A qualitative study of safety and human factors challenges in process control rooms operators

Process control rooms are critical operational hubs where operators monitor and manage complex industrial processes. However, these environments often present unique safety and ergonomic challenges. Understanding these challenges from the operator's perspective is essential to developing effective solutions that enhance both safety and ergonomics in control rooms. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the specific safety and human factors issues faced by control room operators, drawing on their first-hand experiences to identify key concerns and propose actionable recommendations. Fifteen in-depth interviews were conducted with control room operators across three process industries in Iran over a 3-month period from June 2024 to August 2024. A conventional content analysis approach was used to analyze the data. The written transcript of each interview served as the unit of analysis, and data analysis was performed using MAXQDA v.2022 software. Analysis of interview data yielded 580 codes, categorized into 14 main categories and 41 subcategories. Key findings include overall workload (197 codes) followed by health hazards (69 codes) and workstation design (54 codes), highlighting ergonomic concerns. Economic and social challenges, physical hazards, and organizational factors also emerged as critical issues. Additional categories like acoustic factors, lighting, and environmental factors emphasized the need for noise, lighting, and workspace management. Lastly environmental factors, security and strategic issues, aesthetic considerations and chemical hazards highlighted additional aspects of control rooms in process industries. These findings underscore the multifaceted safety and ergonomic challenges in control rooms, necessitating targeted interventions for operator well-being.