Analysis of accidents caused by human factors in the oil and gas industry using the HFACS-OGI framework

Background: Human factors have been identified as the most common causes of catastrophic accidents in the oil and gas industry. Therefore, this study aims to analyze human causal factors of accidents in the oil and gas industry using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System for the Oil and Gas Industry (HFACS-OGI) framework. Methods: This study involved a quantitative data collection of 184 accident cases in the oil and gas industry that occurred from 2013 to 2017 from the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) database. The causal factors of these accidents were coded using the HFACS-OGI framework. Accident data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and χ2 test. Results: Study findings reveal that 23% of all accidents was recorded in 2013. 32% of accidents occurred in Asia, while 69% of accidents were recorded in onshore locations. Contractors were involved in 86% of accidents, while 28% of accidents occurred during drilling, workover and well services. Contractor’s work environment was the main human factor in 90% of accident cases. Conclusion: The HFACS-OGI framework proves to be a vital tool for robust accident analysis of human factors in the oil and gas industry

Human factors analysis and classification system for the oil and gas industry (HFACS-OGI)

The oil and gas industry has been beset with several catastrophic accidents, most of which have been attributed to organisational and operational human factor errors. The current HFACS developed for the aviation industry, cannot be used to simultaneously analyse regulatory deficiencies and emerging violation issues, such as sabotage in the oil and gas industry. This paper presents an attempt to improve the existing HFACS investigation tool and proposes a novel HFACS named the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System for the Oil and Gas Industry (HFACS-OGI). Results found the HFACS-OGI system to be suitable for categorising accidents, following the analysis of 11 accident reports from the US Chemical Safety Board (US CSB). The HFACS-OGI system moreover revealed some significant relationships between the different categories. Furthermore, the results indicated that failures in national and international industry regulatory standards would automatically create the preconditions for accidents to occur