Learning from Normal Work: Practical Insights into How Floating Offshore Wind Maintenance Is Performed and Adjusted to Enhance Safety

Norway aims to become a low-emission country by 2050, and offshore wind is one of the focus areas for renewable energy. As competition for new project areas intensifies, stakeholders face pressure to make quick and cost-effective strategic decisions while still maintaining high Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) standards. Norway has solid experience within HSE, still the The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority has identified a need to clarify the regulations on psychosocial work environment and the effect on occupational health and safety. A dedicated regulatory regime covering HSE in offshore wind is needed but not established. The aim of this paper is to explore and describe how routine maintenance operations in floating wind are performed under real conditions, revealing valuable lessons to support further development of safety knowledge and measures in the industry. The data consist of observations from a one-day ethnographic field study at the Marine Energy Test Centre (MET Centre) on the west coast of Norway. Based on Safety II and Learning from Normal Work perspective, the research project sought to identify everyday practices and adaptations made by a maintenance team, to proactively enhance safety at work. Five key safety themes were identified: high adaptive capacity, effective team dynamics and communication, positive organizational responsiveness, proactive management of environmental challenges, and design and ergonomic insights. The observations are further summarized into nine 'Learning Cards' intended for discussions in safety training, education and development. Each card presents real-world scenarios such as proactive safety measures, backup strategies and team communication accompanied by reflective questions, key insights and learning points. With the identified safety themes, the learning cards and the underlying analyses this paper aim to contribute to dialogue and learning to further improve the development of safety measures within the floating offshore wind industry.

Keywords: Norwegian floating offshore wind, Operation and maintenance, Learning from Normal Work, Safety II, Rapid ethnography assessment.