Presentation Objectives

2. Presentation Objectives • Present “The Dirty Dozen.” • Provide examples from pipelines. • Lead you to think of examples. • Suggest some “Safety Valves.”

3. Today’s Goal for You • Identify at least three of “The Dirty Dozen” that affect you. • Write down how you can address them, so they do not affect you. • Tell your manager about “The Dirty Dozen” and your goal for addressing the three. • Tell your manager the results in one month.

5. Stress Effects • Anxiety, nervousness, jumpiness • Difficulty concentrating on task • Feeling overwhelmed • Fatigue • Health problems • Memory problems • Poor judgment

6. Stress – Pipeline Example • Pipeline controller who normally performed well. • Makes several errors where he forgot to do a task at the correct time. • Part of his “action plan” was to work with me on improving his work planning and ways to use reminders. • He told me(hadn’t told others) that: • He was having financial problems, and • His wife and children had left him, and • He was not sleeping much.

7. Stress – Pipeline Example • Pipeline operator who normally performed well. • Was performing a valve inspection. • Closed a manual mainline valve and shut the line down. • Why? • Was not concentrating on task, because of a personal problem. • Mentally distracted.

8. Stress Curve Model High Go Go Stress So So Stress PERFORMANCE Danger No No Stress Caution Danger Distress Capacity to Cope Basic Job Stressors Basic Living Stressors Low Medium High STRESS Yerkes-Dodson Curve (1908) Adapted by G. Dupont

9. Stress – Safety Valves • Be aware of the effects of stress on your work. • Does your company provide educational materials? • Materials are available. • Discuss what is happening with someone. • Ask a co-worker to check your work. • Take time off; take breaks regularly. • Turn off your devices, when not on duty. • Eat properly, rest adequately, exercise. • Plan an appropriate course of action, when stress is evident.

11. Fatigue Effects • Make more mistakes. • Delayed reactions. • Difficult to maintain attention and awareness. • Not able to handle much information. • Every task becomes more difficult to perform. • Doesn’t want to talk or interact with people • Irritable or bad mood. • Involuntary lapses into sleep may occur.

12. Fatigue – Pipeline Example • During a shutdown, a crew worked 34 hours installing a new piping system. • At hour 28, a laborer was trying to get two flanges aligned. • He stuck his hand in the wrong place. • Two fingers were cut and smashed.

13. Fatigue – Pipeline Example • Pipeline controllers – a few NTSB reports • Either the controllers do not react quickly to abnormal operating conditions, OR • They do not react correctly. • People who work rotating shifts have the effects of fatigue. • Many examples from all over the world. • Fatigue in today’s world is a human problem, a socio-technical effect of the way we live.

14. Fatigue – Safety Valves • Get adequate amounts of sleep. • 8 hours each day/night for most people. • Educate self on causes and cures of fatigue. • Many resources on fatigue management. • Get a physical check-up annually. • Address any sleep disorders. • Eat properly and drink plenty of fluids. • Use caffeine strategically. • Exercise regularly.

16. Complacency Effects • Letting your mind wander. • Taking shortcuts and omitting steps. • Fooling around or showing off. • Thinking that everything will work perfectly. • Working too long without a break. • Taking the attitude that safety is someone else’s job. • Performing a task without using the procedures or recommended personal protective equipment.

17. Complacency – Pipeline Example • Corrective Maintenance Performed On Wrong System • Familiarity and complacency with the work environment allowed workers to troubleshoot an electrical system that was not isolated. • Opened wrong valve • Person reported that he had performed task hundreds of times. Didn’t think about task. • Did not refer to procedure, and performed task incorrectly.

18. Complacency – Safety Valves • Understand the human factors involved: • We have a mental bias that allows our past experiences to guide present expectations. • We don’t use our brains fully in the situation since our present circumstances normally match our past circumstances • We devote our brains to more interesting parts of a task, or to a more interesting task. • Recognize that “It can’t happen to me” is a wrong belief. • Expect success, but be prepared for failure.

19. Complacency – Safety Valves • Always practice risk assessment. • Use the 5 Questions • Use STAR with every task. • Practice independent verification. • Follow all policies and procedures. • Train continually and review often. • Create mental challenges for yourself. • Sustain a questioning attitude.

20. Complacency – Safety Valves • Five Questions – Simple Risk Assessment • Why am I doing this task at all? • What could go wrong? • How likely is it to happen? • What effect could it have on me or others? • What can I do about it? • STAR THINK STOP ACT REVIEW

22. Distractions • Interruptions • How can interruptions cause an error? • “Multitasking is counterproductive.” (CNN.com) • “Multitasking makes us stupid.” (WSJ article) • There is a ‘time-cost’ to switching tasks. • There is a ‘switching-cost’. • One must change goals. • What do I want to do now? • One must change rules. • What rules apply to this task?

23. Distractions – Pipeline Examples • Driving and Doing Other Things • Vehicle accidents • Near misses • People talking on phones, surfing Internet, etc. and failing to notice that it is time to perform a task OR ignoring an alarm or other signal. • Technician was interrupted during a task and did not return pressure switch to service. Caused damage to equipment, and an abnormal operation.

24. Distractions – Control Rooms • Televisions, radio, internet surfing. • Talking to others in the room or on the phone. • What else? • What do you do about distractions?

25. Distractions – Safety Valves • Minimize or eliminate distractions. • Ask people to be quiet and leave your area. • Finish the task if possible. • Complete tasks step by step. • Flag or tag all uncompleted work. • Use STAR. • Use memory aids. • Focus by practicing mindful attention.

27. Pressure • Demands are sometimes made for workers to: • Meet unrealistic deadlines. • Be multi-skilled. • Do many tasks in a workday, while multitasking. • Be as good or better than coworkers. • Perform all tasks safely and without error. • Over time or anytime, these pressures can cause performance problems. • Can cause accidents and injuries.

28. Pressure –Example • For instance, during the 36-month period from January 1, 2001 through December 31, 2003, 18 workers were injured and approximately 86 others were involved in near miss events. • Often pressure to “get the job done” results in actions that can permit disastrous consequences (i.e., personal injury and/or property damage). • This is from a DOE report. • Technicians were pressured by managers to work excessive hours to repair a pump. The repair took longer because the technicians, being fatigued, made some mistakes that caused rework.

29. Pressure in Control Rooms • Perform tasks when a protective device is not working properly or a safety device is inhibited. • Take a shortcut in a procedure. • Do things that may compromise safety or quality, for the sake of profitability. • Work an extra shift or extra hours, when fatigued. • Do too many tasks at once, or in a short time period. • Stay at the console, when you need a break. • Work in a stressful environment, even when improvements can easily be made.

30. Pressure – Safety Valves • Don’t overwhelm yourself or others. • Don’t be afraid to ask for help. • Communicate your concern to your manager and coworkers. • Don’t create a false sense of urgency. • Don’t take shortcuts; do the job right. • Say no to pressure. • Develop good planning and coping skills.

32. Situation Awareness • Perceive(see, hear, notice) the critical elements around you. • Understand what those critical elements mean, particularly as they relate to the current task. • Forecast what is going to happen in the near future.

33. Lack of Awareness - Pipeline Example • Excavation damage to pipelines • “Didn’t know a pipeline was here.” • “Thought the pipeline was a few feet over.” • “Didn’t think I would damage the line by digging with the hoe.”

34. Lack of Awareness - Pipeline Example • Controller has no change in display, but field equipment has changed. • Received brief explanation of change. • Is “aware” he cannot rely on display as “accurate.” • Relying on Controller to maintain “awareness of change” and make switch correctly. • Controller did not make switch correctly.

35. Lack of Awareness Safety Valves • Learn the principles and practices of situation awareness. • Pay attention to your surroundings. • Create a “safety zone.” • Recognize that jobs and the requirements are complex. • Understand that vigilance can deteriorate while performing a task. • Learn and use human performance principles. (next slide lists them)

36. Human Performance Principles • People are fallible and even the best make mistakes. • Error-likely situations are predictable, manageable, and preventable. • Individual behavior is influenced by organizational and job factors. • People achieve good performance largely due to encouragement and reinforcement received from managers and co-workers. • Events can be avoided through an understanding of the reasons mistakes occur and application of the lessons learned from past events.

38. Lack of Assertiveness • In group settings, some people are hesitant to express their opinions. • Affects work planning, hazard analysis, safety concerns. • New employees may not ask relevant questions, even when uncertain. • Can cause accidents, rework, quality issues. • Some employees will not contradict managers or experienced employees.

39. Lack of Assertiveness Example • Younger employee knew more experienced employee was not following company requirements, BUT did not question …AND nothing happened for months, until a tank overflow. • Controller did not question temporary operating directions, which led to an abnormal operating condition.

40. Lack of Assertiveness – Safety Valves • Practice your values and beliefs. • Practice the company’s values and beliefs. • Refuse to compromise company and personal standards. • Ask for what you need. • Don’t be afraid to express your opinion and ideas. • Recognize your contributions matter. • Learn how to be assertive on the job.

42. Lack of Communication • Lack of communication affects performance: • Misunderstandings occur between workers. • Hurt feelings lead to petty disagreements. • Job doesn’t get done or is delayed. • Anger may affect individuals or groups. • Loss of trust and respect. • Near misses or incidents may result. • Performance of individuals and groups suffers.

43. Lack of Communication Example • Field technician did not inform controller of a communication device failure, and the controller was not receiving accurate information. Abnormal event! • Scheduler did not properly inform operator of change and product was contaminated. • Many, many, many other examples.

44. Lack of Communication – Safety Valves • Practice 3-way communication. • Write down important information. • Always conduct briefings before, during, and after jobs. • Use the Management of Change process(even for small changes in the control room and elsewhere). • Provide the right information to the right people at the right time. • Don’t tell someone something when they are in the middle of doing something else. • Give people your full attention when listening. • Expect people’s full attention when talking.

46. Lack of Knowledge • Factors contributing to lack of knowledge: • Inadequate training • New equipment • Procedures and regulations • New technology. • Provide adequate training and reference materials. • Use resources like the expertise of other people on shift, other people, and the manufacturer’s manual. • Teamwork and communication help to reduce the potential error due to the lack of knowledge. • Address all changes, including temporary ones.

47. Lack of Knowledge Example • Technician did not know the procedure for maintenance on electrical equipment, BUT did the task AND was injured. • Operator did not know how to locate the pipeline and marked its location incorrectly, ANDline got damaged. • Controller did not receive training, after a change in operating procedures, AND product was contaminated.

48. Lack of Knowledge – Safety Valves • Get the necessary training and practice. • Use procedures and manuals. • Don’t do a task if you do not know how to do it safely and correctly. • Ask someone who knows. • Don’t let pride get in the way. • Be a lifelong learner. • Learn from mistakes.