Gassco - Kårstø - Alarm load and Human factors in the main control room

From 14 to 16 March 2017, we carried out an audit of alarm load and human factors in the main control room (MCR) at Kårstø.

The audit was conducted in the form of presentations by Statoil, which is the technical service provider for Kårstø, interviews, document verification and analysis of alarm logs. In advance of the audit, we asked Statoil to perform logging over a number of shifts of how control room personnel assessed the utility of incoming alarms.

Objective

The purpose of the audit was to investigate whether the alarm systems in the MCR provided the panel operators with the necessary support for managing the processing plant during normal operations, in the event of disturbances, and in the event of incidents, measured against the company's own and regulatory requirements. 

Result

No non-conformities were detected during the audit.

However, improvement points were detected relating to:

• Noise conditions in the MCR
• Unnecessary human presence and traffic in the MCR
• Mapping psycho-social conditions and workload in the MCR

Gassco has been asked to report on how these improvement points will be assessed by 26 May 2017.