BOSIET Training with CA-EBS – OPITO

What is the BOSIET course?

BOSIET, or Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training, is a mandatory course for personnel who are required to work on offshore oil and gas installations.

The BOSIET course provides participants with the essential knowledge, awareness and practical skills required to work safely offshore and respond appropriately to emergency situations on offshore installations.

How long is the BOSIET certification valid?

The certification issued upon successful completion of the course is valid for four years.

The course includes both theoretical and practical training covering sea survival and rescue techniques, basic first aid, basic firefighting and self-rescue, offshore evacuation procedures and emergency escape from a helicopter, in accordance with OPITO standards.

The course is delivered in Italian and, upon request, in English.

BOSIET with CA-EBS Course Programme

SAFETY INDUCTION

Theoretical Training

Overview of Offshore Operations and Installations

Offshore oil and gas extraction activities

Formation, exploration and development of oil and gas fields, including how hydrocarbons are formed, located and produced

Types of offshore installations and specialist vessels, including their main functions and characteristics:

Drilling installations: jack-up rigs, semi-submersible rigs and drillships

Production installations: oil and gas or gas-only facilities, both fixed or floating

Construction vessels: heavy-lift vessels and pipe-laying vessels

Accommodation modules

Specialist vessels: standby vessels, support vessels and diving support vessels

The offshore environment, including isolation, extreme conditions and the proximity of process areas, work areas and living accommodation

Offshore Hazards

Definitions of hazard, risk and control measures

Accident statistics and comparison with other industries

Environmental impact statistics

Offshore hazards and associated risk levels, including pressure, lifting and material handling, chemicals, electricity, gravity, noise, hazardous atmospheres and confined spaces

Offshore Safety Management

The multiple-barrier model and the systems used to prevent and control hazards, including Safe Systems of Work, personal responsibility for safety and behavioural and safety observation programmes

Hazard Control

The hierarchy of controls and how control measures are implemented

Risk assessment and implementation of control measures, including isolation of pipelines and reservoirs, blowout prevention systems, pipe-handling and lifting training, machinery guarding, Safety Data Sheets, protection from chemicals and dust, electrical isolation and fall protection

The consequences of failing to control hazards effectively

Offshore Safety Legislation

How offshore safety is regulated, including applicable legislation, statutory requirements, legal responsibilities, the role of organisations within the oil and gas industry and Safety Management System documentation

The hierarchy of legislation

Relevant directives

The Health and Safety Document, including identification of major hazards, risks and control measures, how safety is managed, approval by the relevant health and safety regulatory authority, verification of safety-critical systems and required performance standards

Duties of employers and employees and the concept of ALARP

How prevention, protection and emergency response objectives are established

How emergency response plans are developed and the required standards are defined

The role of health and safety authorities, including their purpose, activities and inspection powers

Use of ISO standards, including ISO 14001

Industry expectations regarding personal safety behaviour, including expected safety standards and common behavioural safety tools and programmes

Living and Working Offshore

Health requirements and medical fitness standards

Procedures for taking prescribed medication

Substance misuse policies

Offshore routines and welfare arrangements, including administrative procedures and requirements upon arrival at an offshore installation, permitted and prohibited items, installation-specific hazard briefings, safety representative elections, the role of the Safety Representative and Safety Committee, employee responsibilities, workforce communication channels, cabins, laundry facilities, shops, recreation areas, smoking arrangements and working and living respectfully with others

Working routines, including procedures, permit-to-work systems, personal protective equipment, maintaining a safe workplace, waste management and the right to stop unsafe work

Participation in safety activities, including safety observation systems, permits to work, toolbox talks, safety meetings, emergency drills, additional emergency duties and active workforce involvement

Safety communication and reporting channels

Actions to take when dissatisfied with the response to a safety concern, including contacting the immediate supervisor, the Offshore Installation Manager, Safety Representatives and the Health and Safety Regulator

Accidents and occupational illness, including reporting accidents, near misses and illnesses, the role of the offshore medic, offshore first aid arrangements, accident investigation, preventing recurrence and supporting relatives in the event of illness, accidents, major incidents or evacuation

HELICOPTER SAFETY AND ESCAPE

Theoretical Training

Helicopter Travel

Pre-flight briefing

Pre-boarding procedures, including arrival at the heliport, required documentation, suitable clothing, prohibited items, check-in procedures, helicopter transit suits and aviation life jackets

Safe boarding procedures

Use of seat belts and harnesses

Pre-flight safety video

Procedures to follow during the flight

Safe disembarkation

Helicopter Emergencies

Actions to take during an in-flight emergency

Brace positions

Impact-attenuating seating systems

Procedures in the event of an emergency landing or ditching

Helicopter safety features, including flotation systems, escape routes, emergency exits and life rafts

Independent actions to be taken during an emergency

Survival actions following evacuation after ditching, entry into a life raft, entry into the water or an emergency landing

Emergency Breathing System, or EBS, including available versions, pre-use checks, operating principles, duration and associated buoyancy characteristics

Personal locator beacons

Practical Training

Donning a helicopter transit suit, aviation life jacket and Emergency Breathing System, and carrying out EBS integrity checks

Deploying, operating and breathing from an EBS in dry conditions

Actions to be taken in preparation for an emergency landing or ditching

Actions following a controlled emergency landing, including evacuation through a designated exit

Deploying, operating and breathing from an EBS in a swimming pool using the participant’s own exhaled air before completing HUET exercises

Breathing from the EBS in both positive and negative body orientations created by body movement and positioning in the water

Actions following a controlled ditching, including deployment of the EBS, removal of a push-out window following instructions from the aircrew and evacuation through a designated exit onto an aviation life raft

Assisting, where practicable, with the initial actions required after boarding an aviation life raft, including securing painter lines, deploying the sea anchor, erecting the canopy and maintaining the raft

Underwater evacuation through a window following partial helicopter submersion, without deploying the EBS and without removing the window

Underwater evacuation through a window following partial helicopter submersion, with deployment, operation and use of the EBS, without removing the window

Underwater evacuation through a window following partial helicopter submersion, with deployment, operation and use of the EBS, including window removal

Underwater evacuation through a window following helicopter capsize, without deploying the EBS and without removing the window

Underwater evacuation through a window following helicopter capsize, with the EBS deployed and operated at the surface before capsize, without removing the window

Underwater evacuation through a window following helicopter capsize, with the EBS deployed and operated at the surface before capsize, including window removal

Inflating an aviation life jacket and deploying the spray visor in the water

Boarding an aviation life raft from the water

SEA SURVIVAL AND FIRST AID

Theoretical Training

Typical emergencies on offshore installations

Station bills and emergency duties

Different means of escape

Actions to be taken before, during and after a controlled evacuation or abandonment of an installation

Essential installation knowledge required by all personnel, including the typical installation layout, escape routes, temporary refuges, muster points, abandonment stations, access routes, the helideck, helideck landing areas and alternative escape routes

Installation alarms and communication systems, including their location, use and the correct response

Delegation of command within the organisational structure

Appropriate emergency procedures and required actions

The need for and use of personal protective and emergency equipment, including gloves, torches, smoke hoods, survival and abandonment suits and life jackets

Search and Rescue organisation

Sea rescue resources and rescue craft

Actions to take during rescue operations

Helicopter winch recovery, including the duties of the winch operator, use of the guide line and individual and two-person recovery

The importance of wearing suitable clothing

Offshore recovery methods, including standby vessels, Fast Rescue Craft, Mechanical Rescue and Recovery Devices, rescue nets, rescue baskets and pilot ladders

Types of Totally Enclosed Motor Propelled Survival Craft, or TEMPSC, including free-fall, single-fall and twin-fall systems

Functions and characteristics of survival craft

Muster, boarding and seat-belt procedures, including safety precautions during lowering and release, emergency equipment and survival provisions

Tertiary means of escape, including knotted ropes, scramble nets, davit-launched life rafts, pilot ladders and descent devices

First aid management

Types of injury, including bleeding, burns, chemical exposure, heat exposure and cold exposure

Immediate actions and prioritisation

Immediate first aid actions before the arrival of the medic or trained first aider, including assessing the situation, making the area safe, assessing all casualties, prioritising unconscious casualties and calling for assistance as quickly as possible

Practical Training

Carrying out muster procedures, boarding a TEMPSC and fastening the seat belt before the craft is lowered and released

Entering the water and applying the correct safety precautions when entering from height

Donning a helicopter lifting strop, being winched and completing a simulated entry into a rescue helicopter, including individual lifting, correct body position and entry into the aircraft

Water survival procedures, including individual survival techniques, swimming, the HELP position, airway protection, group survival techniques, towing, human chains and huddle and circle formations

Rescue using a recognised offshore recovery method

Boarding a marine life raft and carrying out initial actions, including securing painter lines, deploying the sea anchor and maintaining the raft

Carrying out secondary actions, including assigning a lookout, activating the radio beacon and using the first aid kit

Initial first aid response, including raising the alarm, assessing the situation, checking the safety of the area, checking the airway, breathing and circulation, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and the recovery position, for demonstration purposes only

FIREFIGHTING AND SELF-RESCUE

Theoretical Training

General overview of offshore fire safety

Common causes and types of fire on offshore oil and gas installations, particularly electrical fires, domestic fires and welding-related fires

The fire triangle

How fire spreads through conduction, convection and radiation

Fire extinguishing media, including water, dry powder, foam and carbon dioxide

Purpose of fixed fire and gas detection systems and fixed fire suppression systems

Actions and precautions required in areas where these systems are activated, particularly where their operation may affect personnel health and safety, including deluge systems, halon and halon replacement systems and carbon dioxide systems

The urgent need to evacuate an area when extinguishing agents have been released

Actions to take upon discovering a fire in accordance with installation emergency procedures, including raising the alarm, recognising typical locations of portable firefighting equipment and evacuating to the designated area

Practical Training

Actions to take upon discovering a fire

Raising the alarm

Selecting suitable portable firefighting equipment

Operating the alarm system upon discovery of a fire

Using different types of fire extinguisher on Class A and Class B fires, including water, foam, carbon dioxide and dry powder extinguishers

Demonstration of the use of a fire hose reel and fire blanket on Class A and Class B fires

Selecting, donning and using a smoke hood

Self-rescue techniques using a smoke hood

Evacuation from areas affected by smoke and heat in reduced-visibility and zero-visibility conditions

Participants must hold either a valid offshore medical certificate or a valid medical certificate confirming fitness to participate in the course.

Upon successful completion of all theoretical and practical assessments, participants will receive an OPITO-approved Basic Offshore Safety Induction & Emergency Training with CA – EBS (BOSIET) certificate.