Order to Equinor after investigation of incident involving fall from scaffolding

The incident occurred during work on assembling formwork scaffolding for the emergency power generator building. A temporary worker for Consto Anlegg Nord AS (Consto) fell 4.4 metres onto a concrete floor and received serious injuries. Under slightly different circumstances, the injured person could have suffered far more serious injuries or, in the worst case, died.

Order to Consto to halt work
On 29 April 2025, after Havtil had completed the initial interviews and inspection, we issued Consto with an order to halt work at height at HLNG. The order was issued on the basis of observations made during inspections and information obtained from interviews.

Direct cause

The direct cause of the incident was that the worker lost his balance and fell from the formwork scaffolding to the ground. The fall arrest harness with dual lanyard and shock absorber that the worker was assigned to use was not attached to a secure anchor point.

Underlying causes

The main underlying cause of the incident was that Consto had not made provisions for the use of work platforms during the assembly of the formwork scaffolding. In addition to the lack of work platforms to prevent falls, the fall protection equipment was not used correctly.

There were several underlying causes of the incident. These mainly concerned:

• Risk understanding and planning
• Competence and training
• Framework conditions and working environment factors
• Regulations and compliance
• 'See-to-it' duty and verification activities

Non-conformities

In our investigation, we have identified a total of 11 non-conformities by Equinor, Aibel and Consto. The non-conformities concerned:

Equinor's non-conformities

- Follow-up of other participants
- Risk reduction
- Safety clearance of activities
- Continuous improvement

Aibel's non-conformities

- Follow-up of other participants
- Risk reduction

Consto's non-conformities

- Risk analyses
- Work arrangements
- Competence
- Organisational, psychosocial working environment and whistleblowing culture
- Safety delegates

Order

The investigation identified serious breaches of the regulations and we have issued Equinor with the following order:

Pursuant to the Framework Regulations, section 69 concerning administrative decisions, with reference to the Framework Regulations, section 18 concerning qualification and follow-up of other participants and the Management Regulations, section 21 concerning follow-up, Equinor Hammerfest LNG is ordered to:

Establish routines and measures to ensure that contractors and suppliers have the necessary knowledge of Equinor's governing documents and use them to comply with the health, safety and environmental requirements.

The deadline for complying with the order is 18 June 2026.

Havtil is to be notified when the order has been complied with, and Equinor shall at the same time submit established routines and documentation in respect of measures taken to comply with the order, with reference to the Framework Regulations, section 23, 2nd paragraph.

Learning points

Learning from incidents is crucial for continuous improvement in high-risk industries. The following lessons learned from the incident are relevant for all companies that plan or carry out work at height:

1. The 'see-to-it' role vis-à-vis contractors and subcontractors
   Companies that use contractors and hired personnel must set aside sufficient time and resources for follow-up and onboarding. At all stages, the main contractor and responsible companies must coordinate, support and ensure that contractors and subcontractors understand and comply with the regulatory requirements.
   
   
2. Ensuring necessary competence
   Employers must verify that employees have received training that covers the specific work to be performed. Competence provided by training providers may be generic and not always sufficient. The main company and responsible companies must ensure coordination and control in this area too.
   
   
3. Risk assessment of work at height
   Work at height must be risk assessed before commencement, and the employer is responsible for facilitating safe work practices. Personal protective equipment should only be used when safety cannot be ensured in another way.

English version of the investigation report will be available in short time.