Appendix 2

Question set for fabric maintenance inspection

INSTALLATION DATE(S) INSPECTOR(S)

Persons interviewed Position

Notes

Installation fabric maintenance can be assessed by inspecting the installation

condition and functionality, and by inspecting the management systems.
Assessing condition will be carried out during the offshore inspections and
assessment of the functionality and management system will take place
onshore and offshore. It will also help identify areas of poor performance and
areas of good practice for promulgation to industry.

The question areas covered should be addressed to the following personnel:

The person who controls the resources required to maintain the fabric
of the installation. Typically, the Asset Manager, supported by the
Structural and Safety TAs.

The persons responsible for setting the technical standards to ensure

that the correct maintenance is carried out to an acceptable quality.
Typically, the Integrity Assurance Engineer and other Technical
Authorities.

The person responsible for running the maintenance system for the
temporary refuge (TR), escape routes and other structural safety
critical elements (SCE). Typically, the contractors technical authority
and/or duty holder (DH) technical authority.

You may wish to involve other persons such as the independent competent
person (ICP), the HSE advisors, and discipline engineers.

While interviewing, you may wish to take advantage of the PEACE technique
described in HSE Investigative Interviewing course. Essentially, this takes the
form of one inspector asking the questions and a second taking notes on the
responses. The second interviewer has responsibility for keeping the interview
on track and for going back to clarify inconsistencies etc.
TA-A: Inspection and Maintenance basics

1 Confirm that the DH has a maintenance management system that

addresses topsides and fabric maintenance.

2 Who is responsible for scheduling and performing topsides fabric

maintenance inspections?

3 Describe how fabric inspection and remedial action tasks are prioritised.
How are priority ratings reviewed?

TA-B: Communication between onshore support staff and offshore

maintenance technicians, specialist contractors

1 How do the onshore technical authorities and support staff monitor the
quality of offshore inspection and maintenance activities?

2 How are inspection and maintenance issues discussed between the

offshore staff and the onshore support staff?

3 How often do onshore support engineers visit the installation?

TA-C: Competence of maintenance technicians, supervisors and

specialist contractors and consultants

1 How does the duty holder assess the competence of personnel and
companies involved in survey and repair work?

TA-D: Inspection and maintenance of fabric structure

1 What is the process by which work packs for survey activity are produced?
What performance standards are in place for secondary structural elements
(e.g. escape routes)?

2 What happens if the acceptance criteria are not met? Request a copy of the
documentation describing the contingency action to follow should the SCE fail
the acceptance criteria.

TA-E: Supervision

1 Who is responsible for the satisfactory completion of survey/repair work?

TA-F: Recording of completed maintenance and consultancy work

1 How are the results of inspection activities recorded?

2 How do you assure yourself that the information recorded following

maintenance work is of sufficient quality?
TA-G: Backlogs

1 What is the backlog for remedial actions following survey work?

2 What mechanisms are in place to elevate the priority of structural work that
is in backlog?

TA-H: Deferrals of Repairs, or Re-Assessments of the Structural SCEs

1 Request documentation describing how deferrals of repairs are authorised

and justified. When is the technical authority consulted? Is the ICP informed?

2 If maintenance of a SCE is deferred, what steps are taken to identify and

implement additional measures until such time as the integrity of the SCE is
restored, or to demonstrate via revised analysis that the degraded SCE is
acceptable?

TA-I: Corrective maintenance

1 Describe the procedures for determining whether a defect/anomaly is

significant. At what point are the technical authorities consulted to decide on
the criticality of a defect?

2 Is the effect on other aspects of the operation of the installation considered?

TA-J: Defined life repairs

1 Give examples of where temporary repairs could be made. How are these
temporary repairs monitored? What approval is required from the TA before a
temporary repair can be made?

2 Is the temporary repair assigned a defined life?

TA-K: Measuring the effectiveness of the inspection and maintenance

system

1 What information is routinely collected to measure performance?

2 How are the inspection and maintenance records analyzed?

TA-L: Measuring compliance with performance standards

1 Are there suitable performance standards for the topsides structure (e.g.
availability of escape routes)?

2 Check that all anomalies have been assessed, and appropriate action
taken.
TA-M: Measuring the quality of maintenance work

1 What checks do the technical authorities carry out to confirm that

maintenance activities have been carried out correctly and in accordance with
the work order? (e.g. are sample work orders inspected to confirm that they
have been adequately completed with required data and history?)

2 Is the maintenance system subject to internal or external audit? Have non-

conformances identified during audit been reviewed, corrective action taken
and closed out?

TA-N: Review of ICP recommendations

1 For the topsides structure, provide evidence that the verification scheme
defines the ICPs tasks in terms of the nature of examination, the frequency of
examination, how results and recommendations are recorded, and how
remedial action is recorded.

2 Request a copy of the ICPs recommendations relating to structural SCEs

non-compliance with PSs. How are the recommendations reviewed?

3 How are the ICP recommendations prioritised and actioned? Is remedial

work scheduled into the planned maintenance system?

4 How are SCE performance standards reviewed? What triggers this review?

TA-O: Reporting to senior management on integrity status for structural

SCEs

1 Request a copy of the statement of integrity produced by the technical

authorities for senior management. Who is on the circulation list? How is the
information assembled to produce this report?

2 How are recommendations made to senior management regarding the level

of resources required to maintain topside integrity?

3 How are observations on the effectiveness of the maintenance system

reported to senior management?

4 How frequently are the integrity strategies reviewed?

Condition of installation

Describe the physical condition of the installation. Items to consider could

include:

Walkways/stairways/handrails/gratings
Pipework supports
 Cable trays (including continuity of earthing)
Lighting supports
Fire/blast walls
Passive fire protection (PFP)
Secondary structural elements
o Equipment supports
o Flare/vent supports/attachments
o Helideck support frame
Spider deck: access to and condition of the spider deck
Conductors
Caissons
Riser clamps
Flare/vent structure
Lifeboat stations: davits
Communication aerials
Boat bumpers/fenders
Fire pump enclosures
Crane pedestals
Anti-vibration mounts/supports for modules/large equipment