9.4 Factors affecting Performance Flashcards
What factors effect performance?
Fitness
Health
Stress
Time pressure
Workload
Fatigue
To maintain the correct manning levels and in the event of illness etc, what should an organisation have to deal with losses?
Man hour plan.
What can an engineer do to maintain their health and fitness?
Eating regular and well balanced meals
Regular exercise
Stop smoking
What does stress result from?
Imposition of any demand or set of demands which require us to react, adapt or behave in a certain way.
What is a stressor?
The cause of the stress, could either be a one off stimulus or an ongoing factor.
What two types of stress are there?
Acute- intense short
Chronic- frequent and long duration
What forms can stressors be?
Physical
Psychological
Reactive
What are the possible signs of stress?
Physiological- Sweating etc
Health issues
Behavioural
Cognitive effects
Subjective effects- anxiety
What is domestic stress?
Results from major life changes at home.
What can work related stress be increased by?
Lack of guidance or time pressure.
What happens when we become aware of stress?
Defence or coping
What is a defence strategy?
Alleviation of the symptoms through temporary fixes, i.e. alcohol.
What is a coping strategy?
Dealing with the source of the stress.
What are some good stress management techniques?
Relaxation
Regulation of sleep and diet
Regular exercise
Counselling
What are the two perceptions of stress?
Actual and perceived.
In terms of stress what two driving forces does an engineer have?
Deadlines and responsibilites.
What is one method of managing time pressure?
Regulation.
What can time pressures make a norm in an organisation?
Corner cutting.
What should those responsible for setting deadlines consider?
Priority of work
Time available
Personnel available
Parts and spares
What happens at low levels of arousal?
Attentional mechanisms will not be active and performance capability will be low.
What happens if arousal becomes too high?
Task shedding and narrowing of attention.
Workload is subjective, what is it affected by?
Physical demands
Mental demands
How can workload be managed?
Staff have correct skills
Tools and spares readily available
Human factors training
How can overload be relieved?
Simpler method
Delegate activities
Securing further time
How much sleep does a human require?
8 hours in 24 hours
What is the rule of thumb for hours of sleep for hours of work?
One hour sleep for two hours work
What does the circadian rhythm control?
Body temp, hunger and digestion.
Most aspects of physiology and behaviour are governed by what?
Central clock in the hypothalamus.
If you have a drop in body temp what happens?
Drop in alertness and performance.
Circadian rhythm for body temp is very robust, when sleep is disrupted what happens?
Temp cycle is unchanged.
What two types of fatigue are there?
Physiological and Subjective.
What is subjective fatigue?
How sleepy the person thinks they feel, easily affected by other factors.
What does physiological fatigue reflect?
The replenishment and restoration the body needs.
What is TSA?
Time since awakening
What is duty time?
Time on task refers to the time spent carrying out work.
What are the first signs of chronic fatigue?
Moodiness, headaches.
What are the disadvantages of shift working?
Unsociable hours
Human performance is lower in late hours
What does alcohol do in the nervous system?
Alcohol acts as a depressant on the nervous system dulling the senses.
What is a Analgesics?
Over the counter drugs like paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen.
Why are anti-histamines not allowed when working?
They can make you feel drowsy.
What can decongestants like psuedo-ephedrine do?
Give side effects like anxiety, tremor, rapid pulse and headache.
What are pep pills?
Stimulant pills, they are not allowed due to the danger of overdose and side effects.
