Ways to Improve Operator Professional Reliability to Prevent Injuries and Errors Affecting Equipment Integrity (Using the Example of the Nitrogen Industry and Air-Breathing Engine Testing)

The Human Factor in Complex Ergatic Systems

The development of technologies and automation of production processes paradoxically increase the significance of the human factor. In complex human-machine systems, whether it is chemical production or aerospace engine testing, it is impossible to completely eliminate the probability of error. Traditional HSE methods, focused on workplace risk assessment and PPE issuance, often prove powerless against the individual psychophysiological characteristics of workers. In his presentation, Vitaly Dmitruk, drawing on years of experience in the nitrogen industry and current practice at the Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM), examines approaches to improving the professional reliability of operators. The main task is to build a system in which a single human error does not lead to fatal consequences for personnel and unique equipment.

Integrating Psychology into the Industrial Safety System

The speaker identifies close collaboration between the HSE department and a corporate psychologist as one of the key reserves for reducing injuries. Standard qualification check procedures do not provide a picture of how a person will behave in an emergency situation. The implementation of psychological support allows working with the root causes of dangerous behavior.

• Incoming Control (Filter 1): Psychometric testing during hiring reveals a propensity for risk, impulsivity, and an inability to remain calm. This allows screening out candidates with inherent risks of dangerous behavior or redirecting them to less critical areas.
• Compatibility Assessment: Using tests (e.g., MBTI typology) when forming shifts reduces internal tension in the team. Eliminating interpersonal conflicts directly affects the concentration of operators.
• Pre-shift Control (Filter 2): Rapid assessment of workers' conditions before performing high-risk work (similar to firearm possession tests) helps identify stress, fatigue, or reduced reaction speed, preventing the admission of an employee who is not ready for work.

VR Simulators: Practicing Reflexes Under Stress

Traditional briefings have low efficiency — only a small part of the information remains in the workers' memory. To translate knowledge into stable skills, the speaker demonstrates the use of virtual reality (VR) technologies using the example of his enterprise. VR training solves several practical tasks at once.

First, the system allows for the safe simulation of emergency situations (fire, electric shock, rescue from heights). Second, stress and time pressure factors are embedded in the scenario: time limits and distracting cognitive tasks. Practice shows that under such conditions, even experienced specialists begin to make critical mistakes (for example, forgetting about step voltage). Regular VR training destroys overconfidence and forms reflex skills of safe behavior, brought to automatism.

System Fault Tolerance and the Vision Zero Concept

Analyzing the approaches of the aviation industry, where the share of the human factor in incidents reaches 90%, the speaker proposes adapting the Vision Zero concept. The essence lies in creating a fail-safe environment. The management system must be structured so that intentional violation of rules is technically impossible or economically disadvantageous, and unintentional errors are countered through redundancy and duplication of control within the shift.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to justify the need for a staff psychologist in the HSE department and what specific tasks to assign them?
• What testing methods help identify workers' propensity for dangerous behavior during the interview stage?
• How to use VR technologies to create stress scenarios and destroy false overconfidence in experienced workers?
• How can aviation safety principles be adapted to reduce injuries at industrial enterprises?
• How to organize pre-shift control of the psychophysiological state of personnel before high-risk work?