HUMAN FACTORS TOOL KIT

Facilities and Equipment

This part of the book introduces key topics on human factors identified by the
CCPS Human Factors subcommittee. A broad range of human factors topics are
covered in a concise and systematic format. Each of the topics is covered by a brief
introduction with a focus on relevant human factors principles. This is followed by
available tools and industry applications. Where appropriate, graphics are used to
reinforce concepts and references are provided for further information. Topics with
potential regulatory implications (e.g., hazard analysis and OSHA PSM) are noted
as such. Readers may go directly to their topics of interest, as each major chapter in
this part is written to serve as a stand-alone description of the topic. The practical
approaches to human factors presented in this part will allow plant personnel to directly apply human factors topics of interest to improve process safety performance.

29

CHAPTER4

Process Equipment Design

4.1

INTRODUCTION

People operate and maintain processes by interacting with process equipment.

Process equipment includes displays, alarms, controls, computers, manual equipment, and personal protective equipment. Human factors issues for process equipment relate to how people interact with and use equipment. The characteristics of
the equipment may increase the likelihood of human failures when it is used by
people. These human factors issues are addressed by studying the match between
the attributes of people and those of the equipment. Optimizing this match helps improve process safety.
Key attributes of people include:
Physical capabilities such as strength, vision, hearing, and size.
Intellectual capabilities such as understanding of the process, diagnosing
problems, attention span, and speed of thought.
Skills such as use of tools and reading level; knowledge such as that of
process hazards and abnormal operations.
Behavior such as responsibility and motivation.
Education and training.
Communication skills.
Key attributes of equipment include location, accessibility, size, shape, color, orientation, and so on. Process equipment designs should consider capabilities of people
such as physical (e.g. strength), psychological (e.g. speed of processing inforrnation) and social (e.g. communication abilities).
The diversity of equipment used in processes, their characteristics, and those of
people, result in a wide variety of human factors design issues. These are generally
well-known. The challenge is to apply the existing knowledge and account for synergistic effects resulting from people and equipment functioning as parts of complex systems.
Fundamental human factors design principles can be defined for equipment and
include:
Suitability-meets requirements for the task.
Simplicity-avoids unnecessary complexity.
Human Factors Methods f o r Improving Performance in the Process Industries
C 2007 American Institute of Chemical Engineers

31

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PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN

Identifiability-easily found and recognized by personnel.

Accessibility-easily reached.
Detectibility-easily seen or heard.
Availability-there when needed.
Logic and consistency-organization, arrangement, operation, etc. makes
sense.
Flexibility-adjustable to the user.
Conformity with user expectations-operation matches user training and previous experience.
Adherence to these principles should be balanced and tailored to specific situations.
Human interaction with process equipment is affected by the physical, social,
and organizational environments in which it occurs. Consequently, issues identified
in other sections of this book should also be addressed when considering equipment
design. Furthermore, human-equipment interaction should be addressed from an
overall systems perspective that considers the entirety of the process and all the
people who are part of it. Human factors for alarms and visual display units are covered in detail in Chapter 5 on Process Control Systems and Chapter 9 on the Human/Computer Interface.
Figure 4-1 shows a good application of colors to improve the readability of a
pressure gauge.

Figure 4-1: The application of color to improve the readability of a pressure gauge.

4.3 REFERENCES

33

An operator used a piece of pipe as a helper or persuader to open a stiff drain

valve on a tank. The valve was infrequently used and not the correct type for this
service. He applied too much pressure and broke off the valve handle with the
valve in the open position. The entire contents of the tank drained into the dike
surrounding the tank.

4.2 TOOLS
Human factors design principles for equipment are well established. There are established texts on the subject (Sanders and McCormick, 1993; Anon., 1986). Various standards also exist. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
has published a standard on ergonomic requirements for the design of displays and
control actuators (IS0 9355-1, 1999). Part I , Human Interactions with Displays and
Control Actuators specifies general principles. Control actuators are defined as the
part of the control system that is actuated by the operator. Some guidance is provided on methods that can be used to achieve the principles described. Part 2, Displays,
provides guidance on the selection, design and location of displays to avoid potential ergonomic hazards associated with their use (IS0 9355-2, 1999). It specifies ergonomics requirements and covers visual, audible and tactile displays. Part 3, Control Actuators and Part 4, Location and Arrangement of Displays and Control
Actuators are under development.
The UK Health and Safety Executive has provided guidelines for data presentation in displays and the selection of controls (HSE, 2004).
The UK Ministry of Defence has an extensive set of standards for the human factors design ofequipment (Def Stan 00-25,1987; 1997a; 1997b; 1992a; 1992b; 1 9 9 7 ~ ;
1996a; 1989a; 1991; 1 9 9 2 ~1988;
;
1989b, 1996b) and there are also US military standards relating to human factors design (MIL-STD- 1472D, 1989; MIL-HDBK-759A,
1981). Detailed guidance is also available from the nuclear industry (NUREG-0700,
2002; ANSIiIEEE 845, 1988; ANSILEEE 1023, 1988; NUREG CR-4227, 1985).
Information in these standards can be adapted to the process industries. However, the
guidance is highly detailed in many cases and may act as an obstacle to process industry companies beginning to adopt human factors design principles and guidelines
for equipment. A simple checklist has been suggested for equipment design in the
process industries (Attwood, et al., 2004). The human factors design principles listed
in section 20.1 provides a simple guide when designing or modifying equipment.
4.3

REFERENCES

Anon. (1983; 1986), Ergonomic Design for People at Work, Volumes 1 and 2 , Eastman
Kodak Company (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold).
ANWIEEE 845 (1988), Guide to Evaluation of Man-Machine Performance in Nuclear
Power Generating Stations, Control Rooms, and Other Peripheries (Washington, DC:
American National Standards Institute).

34

PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN

ANSIiIEEE 1023 (1988), Guide for the Application of Human Factors Engineering to Systems, Equipment and Facilities of Nuclear Power Generating Stations (Washington, DC:
American National Standards Institute).
Attwood, D. A,, Deeb, J. M. and Danz-Reece, M. E. (2004), Ergonomic Solutions for the
Process Industries (Amsterdam: Elsevier).
Def Stan 00-25, Human Factors for Designers of Equipment (Glasgow: UK Ministry of
Defence).
1987: Part 1: Introduction
1988: Part 11: Design for Maintainability
1989a: Part 8: Auditory Information
198913: Part 12: Systems
1991: Part 9: Voice Communication
1992a: Part 4: Workplace Design
1992b: Part 5: Stresses and Hazards
1992c: Part 10: Controls
1996a: Part 7: Visual Displays
1996b: Part 13: Human Computer Interaction
1997a: Part 2: Body Size
199713: Part 3: Body Strength and Stamina
1997c: Part 6: Vision and Lighting
HSE (2004) http:liwww.hse.gov.uk/comah/sragtech/tec~eascontrol.htm (London: UK
Health and Safety Executive).
I S 0 9355-1 (1999a), Ergonomic requirements for the design of displays and control actuators-Part l : Human interactions with displays and control actuators (Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization).
I S 0 9355-2 (1999b), Ergonomic requirements for the design of displays and control actuators-Part 2: Displays (Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization).
MIL-HDBK-759A (1 98 l), Military Handbook, Human Factors, Engineering Designs for
Army Material (Washington, DC: U S . Department of Defense).
MIL-STD- 1472D (1989), Human Engineering Design Criteria for Military Systems, Equipment and Facilities (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Defense).
NUREGKR-4227 (1 985), Human Engineering Guidelines for the Evaluation and Assessment of Visual Display Units (Washington, DC: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission).
NUREG-0700 (2002), Human-System Interface Design Review Guidelines, Rev. 2
(Washington, DC: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission).
Sanders, M. S. and McCormick, E. J. (1993), Human Factors in Engineering and Design,
7th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill).

4.4

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

BS EN 894-1 (1997), Safety of machinery. Ergonomics requirements for the design of displays and control actuators. Part 1. General principles for human interactions with displays and control actuators (London: British Standards Institution).

4.4

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

35

BS EN 894-2 (1997), Safety of machinery. Ergonomics requirements for the design of displays and control actuators. Part 2. Displays (London: British Standards Institution).
BS EN 60073 (1997), Basic and safety principles for man-machine interface, marking and
identification. Coding principles for indication devices and actuators (London: British
Standards Institution).
BS 3693(1992), Recommendations for the design of scales and indexes on analogue indicating instruments (London: British Standards Institution).
BSWHFES 100 (2002), Human Factors Engineering of Computer Workstations, Draft
Standard for Trial Use (Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society).
HSE (1992) L26, Display Screen Equipment Work-Guidance on Regulations (London:
UK Health and Safety Executive).
HSE (1998), The Management of Alarm Systems, CRR 166/1998 (London, UK Health
and Safety Executive).
IEC 613 10-1 Ed. 1.O b (1995), Safety of machinery-Indication, marking and actuationPart 1 : Requirements for visual, auditory and tactile signals (Geneva: International Electrotechnical Commission).
IEC 6 1310-2 Ed. 1.O b (1995), Safety of machinery-Indication, marking and actuationPart 2: Requirements for marking (Geneva: International Electrotechnical Commission).
IEC 6 1310-3 Ed. 1.O b (1999), Safety of machinery-Indication, marking and actuationPart 3 : Requirements for the location and operation of actuators (Geneva: International
Electrotechnical Commission),
I S 0 13849-1 (1999), Safety of machinery-Safety-related parts of control systems-Part 1:
General principles for design (Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization).
IS0 13849-2 (2003), Safety of machinery-Safety-related parts of control systems-Part 2:
Validation (Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for standardization).
ISOiTR 13849-100 (2000), Safety of machinery-Safety-related parts of control systemsPart 100: Guidelines for the use and application of I S 0 13849-1 (Geneva, Switzerland:
International Organization for Standardization).
IS0 12100- 1 (2003) Safety of machinery-Basic concepts, general principles for designPart 1: Basic terminology, methodology (Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization).
I S 0 12100-2 (2003), Safety of machinery-Basic concepts, general principles for designPart 2: Technical principles (Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization).
I S 0 13850 (1996), Safety of machinery-Emergency stop-Principles for design (Geneva, Switzerland: International Organization for Standardization).
I S 0 773 1 (2003), Ergonomics-Danger signals for public and work areas-Auditory danger signals (Geneva: International Organization for standardization).