Cognitive Ergonomics in the Transition of the New Integrated Center of Control of an Oil Refinary: Human Reliability and Administration of Changes

Introduction
The conception of a product is closely tied to the level of adaptation to the users. This paper aims at developing an operational diagnosis of employees working in high complexity activities in a petrochemical company, in light of the physical and operating changes in the Integrated Center of Control; assessing the reception sensibility to the changes; assessing the cognitive pattern; making suggestions that might eliminate or minimize the difficulties in the transition process of the change, in order to reduce the adaptation period.

Methods
The study comprised 111 operators, who left their sectors to work in a single building and environment outside the production plant. The stages the following flow: survey of the prescribed tasks and organizational structure; cognitive diagnosis; application of the Work and Disease Risks Inventory (ITRA) and structured psychological interview.

Results
The results: serious cognitive cost (3.91), this being the largest intervention focus; division of task contents (3.58), social professional relationships (2.61), quality of the physical environment (2.69), physical cost (3.00), emotional cost (2.74), liberty of expression (4.44), living and suffering (2.55) and physical injuries (2.08) were considered critical; lack of recognition (1.72), professional realization (3.98), social damages (1.44) and psychological injuries (1.05) are bearable or satisfactory. As to the test of Concentrated Attention (AC), most workers registered superior average level. In the individual interviews, workers showed that larger involvement in the process of physical, organizational and operational change in the desk works and on field works was required, and also follow up of implementations.

Discussion
As a result of the findings handed to the management and returned to the workers, ergonomic non-conformity actions found in the analysis were implemented. It is possible to prove the importance of the insertion of cognitive and organizational ergonomics in the building projects of new facilities for highly complex activities in petrochemical plants.