Application
This unit of competency covers the skills and knowledge required to abandon an offshore facility due to an on-site emergency and then survive at sea.
This unit of competency applies to personnel who are required to prepare for evacuation, select and deploy the appropriate safety equipment, launch available sea-going survival craft, assist in the survival of other persons, and activate location beacons or homing devices.
Offshore facilities include:
offshore rig or platform
floating facility (e.g. floating storage and offloading (FSO), floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO), and floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG)).
This unit of competency applies to an individual working alone or as part of a team or group and working in liaison with other shift team members and the control room operator, as appropriate.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Elements and Performance Criteria
Elements describe the essential outcomes. | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. | ||
1 | Prepare for abandonment of the offshore facility | 1.1 | Acknowledge alarm systems and proceed to muster and/or evacuation area |
1.2 | Make evacuation area safe to ensure likelihood of personal injury or equipment damage is minimised | ||
1.3 | Select and apply appropriate personal flotation device (life jacket) and other equipment | ||
1.4 | Prepare for evacuation by applying appropriate methods and means of evacuation | ||
2 | Abandon the offshore facility | 2.1 | Deploy safety/rescue equipment in a safe and controlled manner before commencing abandonment |
2.2 | Abandon the facility in accordance with relevant safety requirements and procedures | ||
2.3 | Enter life raft or other survival craft | ||
2.4 | Depart promptly from the facility using agreed techniques and in a safe and controlled manner | ||
2.5 | Utilise safe water entry procedures | ||
3 | Manage the survival process | 3.1 | Identify and act upon potential hazards to minimise injury to personnel or damage to equipment |
3.2 | Manage use of life raft by applying knowledge of life raft operation and requirements | ||
3.3 | Apply suitable swimming techniques (whilst wearing life jacket) in the water in order to aid movement and boarding of the deployed life raft | ||
3.4 | Rescue and recover persons in the water, minimising further potential for injury through the appropriate raft boarding and righting techniques | ||
3.5 | Employ suitable techniques, both in the life raft (or other survival craft) and in the water, in order to delay the onset of hypothermia | ||
3.6 | Assess and treat hypothermia as required | ||
4 | Facilitate the recovery process | 4.1 | Deploy position indicating devices and use signalling devices to facilitate the location of personnel by air-sea rescue group |
4.2 | Use emergency supplies and equipment to ensure that available supplies are maximised and are able to meet the nature and extent of the emergency | ||
4.3 | Apply helicopter/vessel rescue techniques to the recovery process | ||
5 | Control hazards | 5.1 | Identify hazards relevant to the abandonment process |
5.2 | Assess the risks arising from those hazards | ||
5.3 | Implement measures to control those risks in line with procedures and duty of care | ||
Evidence of Performance
Evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to and satisfy the requirements of the elements and performance criteria, and include the ability to:
recognise evacuation alarm
select and use appropriate equipment
prepare for evacuation and evacuate according to procedures and safety requirements
deploy life rafts or other emergency equipment
correctly inflate life jacket
locate and gain access to life raft where deployed
locate other survivors and assist them
apply rescue and recover procedures
assess and treat hypothermia.
Evidence of Knowledge
Evidence must be provided that demonstrates knowledge of:
offshore facility abandonment procedures
safe water entry procedures
life jacket operation
correct life raft and other survival craft deployment
life raft operation and management
boarding and righting a life raft
safety and emergency equipment deployment techniques
safety and emergency equipment operation
use of life jackets
hypothermia prevention and reduction techniques (delaying and offsetting)
rescue and recovery techniques.
Assessment Conditions
Assessment for this unit of competency will involve an abandonment simulation. Typically this will be achieved at an emergency evacuation training facility.
The unit will be assessed in as holistic a manner as is practical and the judgement of competence based on a holistic assessment of the evidence.
Assessment may be integrated with the assessment of other relevant units of competency, for example:
PMAWHS214 Undertake helicopter safety and escape.
Assessment will occur over a range of situations.
Simulation should be based on an actual abandonment and will include walk-throughs of the relevant competency components. Simulations may also include the use of case studies/scenarios, role plays and 3-D virtual reality interactive systems. In the case of evacuation training or training for competencies practised in life threatening situations, simulation may be used for the bulk of the training.
The collection of performance evidence:
should provide evidence of the ability to perform over the range of situations which might be expected to be encountered
must include the use of a simulated abandonment into real water of significant depth, using real equipment, such as personal flotation devices (PFDs) and rafts, appropriate tools, equipment and safety gear in a simulated environment
may also use other industry-based simulation particularly where safety, lack of opportunity or significant cost is an issue.
Off-the-job assessment must sufficiently reflect realistic operational workplace conditions that cover all aspects of workplace performance, including environment, task skills, task management skills, contingency management skills and job role environment skills.
Knowledge evidence may be collected concurrently with performance evidence (provided a record is kept) or through an independent process, such as workbooks, written assessments or interviews (provided a record is kept).
Assessment processes and techniques must be appropriate to the language, literacy and numeracy requirements of the work being performed and the needs of the candidate.
Conditions for assessment must include access to all tools, equipment, materials and documentation required, including relevant workplace procedures, product and manufacturing specifications associated with this unit.
The regulatory framework will be reflected in workplace policies and procedures and is not required to be independently assessed.
Foundation skills are integral to competent performance of the unit and should not be assessed separately.
Assessors must satisfy the assessor competency requirements that are in place at the time of the assessment as set by the VET regulator.
In addition, the assessor or anyone acting in subject matter expert role in assessment must demonstrate both technical competency and currency. If the assessor cannot demonstrate technical competency and currency they must assess with a subject matter expert who does meet these requirements.
Technical competence can be demonstrated through one or more of:
relevant VET or other qualification/Statement of Attainment
appropriate workplace experience undertaking the type of work being assessed under routine and non-routine conditions
appropriate workplace experience supervising/evaluating the type of work being assessed under routine and non-routine conditions
Currency can be demonstrated through one or more of:
being currently employed undertaking the type of work being assessed
being employed by the organisation undertaking the type of work being assessed and having maintained currency in accordance with that organisation’s policies and procedures
having consulted/had contact with an organisation undertaking the type of work being assessed within the last twelve months, the consultation/contact being related to assessment
conducting on-the-job training/assessments of the type of work being assessed
being an active member of a relevant professional body and participating in activities relevant to the assessment of this type of work.
Foundation Skills
This section describes those language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills that are essential to performance.
Foundation skills essential to performance are explicit in the performance criteria of this unit of competency.
Range Statement
This field allows for different work environments and conditions that may affect performance. Essential operating conditions that may be present (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) are included. | |
Regulatory framework | The latest version of all legislation, regulations, industry codes of practice and Australian/international standards, or the version specified by the local regulatory authority, must be used, and include one or more of the following: legislative requirements, including work health and safety (WHS) industry codes of practice and guidelines environmental regulations and guidelines Australian and other standards licence and certification requirements All operations to which this unit applies are subject to stringent health, safety and environment (HSE) requirements, which may be imposed through state/territory or federal legislation, and these must not be compromised at any time. Where there is an apparent conflict between performance criteria and HSE requirements, the HSE requirements take precedence. |
Procedures | All operations must be performed in accordance with relevant procedures. Procedures are written, verbal, visual, computer-based or in some other form, include one or more of the following: emergency procedures work instructions standard operating procedures (SOPs) safe work method statements (SWMS) formulas/recipes batch sheets temporary instructions any similar instructions provided for the smooth running of the plant |
Equipment | Equipment includes one or more of the following: life rafts and life raft deployment devices emergency descent devices position indicating devices signalling devices scramble nets and ladders helicopter lifting strops rescue harnesses |
Routine problems | Routine problems must be resolved by applying known solutions. Routine problems are predictable and include one or more of the following: failure of safety equipment interaction with heat or debris prolonged exposure to the elements risk of hypothermia Known solutions are drawn from one or more of the following: procedures training remembered experience Non-routine problems must be reported according to according to relevant procedures. |
Hazards | Hazards include one or more of the following: heat, smoke, darkness, or other atmospheric hazards structural hazards structural collapse equipment failures flammability and explosivity hazardous products and materials unauthorised personnel sharp edges, protrusions or obstructions slippery surfaces, spills or leaks extreme weather injury from abandonment hypothermia drowning sunburn/sunstroke dehydration exacerbation of existing medical conditions other hazards that might arise |
Sectors
Competency Field
HSE