Impact of Human Behaviour on Process Safety Management in Developing Countries

Abstract

Process safety schemes for the chemical industry are quite difficult tasks to develop. The involvement of various elements of human and organizational factors and the presence of different interaction levels within the working environment can influence safety performance. A brief overview on the concepts of human factors and behaviour, safety culture and risk assessments and management are addressed. Observations and evaluation studies were conducted. In the evaluation study a sample of 11 small-scale chemical factories in Jordan was selected. The traditional assessments failed to reduce the number of minor incidents occurring within the working site area in four factories, whereas in the observations study the presence of problems like neglecting the effect of human factors, hidden unemployment, job instability and the communication problem among the working force are addressed. All incidents are directly or indirectly caused by human behaviour. Therefore, understanding the human factor and human behaviour is an important issue. It is quite hard to change human behaviour overnight to meet all the obligations of a worker with limited skills. In developing countries, it is necessary to look at the effect of the environment and human behaviour within the framework of socioeconomic issues before conducting an assessment. The key for a successful implementation of a risk assessment in a factory is to build up two-way communication between top management and the worker to fulfil his needs and provide him with a sense of security and job stability. The management commitment to safety greatly influences individuals’ perceptions of safety culture.