The leading authority on helideck inspection and certification has marked its first anniversary in new premises with news of a significant certification development that will create new jobs.
A year after moving its global headquarters to larger premises in the city, the Aberdeen-based Helideck Certification Agency (HCA) has become the first active standalone organisation to be approved under OPITO’s CMS Workplace Competence Assessment Approval for helideck crew.
OPITO is the global, not-for-profit, safety and skills authority for safety-critical industries, and certification allows HCA to conduct accredited assessments anywhere in the world where helideck operations take place. It is anticipated that OPITO approval will lead to the creation of several new assessor’s roles to cope with a predicted upturn in demand for services.
With more than 30 years of experience, HCA specialises in inspecting helidecks and assessing and certifying associated personnel across a broad range of offshore installations, including oil and gas and windfarm assets, and also superyachts. The company’s 14-strong team conducts around 300 asset visits each year, with 40% taking place in the UKCS and the remainder overseas.
As part of the company’s ambitious plans to expand in synergistic markets, and a drive to achieve consistent competency across the industry, HCA implemented a competence assurance framework aligned with OPITO CMS Workplace Competence Assessment Approval. This allows assessments to be conducted according to recognised standards that reflect real operational environments.
Commenting on the news, HCA Managing Director Dave Rae said: “HCA is passionate about fostering high standards and having systems in place that give confidence to offshore competency assessments of helideck crew. After due consideration of alternatives, we saw OPITO as the way forward because it is the recognised industry standard and accepted globally.
“The addition of core business in the renewables sector has been a key growth area for us, and about 15% of our activity is now wind farm related. We are keen to expand our ancillary associated services, including competency, and OPITO approval will be key in developing our expansion in this and other key target markets.”
He added: “A regulatory move to achieve a consistent standard of competent helideck crew across the offshore industry will lead to an increased demand for suitable competence assessments. HCA is now well placed to service this demand.”
OPITO Deputy Quality Assurance Manager (Europe) Jodie Taylor added: “HCA applied for OPITO Workplace CMS Approval and demonstrated in the early stages that they were committed to ensuring quality processes and practices were in place. HCA completed the approval process swiftly, and a thorough and detailed on-site visit and observation of assessment took place. Congratulations to the HCA Team for their achievement.”
