Helicopter safety finds new home in Step Change
October 2010
A new Helicopter Safety Steering Group has been formed under the Step Change in Safety initiative. Its remit is to identify and address cross-industry issues concerning helicopter safety.
The new group builds on the excellent work of the Helicopter Task Group, which successfully dealt with a wide range of aviation safety issues in the aftermath of the loss of Flight 85N on 1 April 2009.
Bob Keiller, chair of the Helicopter Task Group, explained: “Helicopter safety is such an important issue; it deserves the industry’s full attention. The task group was always meant to just deal with the immediate matters arising from Flight 85N. However, throughout its existence, the value of having such a group on a pan-industry basis became obvious.
“Bringing the industry, helicopter operators, regulators, trade unions and workforce representatives together to work on safety issues can make a real difference, allowing specific matters to be addressed in a much more efficient way and new initiatives to be introduced without delay.
“It is important that the excellent work of the task group continues, albeit under different leadership and under a new umbrella.”
The new steering group is now part of Step Change in Safety and is led by two co-chairs, Bill Munro, managing director of Bond Offshore Helicopters, and Ken Robertson, CNNS asset manager, Shell U.K. Limited.
Bill Munro said: “One of my first tasks as cochair will be to ensure that we continue the excellent work started by the Helicopter Task Group. For example, we will be looking at initiatives that can prevent accidents, improve our emergency response procedures and further enhance workforce communication.
“I am particularly pleased that the offshore trade unions and the pilots’ union, BALPA, have confirmed their continued participation in this new group. There can be no doubt that helicopter operators take safety very seriously and that helicopter operations are conducted under a very stringent regulatory regime. However, where concerns remain it is important that we listen to the workforce, take their views seriously and implement changes if required. The joint approach in the new Helicopter Safety Steering Group will make this possible, benefiting not only the offshore workforce but the wider industry by making the UK a world-leader in offshore helicopter safety.”
In addition to the unions, the new group will include representatives from the helicopter operators, oil and gas operators and contractors, the regulators HSE and CAA, and Oil & Gas UK.
Multilateration - a world first
One of the many achievements of the Helicopter Task Group was the introduction of multilateration, a new North Sea helicopter flight surveillance system which allows air traffic controllers to track helicopters over a far greater range than radar.
Until recently, helicopters were lost to shorebased radar at around 80 miles from the coast. Multilateration can track a flight path all the way to an installation in real time, down to 500 feet above sea level or lower. The system is due to become fully operational as Wireline goes to print and is the first in the world to be used for offshore operations.
A big advantage of the system is that a fixed wing aircraft in the area will also be displayed on the screen in the control tower, drastically reducing the risk of near miss incidents or collision. This is particularly important for low flying military aircraft.
Multilateration works by using multiple points to determine the exact location of a helicopter. Equipment has been fitted to 16 host platforms; divided into four geographical clusters. When a helicopter leaves the 80 mile radar zone, its transponder responds to a signal sent from a platform, which is then sent back and detected by receivers on each of the four platforms within a cluster, allowing complete real-time flight following surveillance of the helicopter.
This data is then sent to the control tower at Aberdeen Airport, where the helicopter’s position is determined by triangulation. Only three signals need to be received in order to provide a position, but the fourth signal both increases accuracy and gives some redundancy should a signal not be received.
Iain Harris, head of engineering for NATS Services said: “We are delighted to deliver this significant safety enhancement to the North Sea helicopter air traffic control operation.”
Robert Paterson, health, safety and employment issues director with Oil & Gas UK, welcomed the progress, adding: “I am very pleased to see this system up and running. This is a considerable step forward in helicopter safety and typifies the sterling work done by the Helicopter Task Group to drive important safety-related projects to a successful conclusion.”
For more information about the new HSSG, please visit here.
