System Simulation of a Management of Change process in a North Slope Oil Exploration Facility
Abstract
Our ability to manage the integrity of our facilities is directly related to our ability to manage change. Management of Change as a component of PSM has been part of the processing industry since 1994, yet in that time very little if any improvement has been observed (Moore, Acutech) in the overall safety performance at facilities. This study asserts that the reason for this lack of performance is that the MoC process is not managed but rather it is just used. The ability of an organization to leverage change to their advantage and to minimize the risks involved with implementing change, at any level, is dependant on the organizational structure and tools put into place- it is dependant on the management system and the effectiveness of that system. A management system can be defined as an approach whereby a series of components or steps are put together to solve a problem or make an improvement in internal efficiency and external effectiveness. The Management of Change process for a major North Slope Oil Production facility was reviewed against the five components of a management system - Scope, Process, Organization, Performance Measurement and Feedback. From this review a system simulation was developed using the iThink simulation language to model the MoC process. Through this simulation we were able to mimic the existing process in terms of delays and backlogs with the goal of not only understanding the process, but also understanding the impact a change in workload or the availability of technical reviewers would have on its performance. Management of Change should be considered a tool not an obstacle to overcome and using the simulation process we are able to start managing the Management of Change system and then managing the integrity of our facilities.
Description
PresentationSubject
Management of ChangeCollections
Citation
Hemsath, James (2001). System Simulation of a Management of Change process in a North Slope Oil Exploration Facility. Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center; Texas &M University. Libraries. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /193915.