Norway's PSA Initiates Human Factors Study

Failures in the interaction between people, technology and organization have emerged during recent years as part of the causal picture in serious incidents. Many of these incidents on the Norwegian continental shelf relate to drilling operations.

To gain an overview of the challenges seen by the industry and activities planned and initiated to improve human factors (HF) in drilling operations, the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway has requested relevant information from operators, shipping companies, drilling contractors and equipment suppliers.

The PSA has assessed company investigations into all serious incidents relating to drilling operations which have been reported to it over the past seven years with a view to identifying direct and underlying causes.

The authority has accordingly initiated work which will seek to contribute to improvements in both equipment design and drilling area layout, as well as in the planning and execution of safety-critical work operations in drilling.