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