Abstract
The petroleum sector is a safety-critical sector that is increasingly investing in automation and remote operation
technologies to increase the safety and efficiency of its processes. For a safe and resilient transition, the petroleum
sector would benefit from integration of human factors approaches to optimize system design in complex humanautomation interactive systems. While most research focuses on the investigation of failures and accidents in
complex systems, our aim in this paper is to explore the design strategies that enhance the overall system
performance. We consider this a successful design. The research question that we posed was: what human factors
principles can be deployed in interactive automation and remote operation systems design in the petroleum sector?
This paper is part of the Meaningful Human Control (MAS) project where a larger literature review was conducted
to identify successful design principles across various sectors. This article zooms in on the petroleum sector
literature. Following a set of inclusion criteria, we have selected a representative sample of articles to be included
in analysis. A total of nine articles were selected for full-text analysis, using the thematic analysis method.
Interventions deployed and recommended in the petroleum sector were derived from the articles. The results showed
the importance of predesign stage, inclusion of the right expertise early on. Furthermore, Human-Centred Design
guidelines should be applied. All the stages must be peer-reviewed, and verification and validation tests must be
conducted throughout the design process. Additionally, organizational human factors principles, which are key to
successful automation and remote operations in the petroleum sector, should be incorporated.