Safety on the horizon: mapping human factors in offshore wind.

Roberts, Ruby; Flin, Rhona

Abstract

Global wind energy is experiencing an unprecedented period of expansion. Such requirements present challenges concerning maintaining safety standards and training at scale with industry data indicating a range of hazards during operations and maintenance activities. Wind technicians work in small teams to conduct critical operations and maintenance tasks on wind turbines often in remote, hazardous environments. Industry evidence suggests behavioral issues significantly contribute to these incidents, yet the limited human factors (HF) research in offshore wind typically focuses on design and physiology. Three online stakeholder workshops identified the principal HF impacting offshore wind technicians during operations and maintenance activities. It resulted in a preliminary framework of 16 HF, and 16 sub-factors, for offshore wind technicians encompassing individual, crew/team, organizational factors, and task and environmental factors. This can be used to direct effective interventions that support worker safety, health and performance in the expanding wind industry and wider renewable energy sector.

Citation

ROBERTS, R. and FLIN, R. [2025]. Safety on the horizon: mapping human factors in offshore wind. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society annual meeting [online], Online First: special issue on 69th Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) international advancing systems and practices through innovation, research and education (ASPIRE) annual meeting 2025. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813251360007

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: 69th Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) international advancing systems and practices through innovation, research and education (ASPIRE) annual meeting 2025
• Start Date: Oct 13, 2025
• End Date: Oct 17, 2025
• Acceptance Date: Apr 15, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Aug 9, 2025
• Deposit Date: Aug 11, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 11, 2025
• Journal: Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society annual meeting
• Print ISSN: 2169-5067
• Electronic ISSN: 1071-1813
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10711813251360007
• Keywords: Human factors; Psychological factors; Wind technicians; Wind energy; Worker safety
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2973315