Situational awareness measurement in a simulation-based training framework for offshore well control operations

Human factors are identified as the major contributor to oil and gas drilling and operations related accidents. One major limitation of the currently available simulation-based training programs is the lack of objective and validated measures for human factors and non-technical skills. These objective measures are necessary to evaluate the skills and training of drilling crews. Situational awareness (SA) describes the person's perception, comprehension, and prediction in dynamic environments. SA is critical in time-sensitive decision making, which may be especially pertinent for kick-detection and blowout mitigation. This paper presents the analyses of multiple objective SA measures in an immersive training environment. The SA for a sample of engineering-in-training students (n = 13) was measured using a well control incident simulator. The data analyses include knowledge tests, a voice log analysis, usability measures, check-lists compliance, pre/post performance surveys, and eye-tracking data. The results show that task knowledge (e.g. current pressure readings, current bit depth) was predictive of overall blowout mitigation performance. Further, the usability results provide some preliminary insights into task risk perceptions, task difficulty, and perceptions of communication. The results may help design an objective simulation-based training framework for human factors and non-technical skills measurement in oil and gas well control operations.