How to eliminate human error in the oil and gas industry
The oil and gas industry has seen a 90 percent reduction in fatal accident rates since 1985, but recent years show that maintaining safety performance remains a challenge – this is particularly as human error continues to cause safety incidents.
The challenge isn’t due to a lack of procedures or protocols; it’s how those procedures are executed in the field. When operators work in high-risk environments – such as refineries – and simultaneously rely on memory and manual documentation, even the most well-designed safety systems can fail.
The reality of field operations
Consider the daily reality at a typical refinery, where workers are responsible for maintaining thousands of critical assets, such as valves, pipelines and monitoring equipment, each requiring precise execution of complex procedures.
These inspections and maintenance tasks have traditionally depended on workers memorizing procedures and recording data manually, which can be difficult in high-stress environments that are both loud in volume and high in temperature. When tasks like these become routine, workers end up operating on autopilot, which significantly increases the likelihood of mistakes that can quickly snowball into serious safety incidents.
The communication challenges that come with working in these types of environments compound these risks. In noisy refineries, workers often mishear one another on radio calls. Additionally, supervisors in control rooms already have limited visibility into what’s actually happening in the field, making it difficult to provide timely and accurate guidance when operators encounter problems. By the time information travels from the field to the control room and back, critical minutes have been lost.
A new approach to safety verification
The question facing energy operators today isn’t whether to improve safety, it’s how: how can the industry eliminate the vulnerabilities that come with manual processes without disrupting operations or overwhelming workers with more complexity.
Augmented reality (AR) technology offers a fundamentally different approach. It works by overlaying imagery or information onto real-world environments via smart glasses, head-mounted displays, mobile devices, tablets or scanners. This way, workers get the necessary information displayed directly onto their physical work environment, rather than needing to remember complex procedures or consult paper checklists.
YPF, the largest oil and fuel production company in Argentina, implemented AR-powered workflows across its Argentine operations. Many of their valves, of which there are more than 50,000 at their Buenos Aires plant alone, were manually operated and physically checked by onsite teams, requiring detailed inspections and precise execution to avoid errors that could impact both worker safety and the nation’s energy supply. Having to memorize these procedures and record the data manually in high-stress situations posed a significant risk of errors due to repetitive, routine-based tasks.
The implementation of AR solutions addressed the communication gap between field operations and control rooms for YPF. Through these ‘see-what-I-see’ capabilities, operators can share video and audio with supervisors and technical experts, providing immediate visibility into complex or unexpected situations. Instead of trying to describe a problem over the radio, field workers are able to actually show it in real time. This ultimately enables faster and more informed decision-making, which in turn makes operations safer.
With AR technology, YPF workers can also scan QR codes to confirm they are working on the correct equipment, providing a sense of security and confidence by eliminating second-guessing. The system verifies that procedures are followed in the correct sequence every time, regardless of how routine the task may seem.
And implementing AR technologies is far from about replacing humans, it’s about supporting their judgement.
Measurable safety impact
The impact of implementing AR solutions isn’t incremental – it represents a fundamental shift in how safety is managed in the oil and gas industry.
At YPF, the elimination of procedures dependent on memory has reduced the potential for errors while simultaneously providing comprehensive documentation of every inspection and maintenance activity. Operators record data through voice notes, photos and videos as they work, creating detailed records without interrupting their tasks and flow.
Additionally, response times have improved dramatically. When issues are detected, maintenance teams can intervene faster because they have immediate access to visual documentation and can consult with field operators in real time. In emergency situations – that pose an even higher risk to safety conditions – operators can stay connected with supervisors who can see exactly what’s happening and provide guidance instantly.
Setting new standards
The shift to safety systems enabled by AR technology requires more than just deploying new hardware and software. It demands a change in how organizations think about operational safety, from reactive responses to proactive prevention of incidents.
YPF’s experience shows that the companies adopting these technologies aren’t just improving their own operations – they’re establishing new benchmarks for what operational safety could and should look like in the energy sector.
The technology exists and the results speak for themselves. Field workers should be equipped with the tools they need to execute complex procedures flawlessly and safely, every single time.
Marcos Chiavone
www.teamviewer.com
Marcos Chiavone is Senior Director LATAM, at TeamViewer. TeamViewer provides a Digital Workplace platform that connects people with technology – enabling, improving and automating digital processes to make work work better.