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Human Factors
and Human Error Analysis
Government regulations and
industry-recommended practices have focused attention on human factors.
OSHA's PSM standard, EPA's RMP rule and API's recommended practice for
Safety Environmental Management Programs (SEMP), RP75, all address this
topic. Human error as a cause of hazard scenarios must be identified and
the factors that influence human errors must be considered. This latter
topic falls within the field of human factors engineering. It deals with
the person-process interface and how it influences the performance of
people.
People are key components of
industrial processes. They are involved in process design, operation,
maintenance, etc. No step in the process life cycle is without some
human involvement. Based on human nature, human error is a given and
will arise in all parts of the process life cycle. Also, processes are
generally not well-protected from human errors since many safeguards are
focused on equipment failure. Consequently, human error is an important
contributor to risk for most processes. This is evidenced by the number
of major accidents that have been attributed to this cause. It is vital
that the factors influencing the likelihood of errors be identified and
assessed to determine if improvements in the human factors design of a
process are needed.
Surprisingly, human factors is
perhaps the most poorly understood aspect of process safety management.
However, the standards from regulatory agencies and industry groups have
underscored the importance of addressing human factors in process safety
and risk management programs. This is motivating more companies to
evaluate and address human factors issues in their facilities. Improving
the human factors design of a process can produce not only improvements
in safety and health but also gains in quality, productivity and
employee job satisfaction.
Services Offered
Primatech assists clients in
identifying human errors and addressing human factors during the
performance of process hazard analyses. We also perform specific human
error or human factors studies to provide a more thorough assessment
that is warranted by the human contribution to process risk. Such
specific studies can be conducted before a PHA is performed so the
results can be utilized in the PHA.
Human error analysis involves the
systematic identification and evaluation of the possible errors that may
be made by operators, maintenance engineers, technicians, and other
personnel in the plant. Various analysis methods are used such as task
analysis and job safety analysis.
Human factors engineering studies
focus on the interface of people with the process and its impact on
system operation. Detailed checklists are used with a people-process
interface model to identify factors that increase the likelihood of
human errors.
Primatech has developed improved
approaches for considering both human errors and human factors in
process safety.
Primatech provides
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An understanding of
human error contributions to risk
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Knowledge of human
factors that affect performance
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Expertise with human
error and human factors analysis techniques
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Analysis tools and
checklists to aid studies
Primatech offers the training courses
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