Human Factors Engineering: An Up Front Engineering “Level Of Protection” Leading To Improved Human Efficiency, Better System Performance And Life Cycle Cost Reductions:Part 1: The Development Of A Human Factors Engineering Strategy In Petrochemical Eng

摘要

Although the human-machine interface in petrochemical manufacturing projects has always been considered to be an integral part of sound engineering design, many misfits in operability and maintainability have been experienced after implementation. Based on that experience a vision and policy was developed by Technical and Occupational Health management at Shell Nederland Refinery Pernis and Shell Nederland Chemicals Moerdijk resulting in a human factors engineering strategy integrated in the early development phases of the business process project preparation and execution. The benefits of this strategy are demonstrated both in business terms (economics) and in working conditions; e.g. Improvement of Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) aspects. Based on historical data it is now clear that for a typical $ 400 million petrochemical project the strategy can result in a reduction of: ? 0.25 - 5 % of capital expenditure (CAPEX), ? 1 - 10 % of engineering hours and ? 3 - 6 % of life cycle costs of facilities (OPEX). This paper consists of two parts. Part 1 describes the main drivers of the development of a human factors strategy within Shell Pernis and Moerdijk organisations. Part 2 will give a detailed view on the actual management of human factors in petrochemical projects and will evaluate the costs and benefits based on the experience of implementation human factors engineering in smaller and larger petrochemical projects.