Southern California (SoCal) Gas Company - Case Study Assignment Help

Abstract

Disasters and hazards emerging due to ineffective human error management practices and human risk associated with the operational practice as within the industry have been widely considered in the contemporary research literature related to human risk assessment. This research considers the case of the Southern California Gas Company which occasionally confronts a major challenge of gas leakage. As a result of these accidents, billions of dollars of infrastructure are destroyed and many hundreds of lives lost after every 4 or 5 years. In this connection, this research study has developed a research methodology for human risk management for engineering systems of the company. This methodology uses the HERMES and THERP analysis techniques. Two risk reduction strategies have also been recommended in addition to the proposed methodology. These include the elimination of error consequence with the help of incorporating feedback in the systems and the focus on human risk factors such as training and active supervision. The proposed hybrid methodology developed for the company has also been implemented in the context of the Southern California Gas Company.

Southern California Gas Company owns as many as 115 wells in Aliso Canyon in Porter Ranch. This particular site has been the centre of one of the largest and the biggest environmental scandals of the united states, thereby emphasizing upon the industry for natural gas and the safety culture to take strict actions and adopt sophisticated human risk management practices. The company was held responsible for the lack of human error risk management practices that eventually lead the same to do a natural gas leakage spanning over 4 months. This happened in October 2015 and with this leakage of natural gas, many stakeholders of the company were influenced, including the environment, the industry for natural gas, and the entire community the Southern California Gas Company.