Safety culture?  What’s the point? 

“Safety culture” is something that many will have heard of.  But what is safety culture?  Is it important for actual safety outcomes – or is it an entirely academic matter, with no relation to how things work in your organisation?  Does having a positive culture make any difference in the real world?

Best practices for writing SOPs (Part 1)

Best practice for writing an SOP

In any organisation, SOPs play an integral role in optimising operational efficiency and minimising human error. Here are our recommendations for best practice.

Communication, Technology and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR)

Picture of a group of people watching the VAR

There was a big refereeing error in the match between Tottenham and Liverpool and Liverpool at the weekend (1st October). A Liverpool goal was ruled out for offside by the on-field refereeing team. In the English Premier League, there is a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system which allows on-field decisions to be scrutinised by a group of officials with access to video technology.

Top 5 takeaways from doing HTAs

Spilled coffee.

Having participated as a facilitator in our in-house Human Factors Safety Critical Task Analysis (SCTA) course, as well as taking part in various SCTA workshops for around two years, I thought I would share my top 5 takeaways from doing and teaching HTAs. 

Human Error: Errordinary to the Extraordinary!

The same psychological mechanisms that underly errors in our ordinary, everyday life are also at play in the most extraordinary events that we see in the headlines. The positive message is that we can understand these mechanisms and do something about it.

What makes human factors critical task reviews (HFCTR) flourish or stall?

The Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) regulations, governing UK process plants, requires the use of Human Reliability Analysis techniques such as Human Factors Critical Task Review (HFCTR) for COMAH critical tasks. The process of HFCTR involves a task analysis, human failure analysis and Performance Influencing Factors (PIF) analysis of a safety critical task.

Beyond human error: Non-destructive testing (NDT) and ultrasonic testing (UT)

Non-destructive testing (NDT) and ultrasonic testing (UT)

UT thickness scanning is a technique which is used extensively in the Oil and Gas (O&G) Industry to examine the condition of pressurised piping and equipment.  Done well, the information it provides can assist in the management of Plant Safety; done badly, the information could provide a false impression of the integrity and safety of the Plant.