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Shaping Competence Together: Building a Culture of Competence in High-Hazard Industries

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Processing the safety lessons of Piper Alpha

Piper Alpha disaster

Background: 6th July 1988

A release of condensate on the Piper Alpha platform led to a series of explosions and fires. These, in turn, caused its destruction. The severity of the incident was increased as a result of a failure by other platforms to cease operations.

The damage:

• A total of 169 people perished including two rescuers
• Only 62 people survived from the the 229 man crew
• Many of the survivors suffered serious injuries

Lessons to take:
A far-reaching investigation by Lord Cullen led to 106 recommendations, including:

• Improved leadership training
  
• Increased training and better competency review
• Improvements in emergency response arrangements
• Better permit to work control
• Increased protection for control rooms