Posters
Come meet the poster presenters to ask them questions and discuss their work
We would like to invite you to come and see the posters at our upcoming conference. The posters will showcase a diverse range of research topics, and will give delegates an opportunity to engage with the authors and learn more about their work. Whether you are a seasoned researcher or simply curious about the latest developments in your field, we believe that the posters will offer something of interest to everyone. So please join us at the conference and take advantage of this opportunity to learn and engage with your peers in industry and the academic community.
PO180: Harnessing the human factor: Insights from a global wind workers survey.
Ruby Roberts, Chancellor's Fellow of Industrial Psychology, Robert Gordon University
Abstract
Global wind energy is experiencing an unprecedented period of expansion. A safe and competent workforce is vital for accelerating growth, meeting climate goals and securing energy needs. Wind technicians work in small teams to conduct critical operations and maintenance tasks on wind turbines often in remote, hazardous environments. Yet, such rapid progress presents challenges for maintaining safety standards and training at scale, with industry incident data revealing a range of hazards and safety issues. Using human factor (HF) approaches, that recognise the factors that influence peoples’ performance in the workplace, has been found to be an effective safety management strategy for supporting worker safety, health and productivity in similar environments. Industry evidence suggests behavioural issues significantly contribute to these incidents[1], yet the limited HF research in wind typically focuses on physiology[2]. Furthermore, there is a limited understanding of HF in wind from the workers’ perspective[3] as current industry incident data only provides a partial picture of safety in wind. To begin to address this gap, (1) three online industry stakeholder workshops were conducted to examine the HF impacting on wind technician health, safety and performance. This resulted in a preliminary framework of 16 human factors for offshore wind technicians encompassing individual, crew/team, organisational factors, and task and environmental factors. (2) To gain insight into onshore and offshore wind workers’ perceptions of the HF impacting on their safety, performance and wellbeing, a global online survey was conducted. The survey topics ranged from situation awareness, teamworking, worker health, and organisational culture. The two studies provide a unique insight into wind workers’ perceptions of the HF impacting on their safety, performance and wellbeing. The presentation will examine the results and will discuss how the findings can be used to shape future training and safety standards and practices globally.
No recording available for this poster.
