Factor Humano

Páginas: 19 (4687 palabras) Publicado: 12 de agosto de 2012
A HUMAN FACTORS APPROACH TO THE OPTIMISATION OF STAFFING IN
THE PROCESS INDUSTRY
Joanne Stokes,1 Karl Rich,2 and Tony Foord 3
1 Senior Human Factors Consultant, Human Engineering Limited, Shore House, 68 Westbury Hill,
Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS9 3AA.
2 Associate Director, Human Engineering Limited, Shore House, 68 Westbury Hill,Westbury-on-Trym,
Bristol BS9 3AA.
3 Principal Engineer,4-sight Consulting, Southern Office, 51 Cowper Road, Harpenden, AL5 5NJ.
SYNOPSIS
Staffing arrangements for process plant have been studied extensively in recent
years taking account of the many interdependent variables influencing system
performance (individual competence, equipment, teamwork and communications,
procedures and organisation). This paper describes work to determine the
optimumstaffing using human engineering tools such as task analysis, function
allocation, workload analysis, and human reliability analysis.
INTRODUCTION
For several decades, staff rationalisation has been driven by a wide range of factors. Advances in
technology, organisation, education and training have enabled significant increases in productivity. As
a result of best practice, major incidentsand regulatory pressure, facility operators have also strived
to reduce exposure to major hazards.
This has left the industry with highly automated plant and processes that in many instances have
been “over-alarmed”, and a residual workforce obliged to multi-task and take ownership for secondary
and tertiary activities. In some instances this has led to exposure to high workload, fragmented jobsand risk that has been displaced rather than eliminated.
Some companies are responding to this by adopting a user-centred, risk-based approach to staffing.
This requires the participative rationalisation of processes and their associated alarms and
procedures and a better allocation of function between operators and equipment. This can lead to an
improvement in, and better prioritisation of,task allocation.
This can be achieved by developing a better understanding of the target audience and utilising this
knowledge through task analysis and allocation of function. The baseline data can then be subjected
to workload and human reliability analysis (to a level appropriate for the perceived risk). This allows
the definition of roles, and appropriate and coherent job design. Fromthis, training which is targeted,
cost-effective and matches the requirement can be developed.
The Health and Safety Executive Contract Research Report “Assessing the safety of staffing
arrangements for process operations in the chemical and allied industries” [HSE CRR 348, 2001] and
the “Best Practice Guide” [Energy Institute, 2004] provide techniques for checking whether a particular
staffingis sufficient to meet the requirements for safety. The [HSE CRR 348, 2001] report states “It is
not designed to calculate the minimum or optimum number of staff.” and also states about other
human factors techniques for assessing staffing:
“it is concluded that many of the techniques are research tools, requiring specialist skills to interpret
even though they may be straightforward to apply.A method tailored to assessing staffing
arrangements, and designed for general use, has not been produced.”
This paper describes an approach that still requires the use of human factors specialists, but is
suitable for general use to determine the optimum workload and the optimum staffing.
BACKGROUND
For several decades, improvements in technology, organisation, education and training haveenabled
significant increases in productivity, often described as reductions in workload, staff rationalisation or
reduction in staffing. For example, before 1995 a gas processing unit had 40 staff, mainly on shifts.
Following a review this was reduced to 25 staff in 1996. Subsequent experience meant that the
numbers were increased by one or two, but the number of staff is still well below 30....
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