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Tel: (+44) 01492 879813 Mob: (+44) 07984 284642
andy@abrisk.co.uk
www.abrisk.co.uk
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Human Factors Engineering
in the Oil & Gas industry
Good & Bad practices
Andy Brazier

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A bit about me
Chemical engineer
BSc - Loughborough University
PhD - Edinburgh University
20 years working as human factors consultant
11 years self-employed
Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of
Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF)
Associate member of Institute of Chemical
Engineers (IChemE)

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Experience
Predominantly oil, gas, chemical, power and
steel industries
Human factors in process / major accident safety
Design assessments
Safety critical task analysis
Staffing and organisational change
Clients include Shell, BP, SSE, Centrica, Tata,
Syngenta, Total, Maersk etc.
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Places I have works – UK & Ireland
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Places I have worked – further afield
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Projects I have worked on but not visited
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Human factors and safety
Up to 80% of accident causes can be attributed
to human failures
All major accidents involve a number of human
failures
Human factors is concerned with
Understanding the causes of human failures
Preventing human failures
An important part of managing ‘major accident
safety’

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1. Annulus
cement barrier
did not isolate
hydrocarbons
Deepwater
Horizon
Explosions &
Fire
2. Shoe track
barriers did not
isolate
hydrocarbons
7. Fire and gas
system did not
prevent
ignition
3. Negative-
pressure test
accepted -
integrity not
established
4. Influx not
recognised
until
hydrocarbons
were in riser
5. Well control
response
actions failed
6. Diversion of
mud resulted
in gas venting
to rig
8. BOP
emergency
mode did not
seal well
Why?

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Initially – did
not achieve
seal around
drill pipe
Negative pressure
test accepted even
though integrity had
not been established
Did not follow
agreed test
method
Mis-interpreted
data
Crew had
preferred
method
Operational
instruction only
broad
guidance
Did not
recognise
more liquid
than expected
No prediction
available at
time
Rig crew
expected to
know how to
perform test
Previous
experience
Not aware of
specified
permit
requirements
Did not realise
constant high
pressure
indicated a
problem
Plausible
explanation
(bladder
effect)
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why? Why?

11.
Crew busy
with other
activities
Influx not
recognised until
hydrocarbon was
present in riser
Instructions
required constant
monitoring - did
not specify how
Crew not
monitoring well
Other activities
interacting with
pits
Pits not set-up for
combined
activities
Mud pit levels
not available
to monitor
Why?
Why?Why?

12.
Well control
response actions
failed to regain
control of the well
Slow to detect
the problem
Crew not
properly
prepared in
required
actions
Protocols did
not cover the
scenario
Crew had not
been trained to
deal with the
event
Why?
Why?

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Human Factors Engineering (HFE)
Understanding interactions between people and
systems.
Ensure systems are designed in a way that:
Optimises the human contribution to production
Minimises risks to health, personal or process safety
and environmental performance.
An important contribution to the quality, safety
and fitness for purpose of equipment and
facilities used in the oil & gas industry.
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Applying HFE
Eliminate, reduce the likelihood or mitigate the
consequences of human error
Improve human efficiency and productivity,
thereby enhancing operational performance
Improve user acceptance of new facilities
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Focus effort
Where people are expected to act as ‘risk
barriers’
Prevent or reduce the likelihood of incidents
Avoid escalation if an incident does occur.
Human activities required to support or maintain
physical and technological barriers
Fabric of the ‘pressure envelope’
Pressure relief valves
Safety instrument systems (trips).
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Bow Tie
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Vessel
Failure
Equip.
failure
Unignited
release
Fire
Loss of
containment
Maintenance
Operation
Autoresponse
Operator
response
Construction
Design
Detection

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Vinyl Chloride Monomer Incident
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HFE in Projects
Screening – identify critical elements of the
project
Design analysis – systematic methods applied to
identify specific design requirements
Design validation – ensure HFE requirements
have been achieved
Support to start-up – additional actions to
address HFE that are not directly design related.
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HFE Screening
Criteria
Complexity of the human activities (particularly
operations and maintenance)
Hazards to people, environment and asset
Frequency of human interaction
Novelty of the item
Known issues based on past experience
In practice, most elements are HFE critical
Screening is a way of identifying the ‘hot spots’
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Project philosophies
Strategy for HFE integration
Accessibility philosophy
Anthropometric standard
Staffing philosophy
Automation philosophy
Human machine interfaces (HMI) standards
Local gauges
Control system graphics and alarms
Signs & labels
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HFE Design Analysis
Critical task analysis
Accessibility requirements analysis
Valves
Instrumentation
Local controls
Staffing assessment
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HFE design validation
3D model review
Buildings (control rooms) evaluation
Alarm review and rationalisation
Graphics review
Workload assessment
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Support to start-up
Construction requirements
Inspection and audit
Procedures
Training and competence
Organisation and management of change
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OGP 454
Oil & Gas Producers
Associate
Human factors
engineering in
projects
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Challenges
Immature discipline – good practices not
identified or agreed
Lack of knowledge amongst operator companies
and design contractors
Not enough specialists with the right background
in process / major accident safety
Too little too late in many projects – tick box.
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Examples
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Valve access in design
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Valve access in practice
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Non-routine access
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Cramped access
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Access for maintenance
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Unsafe access
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Looks good?
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Vessel internals – 190 cartridges
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Usability
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Understanding the task
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Duplication
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Multiplication
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Labelling solution with design issues
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Good labelling
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Road route to avoid reversing
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Control room looks good on paper
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A ‘standard’ layout
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A better layout?
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Graphics – too crowded
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Graphics - confusing
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Graphics - pointless
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Process examples
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Compressor start-up
Complicated equipment
Normally started with an automated sequence
Operators want the option to start manually
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Coalescer priming
Operators assumed the vessel could be left
liquid full when in standby mode
HFE assessment with vendor highlighted that
this would damage internal components
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Default use of Pressure Safety Valves
Protecting against high
pressure
Valves have to be removed
for calibration annually
Not a problem for designers
but can be for operators
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Default use of wellhead with cellar
Creates a confined space
Liable to fill with sand or
snow
Not a problem for designers
but can be for operators
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Source of flush water – preparing for
maintenance
Water not always
available
May not be suitable
quality (materials)
Designers ‘assume’
water is always
available
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Automatic annulus management
Technology exists – desire
to use it
No issues when all is OK
What does the operator do
when things are going
wrong?
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Automatic filter changeover
Avoids part of a task
for the operator
How do they know it
has happened?
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Doing it better
Standards and guidelines
Limited value
Not understood by designers
Too much on approach without clear methods
Task analysis
Identify critical tasks
Focus on design solutions first
Procedures and training for the pre-operations
preparations.
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Anthropometrics
Can be critical, but usually a low priority
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Understanding human perception
helps us design for people
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Middle of the screen
At the edge
BigSmall
Colourful
Contrast
Flashing
Loud
Quiet
Italics – Bold - Underline
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Focus on tasks and methods
This is the main difference that an HFE can
make to a project
Looking at the same design with a different
perspective.
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Key messages
Start as early as you can
Focus effort where greatest benefit can be
achieved
Process / major accident risk
Frequency and nature of interaction
End user involvement
The project has to do the HFE.
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