Human factors follow-up to BP spill

The National Academies Press (NAP) has released a book to follow up on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The book is entitled “The Human Factors of Process Safety and Worker Empowerment in the Offshore Oil Industry: Proceedings of a Workshop.” Since the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill, efforts have been made to improve safety in the offshore oil industry. They 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 element of a positive safety culture, operators and regulators are integrating strategies to empower workers to participate in safety decisions that reduce hazards. While the human factors have been widely studied and adopted, process safety is not as well understood from 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 to address safety. The NAP publication summarizes those workshop presentations and discussions. (Source: Work Boat 07/26/18)