Another Look at Human Factors in Offshore Wind

What do you think of when you hear “Human Factors”? Simply put, human factors are a web of interacting forces - from human and individual to environmental and organisational - shaping your workplace behaviour. Undeniably, they have an impact on safety and efficiency in the organisation and in the workplace in general.

Aimed at GWO-certified instructors, the latest IQT webinar addressed this theme, featuring guest speaker, Dr. Ruby Roberts, Chartered Psychologist and Chancellor’s Fellow at Robert Gordon University, who is currently researching the role of human factors in offshore wind.

Ruby explored how human factors affect both safety and efficiency on offshore projects, highlighting the importance of promoting best practice safety behaviours on different organisational levels, to shift away from a blame culture.

Dr Roberts remarked:

Human factors aren't just about "you" or "me" being tired or overworked. There are far more layers involved—things like how you make decisions, how teams communicate, the pressures they face and even the systems in place to support them.

This session marked the start of a year-long collaboration between GWO and Dr Roberts, providing valuable insights to improve the current understanding of Human Factors in wind and wind training practices.