Continuous operation requires people to work in shifts. Ensuring safety and efficiency requires critical information to be communicated between these shifts. All communication, however, is prone to error. Effective communication during shift handover is key to preventing major process safety accidents. Accidents such as Piper Alpha, Buncefield, and Texas City are clear examples where this barrier breach led to major events, proving that a lack of effective communication can be a major contributing factor. A lack of structure, poor legibility, and insufficient information in shift logbooks are common issues.
Baseline reviews have indicated that 80% of current facility logbooks are in an unstructured style and do not capture key information. Sometimes, they include unnecessary information while key information is buried in the content. In 2018, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) embarked on improving its operational integrity, and shift handover was seen as one of the core elements. Although shift handovers have been a practice across all operating assets for decades, ADNOC Onshore felt the need to standardize the practice at its Bab gas plant with digitization for better communication, visibility, and information analysis for further process improvements.
Traditionally, shift handover in the control rooms used logbooks that required the panel operator and shift supervisors to log key events on log registers or spreadsheets, which then were handed over to the incoming shifts. This method, although considered effective, allowed for the possibility of key information being omitted, not legible, not effectively communicated, or not escalated to higher management. Furthermore, the information was not easily retrievable quickly.
Poor shift handover is known to cause operation problems such as plant upsets and unplanned shutdowns, which can result in considerable revenue loss. Research by one oil and gas company revealed that, while startup, shutdown, and changeover periods account for less than 5% of an operation’s staff time, these periods account for 40% of plant incidents.
The safe operation of plants requires effective communication between shifts for various tasks involving maintenance and operations. Having the end users actively involved in developing the system is essential. During the pilot development and during the roll out of the system, active user involvement of all assets was taken in consideration.