Development and evaluation of an offshore oil and gas Emergency Response Focus Board

Introduction: The primary objective of this research was to explore the use of an interactive whiteboard as an Emergency Response Focus Board (ERFB) for offshore emergency response teams (ERT) during a training and assessment process. Methods: Thirty-seven participants completed simulation testing in a randomized study design with two visual display conditions (static and dynamic display). Outcome measures included speed and accuracy of response to situation awareness questions presented orally during three separate simulation freezes, and self-rating of performance. Results: Results indicate that the type of ERFB display significantly influenced the speed and accuracy of responses. Qualitative results indicate that situation awareness was increased when using the dynamic ERFB. Conclusions: It can be concluded that the dynamic ERFB offers an objective measure of performance and as a consequence, it is recommended that dynamic ERFBs be implemented into future offshore emergency response assessment training. Relevance to industry: Given the enormous amount of information available during an emergency, the dynamic ERFB offers an improved system for data logging, consolidation of information, and greater comprehension of relevant resource allocation factors. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.