Human Factors is a broad subject covering all issues governing the way that individuals and teams may work to the influences defining their environment (in terms of culture, knowledge as well as the physical environment).
This includes:
• how individuals and teams respond, learn and adapt to these imposed environments,
• the way in which organisations plan and prepare for the tasks and activities to be carried out and
• the physical environment in which those tasks are done.
There has been in the last decades an increasing awareness of the role of Human Factors in safety. This contribution has lately been emphasised by investigations results on recent onshore and offshore accidents.
Why implement Human Factors?
There are numerous incentives for the Oil & Gas industry to implement Human Factors in the design and operation of both onshore and offshore facilities:
• To improve accident rates
• To reduce the likelihood of human error provoking situations
• To reduce stress levels in the workforce
• To help the establishment of a leading indicator that should ultimately improve safety and operational performance
• To comply with regulations
Tools and Methodologies
Over the past two decades Human Factors tools and methodologies have increased significantly in both complexity and their field of application. Some of the most useful and commonly applied methods in the fields of engineering design and safety are:
Hierarchical Task analysis (HTA)
HTA is one of the most widely used forms of task analysis. It is used to represent the relationships between goals, tasks and sub-tasks. It provides a diagrammatic representation of the tasks; it is highly adaptable and presents tasks in a logical manner.
Human Error Analysis (HEA)
The objective of HEA is to identify where and when human errors may occur that can lead to accidents and system failures, and to determine ways of preventing or recovering from them.
Human Reliability Analysis (HRA)
The objective of HRA is to calculate the probabilities for human errors and error recoveries, so that these may be entered into quantitative risk assessment (QRA) logic trees (fault and event trees). This then allows the quantitative estimation of the human error contribution to risk.
Recent developments in Human Factors
Human Factors tools and methods continue to be developed for both specialist practitioners and non-experts. Some recent developments include:
Human Factors Integration, (HFI)
HFI is the systematic consideration of human factors requirements throughout the lifecycle of a system. HFI covers six key areas, or domains: manpower, personnel, training, HF engineering, system safety, and health hazards.
Shifting emphasis from major hazards to Workplace Ergonomics
There has been a shift in emphasis, partly driven by the regulators, to consider workplace ergonomic factors in greater detail. Accidents and injuries due to manual handling, slips, trips and falls, and work in harsh environments, remain a significant source of lost time, particularly in offshore work. The source of these accidents and injuries often lies in poor workplace ergonomics.
CAD tools
The sophistication of CAD modelling has continued to improve, allowing greater modelling of workplaces and human interventions in earlier phases of design.
Emerging regulations
There is an increasing emphasis from regulators on occupational health issues (including stress and musculo-skeletal disorders), and an increasing requirement to show that such factors have been adequately covered in the design and operation of facilities.
Further guidance and key references on human factors can be found in FABIG Technical Note 9.