Human Factors meets Data and Analytics at Chevron

Can you tell us what you’re working on currently there
at Chevron?

I’ve been fortunate to experience diverse roles across Chevron, from ergonomics, to human performance, Lean Six Sigma, supply chain, engineering, energy technology, across our upstream and downstream businesses.

That’s pretty common in our industry, where experienced hires may move between positions every eighteen months to three years and even faster in
early career, development programs. In my current role as Global Manager, I focus on four areas: people development, cost reduction, reliability and operational excellence, with Lean Six Sigma as an enabler.

Can you tell us how Human Factors became a point of
focus for you?

I started off as an industrial engineer in manufacturing with a focus in organizational psychology. As an engineer, there can be a lack of understanding around how humans actually work so I went on to earn a Master’s degree in Kinesiology, to understand the human body at work. Historically there’s been a recognition of the importance of designing work environment so people can succeed.

In the medical industry, it’s prominent because people are trying to avoid mistakes that result in fatalities and costly lawsuits. In the aviation industry
optimizing the design of cockpits to reduce pilot error is also about saving lives and capital. In Oil and Gas, we are focused on ensuring everyone comes
home safe every day and human factors applies well to our industry, especially process safety. Optimizing how humans interface with their work and work environment focuses on making sure that we do things well and when we don’t, the consequences are minimized; I’ve learned to do my work with human factors based on how much it is needed to support operational excellence.

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