Knowledge management for reduced risk in petrochemical operations

Petrochemical process plants have inherent economic, personal and environmental risks, and a significant cause is human error. A root cause of human error is operational decisions and actions based on inaccurate or conflicting views of the plant. To reduce the risk of poor operational decisions there is a need for an improved decision suppport framework for operational staff which is in harmony with the organisation. Such a framework should address in an integrated way management factors, including systems and procedures; team factors such as knowledgeable and informed staff, and the culture of the work environment; information factors, including quality and accessibility of operating procedures and plant documentation; and technology factors such as automated systems and information technology which is oriented towards the operational user. In order to provide an overall view which integrates these factors, and accommodates both formal and informal aspects of operational decision making, a knowledge-based framework is needed. A systematic knowledge analysis approach to identifying risk factors in decision making in petrochemical operations is outlined