It is generally believed that as many as 90 percent of offshore accidents and injuries can be attributed to human error. Human factors the human machine interface in particular greatly influence the safety and reliability of offshore facilities and operations.

One of the most effective methods of reducing the risk of accidents and improving quality and reliability is through human factors engineering.

Human and Organizational Factors (HOF) have been successfully applied in various industries to reduce accidents caused by human error. Those same HOF standards and methodologies can also be used to reduce offshore accidents. Improvement of standards, regulations and programs to educate the offshore community in the numerous recent advancements in HOF engineering and application, both onshore and offshore, cannot be overemphasized. Engineers, managers and operators need a better awareness and understanding of HOF in the design, construction and operation of facilities before full utilization and benefits can be achieved. In addition, further efforts in research and development are needed to provide for missing HOF elements specific to offshore operations.

The workshop was designed to provide guidance and promote collaboration on the use of HOF in the management of safety and environmental hazards for offshore operations and facilities. Experts reviewed progress in HOF application, identified current problems associated with introducing HOF in design and the workplace, and prioritized important research and development topics in the field of HOF and behavioral safety.

Participants had the opportunity to collaborate with HOF experts in individual work groups. These groups documented the state-of-the-art of HOF and gave direction for future applications. The cooperative workshop was designed to accomplish the following objectives:

1. Define the status of best industry practice of HOF in the management of safety and environmental hazards for offshore operations and facilities.
2. Identify the issues that influence the full utilization of HOF in offshore facilities design, engineering, fabrication, installation, operations and maintenance.
3. Provide an international forum, attracting participants from all aspects of HOF (i.e., corporate leadership, offshore facility designers, human factor experts, safety engineers, and regulatory and certification leaders).
4. Produce a record of the proceedings, thoroughly describing both the current practice and science of HOF and the opportunities for using HOF and behavioral safety in the management of safety and environmental hazards for offshore operations and facilities.
5. Promote the use of HOF in offshore facilities design, engineering, construction, fabrication installation, operations and maintenance.

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Last Updated: 07/28/2008, 02:46 PM