Dutch offshore services firm Fugro has secured accreditation from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Helideck Certification Agency (HCA) as an approved supplier of helideck monitoring systems (HMS) conforming to the new 2021 UK CAA standards.
The new standards were issued in November 2020 and apply to all offshore floating assets operating in European waters which have helidecks, and to floating assets overseas where UK-registered helicopters operate (excluding Norway, where Norwegian standards apply).
Fugro said that the process to achieve the accreditation started in 2015 when the CAA awarded Fugro the contract to develop HMS software conforming to the CAA’s new specifications and trial the prototype HMS on an offshore floating asset, for which Fugro partnered with Ithaca Energy.
The final product, Fugro said Thursday, which has been improved and refined over the last 5 years, is an optimized helideck monitoring system that improves the safety of helicopter operations on floating assets.
Fugro says its helideck monitoring solution includes all hardware, software, remote and on-site support, and Geo-data analysis to allow helideck operators to update their systems to the new standards efficiently and cost-effectively.
Commenting on the offshore trial, Will Richmond, Captain FPSO and Alba FSU Asset Director at Ithaca Energy, said: “Health and safety is our priority so we’re pleased to have been able to work closely with Fugro to assist in improving the safety and reliability of offshore helideck operations and meet the UK CAA’s high standards.”
Alex Webb, Project Manager at Fugro, said: “As one of the first companies in the world to achieve accreditation to the new CAA HMS standards, the applied depth of knowledge and experience of our team will save helideck operators time in updating their systems and provide a robust HMS tailored to harsh offshore environments.”