Human Factors in the Chemical and Process Industries

Human Factors in the Chemical and Process Industries: Making it Work in Practice is a comprehensive overview of human factors within this sector, focusing on the practical application. It has been written by acknowledged industry experts from the Keil Centre, which is a leading practice of chartered ergonomics and human factors specialists, chartered safety specialists, registered occupational psychologists, and registered clinical psychologists

The book was inspired by the international human factors training course run by the Keil Centre with the IChemE(http://www.icheme.org/human-factors), which has reached four continents across the world. The book is written for those who want a comprehensive overview of the subject, focusing on the practical application of human factors. It has been written for safety professionals, engineers and operational disciplines within industry, and those aspiring to these disciplines, who either deal with human factors issues or any aspect of the ‘human element’ in their core role.

The book explains what ‘human factors’ is about and how human factors issues are best managed from a practical perspective. It will help readers develop a greater understanding of the area and how to establish more effective solutions for human factors related issues.

• Provides comprehensive coverage of the most relevant human factors within this sector, with succinct overviews of each topic
• Uses case studies and practical examples to illustrate topics and explains the material in a fully accessible, easy to understand style
• Written by a single team of eleven industry practitioners, drawing on the combined expertise of different human factors specialisms which are rarely comprehensively combined in a single resource

Safety Engineers, Process Engineers, Chemical Engineers, Chemical Engineering Students

0. Preface

Chapter 1 Introduction to Human Factors within the Chemical and Process Industries

1.1 What is Human Factors?

1.2 What Part Does Human Factors Play Within Chemical and Process Industries?

1.3 Review of Common Vulnerabilities and Contributions to Past Incidents

1.4 Current Regulatory and Government Focus on Human Factors

1.5 Management Frameworks for Human Factors

Chapter 2 Managing Human Failure

2.1 Human Factors in Risk Management

2.2 Reducing Human Failure

2.3 Human Factors in Incident Investigation

Chapter 3 Human Factors within Design and Engineering

3.1 Overview of Ergonomics / Human Factors Engineering

3.2 Human Factors Integration within Design / Engineering Programmes

3.3 Building and Control Room Design

3.4 Work Area, Workstation and Console Design

3.5 Control System Interface Design

3.6 Plant and Equipment Design

3.7 Human Factors in Materials Handling

3.8 Environmental Ergonomics

3.9 Human Factors in the Design of Procedures

Chapter 4 Understanding and Improving Organisational Performance

4.1 Safety Culture and Behaviour

4.2 Managing Organisational Change

4.3 Staffing the Operation

4.4 Safety Critical Communication

4.5 Managing Fatigue

4.6 Managing Performance under Pressure