Human and organizational factors assessment of the evacuation operation of BP Deepwater Horizon accident

The offshore oil and gas industry is applying more advanced technologies to explore and produce petroleum in challenging environments. To meet the demands of these conditions, operators need to take suitable precautions relating to emergency response and evacuation procedures in terms of technology, management, operations, and personnel competence. The successful evacuation operations are dependent upon comprehensive preparedness should an incident occur. However, many reports of offshore accidents reveal that human factors contribute to the failure of evacuation. This paper addresses and discusses the contribution of human and organizational aspects to the evacuation operations of the BP Deepwater Horizon accident using a proposed framework. The framework consists of the evacuation protective layers and the evacuation preparedness plan. Human and organizational factors are discussed and analyzed at different stages, that is, the organization, personnel's competence, the evacuation procedures, and the emergency equipment. As a result, insufficient emergency drills and exercises, poor communications, impairment of personnel's physical ability due to unsafe conditions, and poor emergency preparedness planning were identified as human and organizational factors contributing to the unsuccessful evacuation operations of the Macondo well blowout.