The Impact of the Transition from Analog to Digital Process Display Gauges on Human Error and Safety in the Chemical Industry

Abstract

The use of new technological instruments in the work place has enabled operators to control processes and product development to tolerances that were unachievable in past decades. The chemical industry has exhibited rapid growth in the implementation of control monitoring instruments such as analog and digital display gauges as well as the software applications that provide the flexibility to successfully integrate the technology into the chemical manufacturing processes. This research was designed to examine the effects of the transition from analog displays to digital displays in the chemical industry. The results of the research provide benefits to chemical manufacturers and their safety programs. The significant findings in this research provided evidence that the continuing transition from digital to analog display gauges has made a negative impact on the safety incidence rate. These findings suggested that chemical plant operators, while being required to complete more tasks in the same amount of time, exhibited various difficulties in working with digital display gauges. These suggested difficulties manifested themselves in the increased number of reported “ Human Error” incident events.