CONSTRUCTING SAFETY: RECONCILING ERROR PREVENTION AND ERROR MANAGEMENT IN OIL AND GAS AND PETROCHEMICAL OPERATIONS

On the basis of a qualitative study of three different operational oil and gas and petrochemical sites, in the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, we examine how actors construe error prevention and error management and how they reconcile these approaches in their everyday practice. Our repertory grid data reveal that actors recognize the importance of error prevention, but also appreciate that emergent and unexpected issues require error management in order to trap, address, or mitigate problems in the making. Errors are also regarded to play an important role in adaptation, innovation, and learning. However, our interview data and analysis of incident investigation reports reflect a narrower range of factors and indicate a strongly institutionalized predisposition toward error prevention. Findings provide practical implications for the management of process safety and for incident analysis, which may be overlooking the importance of error management, and also for individuals at the sharp end of plant operations who may be coping with the gap between what they believe is important in terms of process safety and what they bring to the surface, share, and document.