Prevention of fire and explosion, and emergency response on offshore installations.

In this third edition, the ACOP text and associated guidance have been updated and simplified, where appropriate. The main changes have been widely consulted on and include:

emphasising when developing an approach to fire and explosion hazard management, consideration is given to ‘timely detection’ of occurred events and the ‘appropriate reporting and recording of them’; when undertaking a regulation 5 assessment, clarification is given that releases of toxic or asphyxiating gases with the potential to require evacuation, escape and rescue are included. Also, guidance is given on considerations associated with the provision of totally enclosed motor-propelled survival craft; guidance covering when a repeat assessment could be required when changes including improvements are introduced following the initial assessment; and a clearer definition of a ‘performance standard’; adding suitable detection systems for asphyxiating atmospheres to the list of illustrative detection arrangements and providing a further explanation of detection systems, alarm settings and their capabilities; the temporary refuge survival time should be adequately defined in the emergency response plan and events likely to compromise temporary refuge integrity need to be identified and addressed.