HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING

WHAT ARE HUMAN FACTORS:

Human Factors are applying what we know about human capabilities and limitations to maximize overall system performance. By giving careful consideration to the interactions between humans and technological and organizational elements of a system it is possible to significantly increase the system’s productivity and reliability.

Human Factors address the interaction of people with other people, with facilities, and with management systems in the workplace. These factors have been shown to have an impact on human performance and safe operations. Human Factors provide practical solutions to reduce incidents while improving productivity.

In the oil and gas industry, human factors are an essential component in operating safely and efficiently. Areas where Human Factors has a key role include:

• Design of tools, equipment, and user interfaces in a way that augments the user’s work performance
• Human and organizational factors in risk assessments and emergency preparedness planning
• Human behavior and cognition in accident causation
• Efficient decision making and teamwork in stressful or critical situations
• Safety culture and safety behavior improvement programs
• Organizational reliability

The oil and gas industry has a major accident potential. Both exploration and production rely on advanced human-machine interfaces and are activities with a complex organizational structure.

Increasingly, the work is performed by distributed teams and remotely controlled technology. Human Factors have become an important and integral part of the industry’s approach to safe and efficient operations.

WHAT IS HUMAN FACTOR ENGINEERING(HFE)

Human Factors Engineering (HFE) is a field dedicated to the study of human behavior in the

work setting.

Its objective is to reduce the frequency and consequence of human error and to

maximize team performance, addressing the interfaces between people, equipment and

procedures.

In an Oil and Gas operations, there are various scenarios where HFE plays an important role. HFE requirements are defined through different key areas in Oil and Gas like:

• Access and Egress
• Workplace
• Handling
• Valve Access,
• Instrumentation, Electrical, and Telecommunication Installation
• Control Room Design
• Labelling & Signage, and
• Working Environment.

BENEFITS OF HFE

There is increasingly a need to ensure consideration of HFE to meet regulatory requirements. For example, for the UK North Sea, the HSE’s Assessment Principles for Offshore Safety Cases makes specific reference to the need to take account of HF to manage major accident hazards, whilst in the Norwegian Sector, the NORSOK Standard on ‘Working Environment’ includes detailed requirements for HFE.

In addition to reducing the risk of major accidents, the application of HFE is essential for minimizing occupational safety risks and ensuring the health and wellbeing of the offshore workforce, which in turn reduces downtime.

Application of HFE principles can also improve operational efficiency and maintainability, for example by streamlining tasks, optimizing workloads, and ergonomic design. The following picture represents the relationship between identifying and implementation of HFE and different stages of the Oil and gas lifecycle.

Image Courtesy: Risktech

What happens when HFE is not addressed?

The following are common problems in the oil, gas industries when human factors have not been considered in the design phase:

• manually operated valves are placed at an improper height and orientation
• access to equipment for ease of operation is limited
• there is insufficient space around equipment for installation or maintenance
• sight-lines for lifting and laydown from cranes are poor
• equipment layout does not support the logical sequence of operations
• layouts do not support logical or efficient workflow
• there is unnecessary removal of non-failed parts to access maintainable items
• the spatial relationships between crew and equipment are not logical or effective
• equipment protrudes into walkways
• there is inconsistent orientation or placement of equipment
• storage and laydown areas are insufficient
• signage and labeling are not visible from normal work areas
• stair, ladder, steps, and walkway designs are not suitable.

SOME EXAMPLES OF HFE IN DESIGN:

Image courtesy: Ifluids Engineering

lever operated valve HFE

CONCLUSION:

The effective application of HFE principles can improve operational efficiency and maintainability through streamlining tasks, optimizing workloads, and ergonomic design. Improper HFE implementation during the design stage can be a costly affair during operations. Hence its is imperative to analyze and take into consideration Human Factors during the early stage of the design to avoid late changes to layouts during the detail engineering stage.