Janizadeh Raziyeh, Choobineh Alireza, Mokarami Hamidreza, Jahangiri Mehdi
Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Research Center for Health Sciences, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 27;15(1):27363. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-08335-1.
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.
过程控制室是关键的运营枢纽，操作人员在此监控和管理复杂的工业过程。然而，这些环境往往带来独特的安全和人机工程学挑战。从操作人员的角度理解这些挑战，对于开发有效的解决方案以提高控制室的安全性和人机工程学水平至关重要。这项定性研究的目的是调查控制室操作人员面临的具体安全和人为因素问题，借鉴他们的第一手经验来确定关键问题，并提出可采取行动的建议。在2024年6月至2024年8月的3个月时间里，对伊朗三个流程行业的控制室操作人员进行了15次深入访谈。采用传统的内容分析方法对数据进行分析。每次访谈的文字记录作为分析单位，使用MAXQDA v.2022软件进行数据分析。访谈数据分析得出580个代码，分为14个主要类别和41个子类别。主要发现包括总体工作量（197个代码），其次是健康危害（69个代码）和工作站设计（54个代码），突出了人机工程学方面的问题。经济和社会挑战、物理危害以及组织因素也成为关键问题。声学因素、照明和环境因素等其他类别强调了对噪音、照明和工作空间管理的需求。最后，环境因素、安全和战略问题、美学考虑以及化学危害突出了流程行业控制室的其他方面。这些发现强调了控制室中多方面的安全和人机工程学挑战，需要针对操作人员的福祉进行有针对性的干预。
