Recommended fitness standard for the oil and gas industry published

The Energy Institute has published recommendations for minimum fitness standards for those working in the Oil and Gas Industry. The document, published in October, offers guidance on administering fitness tests, which are becoming increasingly common practice in industry and the emergency services. Compliance with the guidance is voluntary and companies can choose whether or not to incorporate the tests into their everyday operations.

The Energy Institute contracted the University of Portsmouth to develop and recommend a suitable fitness standard for the industry and a number of oil and gas companies made financial contributions towards the project. Various facilities were visited and company employees interviewed to determine the most common and essential physically demanding tasks carried out in the industry. The tasks identified include:

• Opening and closing valves;
• Climbing ladders and stairs;
• Lifting and manual handling;
• Pulling hoses and cables;
• Emergency evacuation; and
• Survival training.

Following the establishment of the physical demands associated with the performance of these essential tasks, a fitness standard was devised. The tests include both Physical Selection Tests (PST) and tests that incorporate simulations of the essential tasks. It is envisaged that an individual’s job will be assessed and depending on the physical characteristics of that job, the relevant fitness tests will be selected and administered.

A number of potential benefits of introducing the fitness standards into the work place have been highlighted, including:

(i) minimising the potential for employing people who are not fit for physically demanding jobs;

(ii) decreasing the potential for injury and/or breach of health and safety law; and

(iii) ensuring selection is based solely on the ability to complete the task, thereby ensuring that it is fair, unbiased and gender free.

With the planned phase out of the Default Retirement Age (DRA) due to take place next year, the incorporation of a fitness test into a company’s policies could also prove useful as a potential means by which an employer can fairly assess whether a worker is still fit to carry out the tasks required of them under their employment contract, although any such assessment would have to be objectively justified and the resulting employment situation carefully managed.

The Energy Institute have emphasised that the report does not provide guidance on policy issues or implementation strategies, which are considered to be matters for individual companies . Companies may wish to seek advice on the interaction between fulfilling safety requirements offshore and employment law.

The oil and gas industry currently requires a fitness test to be carried out only on members of Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) and it will be interesting to observe what impact (if any) the introduction of these tests to the industry generally will have and the extent to which they are adopted by operators and contractors.

Please click here for the fitness standard which is available from the EI’s website at a cost of £150