Human Factors Approach to Assess Risks and Reliability in Offshore Operations with FRAM (Functional Resonance Analysis Method)

Abstract

Working onboard offshore oil platforms, whether for production or drilling, presents a series of risks, involving two substances that are naturally unhealthy and dangerous - crude oil and natural gas. It is therefore necessary to develop integrated management systems that balance business needs, resource constraints, technical capabilities, and emerging risks. In addition, it is necessary to meet the regulatory requirements, which in Brazil are determined by ANP (Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis). In view of the Human Reliability regulatory requirements, a dedicated study was developed, seeking to align the expectations of the regulator, the company’s resources and the validated methodologies of analysis, a requirement of the ANP itself. As a result, following HSE publications and ANP guidance, it was observed that the FRAM (Functional Resonance Analysis Method) methodology, simultaneously, can meet both the demands of Human Reliability and Human Factors. From the activities performed onboard offshore units that present the most complex combination of risks, the operations with nitrogen (generation and freezing storage) and the operation of the gas dehydration unit, were selected to be analyzed with FRAM. The results of these analyses, in addition to failures, it was also perceived that human adaptive behavior, a building element of system resilience, promotes safe operational continuity, even with the partial or complete loss of intrinsic safety barriers.