D E PA R TM E NT S • H S E&T CO RN ER
2023 IADC
HEALTH, SAFETY,
ENVIRONMENT & TRAINING
Conference & Exhibition
18-19 APRIL 2023
H YAT T R E G E N C Y
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54 tions or suggested improvements in the
task design are identified and either cor-
rected or incorporated.
When potential human errors are high-
lighted using the guide words, the team
needs to identify the underlying PIFs, the
likely consequences and the possibilities
for recovery. The consequences of these
human failures are then explored, along
with existing prevention or mitigation
measures in place.
If the resulting residual risk is still con-
sidered to be high, that is where the exist-
ing safeguards or recovery measures iden-
tified are deemed as inadequate. If none
are identified, appropriate error prevention
strategies are developed.
So, is SCTA a magic bullet that can pre-
vent all human failures on drilling instal-
lations? Can human reliability on drilling
installations be guaranteed by carrying
out a desktop analysis such as the SCTA?
The answer is definitely no. Human reli-
ability on an installation can only be opti-
mized by implementing a complete human
factors integration program.
Going through the SCTA process will
naturally help in achieving improved pro-
cedural integrity, which plays a key role
in optimizing the task design. Beyond
that, however, the process may not provide
solutions to human factors issues.
What it will do, though, is highlight the
various existing human factors problems
in the workplace, including those at the
organizational and management levels.
For any organization in the drilling
industry looking to make a start with
human factors, the SCTA exercise is an
ideal stepping stone toward full human
factors integration because:
1. It focuses on major accident hazards.
It is common to see several safety pro-
grams and statistics with focus on person-
nel safety on drilling installations, which
are talked about virtually on a daily basis.
The reason for this could be that they are
related to events which have higher prob-
abilities of occurring. However, process
safety – which is about low probability but
significantly higher consequence events –
tends to get sidelined in the process.
While the SCTA process can also be
used to improve personnel safety and pre-
vention of injuries, the resource-intensive
nature of the study means that it is a better
investment for prevention and mitigation
of major accidents.
It can help in moving the focus equally
over to the larger picture – matters that
might be gradually building up toward a
sudden release of hazard with catastroph-
ic consequences. This also means that the
organization can have a sharp focus on a
manageable list of tasks while embarking
on human factors integration.
2. It can shed light on the next steps an
organization needs to take in its human
factors integration journey. The SCTA pro-
cess will identify significant human PIFs
that are not in the optimal state for each
safety-critical task. When a group of these
tasks have been analyzed, a pattern may
emerge that highlights significant areas
of concern in the overall workplace, such
as level of supervision, human-machine
interface or training. Any identified pat-
tern can then be explored and assessed
further using other methods, such as
workload assessments or control room
ergonomics assessments.
What you can do
The IADC North Sea Chapter published
“Human Factors – Guidance on MODU/
MOU Safety Case Content” in July 2019.
The document provides a well-rounded
picture of the various aspects of human
factors that a drilling contractor would
need to consider.
Human Performance Oil & Gas also has
a dedicated website with a multitude of
tools, techniques and guidance to help
duty holders begin to address human fac-
tors on their assets.
While it would be ideal for organizations
to have in-house human factors capabil-
ity as part of their office-based and onsite
teams, this could take time to build. A
short-term solution could be to begin by
using specialist external consultants who
would be in a position to guide and support
by using their expertise, as well as present
an unbiased view of where the organiza-
tion currently stands. DC
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 • DRILLING CONTRACTOR
Scan me to visit
the IADC North Sea
Chapter resources
page. bit.ly/3MnAams