Crisis Management Holistic Training with Immersive Technologies for Awareness and Preparedness of Oil and Gas Professionals

Abstract

Abstract Many previous technological accidents were primarily caused by human factor. The oil and gas (O&G) industry is interested in new methods for improving human response and safety. The scope of the current study is to assess the use of immersive technologies in awareness and preparedness of oil and gas industry's staff in emergencies and in crisis management. The training methodology based on a holistic sevenfold approach. In the beginning, the oil and gas professionals familiarize themselves with fundamental physicochemical phenomena of the O&G sector in a research laboratory. In the second stage, the examining phenomena are modelled and simulated. Then, the model is verified, validated and tested taking into account the real feedback from the laboratory experiments. Thus, the entire developed system turns into a process. The next step is the use of immersive technologies in order to scale-up the process by developing a virtual reality (VR) environment of the real field. The produced VR environment is then simulated into high-tech full-size facilities including a virtual control room, a drilling simulator, a virtual dispatch center and a VR onshore or/and offshore oilfield with wearable equipment. The sixth stage of the holistic training is the dynamic overall financial audit of the oil and gas plants implemented in real time. Finally, evaluation and certification of O&G professionals take place. O&G trainees were tested in various emergency what-if scenarios that were not friction products, but rather the results of long-term interviews with industry executives, field operators and control room operators, who involved in past dangerous incidents, near-misses, and accidents. The study found that human factor played a significant role in the outcomes of emergencies, with careless or negligent behavior often causing problems. In some cases, the teamwork of the participants was excellent, but in others, communication problems led to emergency shutdowns or evacuation alarms. To our knowledge, an in situ holistic approach of crisis management training using immersive technologies for awareness and preparedness of O&G professionals has been studied for the first time.