PFEER Assessments

UK safety case legislation requires that a PFEER Assessment be carried out in relation to the development of Safety Cases. PFEER (The Prevention of Fire, Explosion and Emergency Response Regulations) are a set of regulations which have been put in place to ensure that the owners and operators of offshore installations deal with the requirements to provide appropriate emergency response.

The regulations specifically require that lifeboats be provided for 150% of the personnel on board the installation, and it should be noted that there is guidance being provided by the regulators as to what weight they will accept for offshore personnel, since the SOLAS standards allow construction against a weight of 75 kilos.

The regulations also require the provision of a means of recovering personnel accidentally entering the water to a place of safety. This is usually a standby vessel. Also the installation must be provided with an emergency plan, which usually combines or links the offshore emergency procedures, the station bill and the onshore emergency support processes.