Human factors in process safety: the top 10 issues

2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
pp. 444
Author(s):  
Ronny Lardner

There is an increasing emphasis on the importance of managing human factors to achieve improved safety and business performance in the chemical process industries and resource sector. Major process safety accidents, including those at Texas City, Varanus Island and Montara have again highlighted the importance of addressing this aspect of performance. Recently the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) announced an additional focus on human factors as part of their regulatory activities, noting that these factors are relevant to performance across safety, integrity, and environmental management. This extended abstract explains how the subject of human factors in process safety has been defined in the UK, categorised by the top 10 key topics. How this targeted approach helps manage this aspect of process safety performance is also discussed. Finally, this extended abstract shows how safety culture and behavioural safety are not the same as human factors. Case studies of the oil and gas industry show how attending to the top 10 delivers benefits by strengthening the effectiveness of management systems, and improving human reliability. This extended abstract directs the reader to a range of high-quality, open-source research, guidance, tools, and techniques to improve across the top 10 human-factors subjects in process safety.

Author(s):  
T Sheydai ◽  
O Nykyforuk ◽  
U Berezhnytska ◽  
I Melnychuk ◽  
I Mandryk

Author(s):  
Sorin Alexandru Gheorghiu ◽  
Cătălin Popescu

The present economic model is intended to provide an example of how to take into consideration risks and uncertainties in the case of a field that is developed with water injection. The risks and uncertainties are related, on one hand to field operations (drilling time, delays due to drilling problems, rig failures and materials supply, electric submersible pump [ESP] installations failures with the consequences of losing the well), and on the other hand, the second set of uncertainties are related to costs (operational expenditures-OPEX and capital expenditures-CAPEX, daily drilling rig costs), prices (oil, gas, separation, and water injection preparation), production profiles, and discount factor. All the calculations are probabilistic. The authors are intending to provide a comprehensive solution for assessing the business performance of an oil field development.


2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 374
Author(s):  
Martin Anderson

On 2 September 2006 a reconnaissance aircraft Royal Air Force Nimrod XV230 suffered a catastrophic mid-air fire on a mission over Afghanistan, leading to the total loss of the aircraft and the death of all 14 service personnel. This paper summarises key issues from an independent inquiry and challenges the oil and gas industry to reflect on these. The author, a Chartered specialist in human and organisational factors, contributed to The Nimrod Review as a Specialist Inspector with the UK Health and Safety Executive.


2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 498
Author(s):  
Mike Lynn ◽  
Alan Samuel

In the last 12 months or so, particularly with the drop in oil price, there’s been a lot of speculation about the future of the Australian oil and gas industry. Strenuous efforts are being made to bring down costs, reduce complexity and expedite the completion of major capital projects. Yet with the commodity price looking likely to be subdued for some time, serious questions persist. How can we sustain activity in Australia, secure the investment needed to continue exploration and appraisal drilling, for the next wave of projects? In looking for answers to these challenges, collaboration is a theme that comes up time and time again. But what does it actually mean? What does it look like in practice? Who does it well and how? And which companies are reaping the rewards of great collaboration? To fill this knowledge gap we are launching a survey which will look at many aspects of collaboration in the Australia and compare this with the results of similar surveys conducted in the UK. We will be looking to survey both operators and service companies working in the Australia and find out: What does collaboration mean? What constitutes effective collaboration? How do companies view themselves and each other as collaborators? How does collaboration in Australia compare with companies in the North Sea? We hope a better understanding of collaboration could help companies in Australia continue to improve productivity and efficiency, adopt new ways of working, and truly make the most of Australia’s abundant resources.


2017 ◽  
Vol 167 ◽  
pp. 168-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen C. Theophilus ◽  
Victor N. Esenowo ◽  
Andrew O. Arewa ◽  
Augustine O. Ifelebuegu ◽  
Ernest O. Nnadi ◽  
...  

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