Call it the Human element in how a refining and chemical process operation is run....the other side of the machine and control system operation equation. Its value is in lives protected and money saved. This plain English guide to the principles of human factors will enable operations and control personnel—both the experienced and uninitiated— to understand how to successfully incorporate the concepts within their own plants. Through real-world examples, the author explains how human factors engineering concepts do, and must, dovetail with process plant design and operation. Offering practical insights, the book lays out the principles of human-system interactions and how they must be incorporated into any plant and control system from the get go—in order to ensure safe and efficient operations. Control engineers and operations managers will gain incomparable, inside-the-industry experience from: • Clear discussion of performance-shaping factors; • In-depth discussion of key variables in terms of workload and staffing; • A detailed analysis of the all-important human-machine interface, including content and format; • How-to planning for system demands and levels of automation; • Invaluable guidance on worker selection and training, along with sample procedures and job aids; and • Tools for investigation of incidents and near-misses from the human perspective.

Since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill, efforts to improve safety in the offshore oil industry have resulted in the adoption of new technological controls, increased promotion of safety culture, and the adoption of new data collection systems to improve both safety and performance. As an essential element of a positive safety culture, operators and regulators are increasingly integrating strategies that empower workers to participate in process safety decisions that reduce hazards and improve safety. While the human factors of personal safety have been widely studied and widely adopted in many high-risk industries, process safety â€" the application of engineering, design, and operative practices to address major hazard concerns â€" is less well understood from a human factors perspective, particularly in the offshore oil industry. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine organized a workshop in January 2018 to explore best practices and lessons learned from other high-risk, high-reliability industries for the benefit of the research community and of citizens, industry practitioners, decision makers, and officials addressing safety in the offshore oil industry. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Human Factors Handbook for Process Plant Operations Provides clear and simple instructions for integrating Human Factors principles and practices in the design of processes and work tasks Human Factors, the science of interaction between humans and other elements of a system, draws from disciplines such as psychology, ergonomics, anthropometrics, and physiology to understand how and why people behave and perform as they do—and how best to support them in performing tasks. The goals of the Human Factors approach are to improve human reliability, minimize the risk from human error, and optimize the working environment, human wellbeing, and overall system performance. Human Factors Handbook for Process Plant Operations guides supervisors, managers, and engineers on incorporating Human Factors principles and practices into plant maintenance and operations. With thorough and accessible coverage of all Human Factors topics of relevance to process industries, this easy-to-use handbook uses real-world anecdotes and case studies to demonstrate effective training and learning, task planning, communications, emergency response, risk and error management, and more. Throughout the text, the authors offer valuable insights into why people make mistakes while providing advice on how to help workers perform their process operational tasks successfully. Explains all essential Human Factors concepts and knowledge with clear descriptions and illustrative examples Offers actionable advice and models of good practice that can be applied to design, process operations, start-ups and shut-downs, and maintenance Addresses job aids, equipment design, competence, task support, non-technical skills, working with contractors, and managing change Discusses how lack of Human Factors considerations during the engineering design phase can adversely affect safety and performance Describes how to use indicators to both recognize and learn from human error and performance issues Written by highly experienced operating and maintenance personnel, Human Factors Handbook for Process Plant Operations is an indispensable resource for everyone involved with defining, planning, training, and managing process operations, maintenance, and emergency response in the food, pharmaceutical, chemical, petroleum, and refining industries. The missions of both the CCPS and EI include developing and disseminating knowledge, skills and good practices to protect people, the environment, and property by bringing the best knowledge and practices to industry, academia, governments and the public around the world through collective wisdom, tools, training and expertise. The CCPS, an industrial technology alliance of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), has been at the forefront of documenting and sharing important process safety risk assessment methodologies for more than 35 years and has published over 100 books in its process safety guidelines and process safety concept book series. The EI’s Technical Work Program addresses the depth and breadth of the energy sector from fuels and fuels distribution to health and safety, sustainability and the environment. The EI program provides cost-effective, value-adding knowledge on key current and future international issues affecting those in the energy sector.

Process Safety Management and Human Factors: A Practitioner's Experiential Approach addresses human factors in process safety management (PSM) from a reflective learning approach. The book is written by engineers and technical specialists who spent the last 15-20 years of their professional career looking at behavioral-based safety, human factor research, and safety culture development in organizations. It is a fundamental resource for operational, technical and safety managers in high-risk industries who need to focus on personal and occupational safety management to prevent safety accidents. Real-life examples illustrate how a good, effective understanding of human factors supports PSM and positive impacts on accident occurrence. - Covers the evolution and background of process safety management - Shows how to integrate and augment process safety management with operational excellence and health, safety and environment management systems - Focuses on human factors in process safety management - Includes many real-life case studies from the collective experience of the book's authors