Human Factors in Process Safety & Ergonomics

This advanced course explores human factors engineering and ergonomics within high-risk process industries such as oil & gas, petrochemicals, and manufacturing. The course focuses on how human errors, workplace design, cognitive load, and organizational factors impact process safety and operational performance. It also provides ergonomic solutions to reduce risks and optimize human-system interaction.

Assessment and Certification:

Upon successful completion, participants will receive a Certificate in Emergency Response & Crisis Management for HSE Professionals, demonstrating their expertise in emergency planning, crisis leadership, and risk mitigation.

Audience

This course is intended for:

Process Safety & HSE Professionals
Risk & Reliability Engineers
Operations & Maintenance Leaders
Process Engineers & Control Room Operators
Industrial & Occupational Ergonomists
Regulators & Compliance Officers

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will:

Understand the role of human factors in process safety incidents.
Identify and mitigate human errors in high-risk operations.
Apply ergonomic principles to process design and operations.
Assess cognitive workload and operator fatigue risks.
Develop human-centered safety strategies and safety-critical task analysis.
Implement human performance monitoring in process industries.

Course contents

Day 1: Introduction to Human Factors & Process Safety

Pretest
Human Factors & Process Safety: An Overview
- Importance of human factors in process safety incidents
- Case studies: Human errors in major process accidents (e.g., Texas City Refinery, Bhopal, Piper Alpha)
- Regulatory frameworks (OSHA, CCPS, ISO 45003, HSE HSG48)
Human Error & Organizational Influence
- Types of human errors (slips, lapses, mistakes, violations)
- Error reduction strategies (task simplification, automation, training)
- Organizational culture, leadership, and safety behavior
Practical Exercise: Human error analysis using real-case scenarios

Day 2: Human-Centered Process Safety Design

Safety-Critical Task Analysis (SCTA)
- Identifying safety-critical tasks in operations
- Task complexity, automation, and decision-making errors
- Conducting a human error probability (HEP) analysis
Human-Machine Interface (HMI) & Control Room Design
- Principles of effective control room design
- Alarm management & operator decision fatigue
- Digital vs. analog instrumentation considerations
Practical Exercise: Evaluating a control room for human factors issues

Day 3: Ergonomics in Process Safety & Industrial Workspaces

Workplace Ergonomics & Process Safety
- Ergonomic risk factors in process operations
- Design of workstations, tools, and equipment to minimize injuries
- Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) prevention in industrial environments
Fatigue Management & Shift Work Optimization
- Fatigue risk in process industries
- Best practices for shift scheduling & workload balancing
- Use of biometrics and AI for fatigue monitoring
Practical Exercise: Ergonomic assessment of an industrial workstation

Day 4: Behavioral Safety & Cognitive Workload in High-Risk Environments

Human Reliability & Cognitive Load in Process Operations
- The impact of mental workload on safety performance
- Cognitive biases in decision-making under pressure
- Situational awareness in emergency response
Human Factors in Safety Leadership & Culture
- Developing a safety-focused mindset among leaders
- Behavioral safety and worker engagement strategies
- Psychological safety and communication in safety-critical environments
Practical Exercise: Measuring cognitive workload in process operators

Day 5: Human Factors Risk Management & Continuous Improvement

Human Factors in Incident Investigation & Root Cause Analysis
- Using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS)
- How to integrate human factors into risk assessments (HAZOP, LOPA)
- Case study: Human factors lessons from real process safety incidents
Human Performance Monitoring & Continuous Improvement
- Safety performance metrics & leading indicators
- Integrating human factors into process safety management (PSM)
- Future trends: AI, virtual reality, and digital twins in human factors engineering
Final Exercise: Developing a human factors improvement plan for a facility

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