– We take this seriously. Both the fact that we investigate the incident itself and the order for Stans emphasizes the seriousness, says press contact in the Sea Industry Authority (sea to), Øyvind Midttun, about the accident they investigate on Melkøya. Equinor is in the process of preparing the electrification system and a planned audit shutdown. It was working on a scaffold on April 24 that a person fell 4.4 meters and was injured. The construction worker was sent to Hammerfest hospital. Hired labor the worker, who is from Poland, was part of a working team hired to Consto facility north from the temporary agency Adecco. “The injured person is followed up by us on an ongoing basis and looked after by the health care system,” says Bjørn Wiik, Executive Vice President Bjørn Wiik. When it comes to the extent of the damage, Wiik says this: – We have been informed that this is a bone violation and that it is likely to be 100 percent healthy after a rehabilitation period. “The injured person is followed up by us on an ongoing basis and looked after by the health care system,” says Bjørn Wiik, Executive Vice President Bjørn Wiik. Photo: Adecco Several security breaches The Sea Industry Authority was on inspection the day after the accident, and found several violations of the safety of Consto facility north. Lack of risk assessments at the start of the work Lack of collective hedging for personnel Lack of fall protection equipment Lack of training of personnel There are strong words used in the preliminary report, including: The incident that occurred, along with the causal relationships that have so far uncovered after the incident, shows that there is an immediate and real danger to life and health related to work at the height of the height. – Our goal to have a workplace without accidents. The security of everyone who works in and for Consto is our highest priority, writes CEO of Consto Anlegg Nord, Fredrik Okkenhaug in an email to news. Photo: Nicolas Tourrenc / Consto Large player in the Consto entrepreneurial industry is one of the country’s largest groups in building and construction, with operations in all the country’s regions. The head office is located in Tromsø. Managing Director at Consto Construction Nord, Fredrik Okkenhaug, writes in an e-mail to news The most important thing is to safeguard the injured worker, colleagues and the project organization. – Our goal to have a workplace without accidents, and the safety of everyone who works in and for Consto is our highest priority, he writes. – Is this an individual case, or have there been other incidents on Melkøya where the safety of the workers is not taken care of? – Safety work in our projects is based on the fact that unwanted incidents and conditions are reported as a basis for learning and improvement work. Such reporting is a natural part of the HSE work in any project, writes Okkenhaug. Work shutdown for Consto Equinor has initiated his own investigation of the work accident. Director of Hammerfest LNG, Rasmus Wille, says they stopped all work for Consto on Melkøya immediately after the accident became known. – Of course, we take events like this seriously. In addition, we saw that emergency preparedness worked well. In this way, the worker could be treated quickly in hospitals, he says. Rasmus Wille is director at Hammerfest LNG. Photo: Silje Thalberg / news – How safe is it to work with construction work on Melkøya? – It is Equinor’s responsibility to ensure that it is safe to work on our installations. We have different routines on how we follow up and verify safety. Then the investigation will be able to reveal if there is something about the routines that are wrong, says Wille. Strong instruments Øyvind Midttun state that it is unusual for the sea to use as strong tools as they do after the fall accident on Melkøya. – Stopping activity is a strict means of reaction, and something we relatively rarely have to use. The last time we subjected the stop of activity was in 2023 at the Mongstad plant in Hordaland, also then related to scaffolding, he says. Midttun says the incident triggers thorough investigations in the time to come. – It should be safe to work in the petroleum activities, even when working at height. We therefore investigate the incident to get to the bottom of what actually happened and why it could happen, says Midttun. – Stop of activity is a strict means of reaction, and something we relatively rarely have to use, says Sea Press Contact, Øyvind Midttun. Photo: Eirik Gjesdal / news – The worker who was injured was hired to Consto from the temporary company Adecco. In other words, it will be a long way from the builder (Equinor) and down to the rental company via Consto. How does the sea for this be considered? – It’s too early to say anything about, this is something we look at in the investigation, says Midttun. Published 02.05.2025, at. 18.05 Updated 02.05.2025, at. 20.10
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