130,000 crane lifts a year

(Aug. 26, 2002) Food, pipes, containers...The list of items that are lifted on board and between installations in the North Sea is long. There are around 130,000 crane lifts a year on Hydro-operated platforms.

TRAINING: Senior vice president Johan Kr. Mikkelsen also took a turn in the crane simulator.

”My aspiration is that lifting and crane operations in general will be an even safer field of work. We must do everything we can to ensure that these operations take place within a safe framework,” says senior vice president Johan Kr. Mikkelsen in Operations and Production in Hydro. He believes it is important to provide the opportunity for boosting competence through training, fostering good attitudes and procedures.

Last year, Hydro ran simulator courses for nearly 20 crane operators and flag men, and more than 200 will take part this year. These courses take place at the Ship Maneuvering Simulator Center in Trondheim, where Hydro has sponsored a new crane simulator with a price tag of NOK five million.

A joint lifting procedure for all Hydro’s installations was introduced last summer. Several meetings between the safety staff and course participants have been held to discuss experiences and upgrade this further.

Mikkelsen particularly salutes the course leaders, Svein Ihle Gundersen and Bjørn Breivik. Both have  been relieved of their operative duties and have been instrumental in the training program.

”I am impressed by what they have achieved so far. When this year’s training program is completed, I believe we will have raised our level of competence considerably,” he says. The feedback from the course participants is also one hundred percent positive. The conclusion is that the courses boost both self-confidence and knowledge, and make the participants better able to master critical situations.