Industrial safety reports and safety cases 

Operators of installations covered by "upper tier" category of the EU Seveso directive are required to prepare a safety report. Safety reports identify hazards at the installation, and describe the steps taken to prevent major accidents and the emergency preparedness measures in place to deal with any accidents that do occur.

Since the Seveso directive first came into force in 1984, COWI has assisted many of the affected companies. In most cases we have compiled and edited the safety report. A safety report must include:

• A description of the safety management system employed on the site
• A description of the site and its activities from a safety point of view
• Risk analysis and safety evaluation of the individual plants on the site
• The on-site emergency plan and relevant details for the off-site emergency plan

A safety report should not be prepared solely for the benefit of the authorities, but should form part of the safety management system and be of benefit to everyone working at the site. COWI also assists in updating reports at 5 yearly intervals or when changes to a plant are implemented.

Safety cases for offshore installations

COWI have been involved in preparing safety analyses and safety cases for fixed and mobile oil and gas installations in the North Sea since the 1980's.

COWI is in the forefront when it comes to preparing well documented safety analyses and ALARP demonstrations with a reasonable level of detail that fulfil the requirements of multinational operators.