This page was added April 05, 2025.
Medical Fitness to Work
Dear Partners in Safety,
The health and safety of our offshore workforce is our number one priority. Our offshore assets are remote, presenting unique challenges in terms of distance from medical centers and lifesaving medical interventions. Best practice in cardiac care describes a target window of less than 90 minutes from first medical contact to medical/surgical intervention (for instance, the placement of a stent or cardiac bypass surgery). Many of our assets, at best, are 4 or more hours from this type of lifesaving care.
In addition, the work you do offshore presents unique challenges and risks that require a high level of physical and mental fitness. Having you fit to work is essential in preventing accidents, injuries, and incidents that could compromise safety.
To this end, we are introducing more rigorous monitoring of our long-standing fitness to work requirements through the Helipass and ISNetworld Training Qualification (ISN TQ) systems.
New Measures
- Validity of Fitness to Work Assessments in Helipass/ISN TQ
- All personnel will be expected to undergo a fitness to work evaluation by a healthcare professional in line with their employer’s corporate policy and contractual agreements with Shell. (Existing requirement.)
- Each individual’s fitness to work status (date) will be recorded in ISN-TQ.
- Medications Taken Offshore
- At the heliport, prior to departure, all travelers will place in a yellow bag and seal all medication, vitamins, and supplements. The yellow bag should then be placed in their luggage to be carried offshore. Reminder: All medications, vitamins, and supplements need to be in their original packaging.
- The offshore medic will receive a list of all individuals traveling with medications.
- Worker reports to the medic with the sealed medication bag. Medic will unseal bag and document medications.
- If there are no fitness to work concerns, the medic will return the yellow bag and its contents to the worker.
Implementation Timeline
- April 15th 2025: Hard Launch. Individuals who flag as not fit to work cannot be placed on a manifest, and, as a result, cannot travel offshore.
Please ensure that your offshore workers are in compliance with the fitness to work standards outlined in your corporate policy and contractual agreements with Shell. This is to ensure their safety and the safety of everyone working offshore.
We appreciate all that you do to ensure your safety and well-being.
Thank you, and stay safe,
Shell Contract Management Team
Guidance:
We recommend medical evaluations be performed by a licensed healthcare provider familiar with the risks associated with the oil and gas industry and remote offshore work (for example, an examining physician registered through Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) or a physician board-certified in Occupational Medicine).