HFACS-OGP:An analysis framework for oil and gas pipeline accident causation

Pipelines serve as the primary means for transporting oil and gas globally. Despite their perceived safety, accidents continue to occur in modern operations. The operating environment of oil and gas pipelines necessitates that the prevention of accidents should take into account not only the internal management of pipeline operators, but also external factors such as national regulatory oversight and third-party damage. Existing Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) frameworks, originally developed for aviation, are inadequate for analyzing regulatory gaps and emerging challenges (e.g., third-party damage) in the oil and gas pipeline industry. To address this, a novel HFACS named the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System for the Oil and Gas Pipeline industry (HFACS-OGP) is proposed. Eighty accident reports primarily sourced from the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) were analyzed to develop HFACS-OGP based on grounded theory. Three levels: third-party factors, administration oversight and design gaps, and legislation gaps, were incorporated into the original framework of HFACS. The frequency of each contributing factor in the 80 accidents was analyzed. HFACS-OGP adapts the original HFACS structure to industry-specific contexts and offers a customized framework for investigating and preventing oil and gas pipeline accidents.