17-09-2012

ASM consortium visits BP site and focuses on procedures

The Abnormal Situation Management (ASM®) Consortium met in Hull, UK for a quarterly meeting to discuss their latest research and administrative business. The ASM Consortium is an industry organization that includes a wide range of industrial manufacturers, vendors, and universities whose members. These members have been collaborating for nearly 20 years to address process safety challenges by pioneering innovative automation solutions and operational excellence best practices for managing abnormal situations in industrial facilities. The consortium’s Quarterly Review Meeting (QRM) serves as a platform for members to share ASM best practices and discuss new challenges faced in plant operations.

The meeting had two key aspects: firstly a visit to BP’s Hull facility, and secondly a workshop around the impact of procedures on abnormal situations. BP has invested in good human factors practices including control room design, operator interface, alarm rationalization and operator training at its Hull facility.

In addition, consortium members and guest speakers discussed how human factors relate to abnormal situation management, and ways it could improve plant safety and efficiency. Julie Bell, from the UK Health and Safety Laboratory, discussed challenges in assessing high-reliability organizations, adoption of best practices in human factors and assessing human error in process hazard analysis. Dr. C.M. Marijke Gordijn, from the University of Groningen, discussed the impact of lighting on operator performance and health. Other presentations included: “Digital Oil Fields,” “Alarm Enforcement” and “Progress on ISA106.”

“Human performance is critical to plant safety. To continue to reduce the impact of poor human performance on safety, we need to continue to improve approaches to operator training, development and use of procedures, and operator interaction with control systems including alarm,” said Andrew Ogden-Swift, Development and Deployment Lead, ASM Consortium. “User centered design of facilities and systems will lead to safer and more efficient plants.”