High Reliability Organizations(HROs)are organizations with systems that maintain exceptionally low failure rates while operating in environments where the nature of the risk and complexity of serious incidents would be anticipated.HROs such as nuclear submarines,aircraft carriers,and the fire service have no fail missions because the costs of failure are extremely high.Applying the same systems and tools that created their passionate commitment to excellence that permeates every aspect of their operations,other industries can produce their own culture of high reliability where nearly perfect safety and service quality are the norm.The aim of this paper is to illustrate how the principles,concepts,and processes of HROs,including Crew Resource Management(CRM),can optimize operational execution of a pressure pumping company through increased levels of safety and quality.The contemporary oilfield operating environment requires teams to be proactively aware of emerging threats and to trap errors or incidents to prevent them from escalating into significant incidents.The paper includes the following themes: 1.A literature review of the principles and concepts of traditional and established HROs from other industries; 2.The process and systems to operationalize HRO principles and concepts within the energy industry; and 3.Two case studies demonstrating how HRO principles and concepts allow teams in the oilfield to reduce system failures and to notice,confront,resolve,and learn from unforeseen problems and failures when they do occur.Introduction In the oilfield,the cost of process failure is extremely high.There is immense pressure for consistently safe and efficient execution in an increasingly challenging and dynamic operational environment.One isolated incident or failure at the tactical level of operations can have strategic consequences that can bring down the entire business.Every oilfield organization must examine whether conventional management systems and strategies are sufficiently well developed to maximize performance when confronted by a contemporary environment characterized by increasing technical complexity,resource constraints,high operational tempo and extreme consequence.Many industries have signaled a shift in how they manage the complexity and inherent risks involved in their operations.Leading the way in developing systems to maximize safety and increase efficiency are those groups designated as High Reliability Organizations(HROs).HROs execute exceptionally safe and consistently high-quality operations even though the potential for error is elevated due to risk factors and complexity.Traditional HROs include aircraft carriers,nuclear power plants,commercial aviation and wildland firefighting,where a commitment to safety and quality is established at the highest level and is pursued through various organizational characteristics intentionally engineered to enhance performance and prevent human error.HROs are resilient organizations staffed by mindful personnel who prevent failures by promptly recognizing weak signals of potential issues and resolving them before they escalate(Weick and Sutcliffe,2007).The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how one pressure pumping company established a culture of high reliability through a comprehensive enterprise wide implementation of HRO principles combined with the tactical execution of a Crew Resource Management(CRM)system to create a flexible,innovative,learning organization.Two field case studies are analyzed to demonstrate the business application of highreliability concepts and principles in both oilfield operations and functional support to those operations.The sustained levels of excellence observed during the case studies goes beyond the HRO focus of safety and quality.As a business,we cannot ignore the importance of profitability.In a tight commodity driven market,high reliability principles give us our greatest differentiation in the marketplace and a signific
展开▼
