A Framework for Human Error Analysis of Emergency Situations

Human factors play an important role in the escape, evacuation and rescue process. Human factors analysis is rooted in the concept that the frequency and consequences of human errors are related to work environment, work culture and procedures. This can be accounted for in the design of equipment, structures, processes and procedures. The scope of this research is emergency escape and evacuation on offshore installations. A method has been developed to evaluate the risk of human error during this process. Obtaining empirical data was a difficult process, and often little information could be drawn from it. This was especially an issue in determining the consequences of failure. Observations from incident investigations from industry were used to overcome this challenge and assign plausible consequence severities. Expert judgement techniques were used to estimate the probability of human error for each step. Using the ARAMIS (accidental risk assessment methodology for industries) approach to safety barrier analysis, a protocol for choosing and evaluating safety measures to reduce and re-assess the risk was developed. It can be used by management and risk analysts for this function. It can also help evaluate current and potential safety measures and allocate resources for improvement with greater efficiency. It is noted that these benefits are dependent on the safety culture and safety management system of the user's organization.