A10 Human Factors Flashcards
Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology
Psychology = study of the behaviour of individuals
Sociology = study of society and group behaviour
Anthropology = the study of the human race
Main dimensions of personality
Extroversion\ Introversion
Neuroticism - high level of anxiety
Conscientiousness - well organised
Agreeableness
Openness
Key theories to human motivation
Mayo (Hawthorne experiments
Maslow (Hierarchy of needs)
Vroom (Expectancy theory)
Blanchard
Mayo - Hawthorne experiments
Elton mayo was an American psychologist who was allowed to conduct a short study on the work place.
This resulted in the following observations
- illumination had no direct effect on output
- working in small harmonious groups had a significant effect on productivity
- having a chance to air a grievance was beneficial to working relationships
Hawthorne effect - improvement in performance when staff felt they were valued by top management, someone upstairs cares
Maslow (Hierarchy of needs)
Abraham Maslow suggested five human needs that need to be met.
1) Self actualisation (want to grow)
2) Esteem (respect, self esteem)
3) Social (family, friends, social acceptance)
4) Safety/ security (job security, health)
5) Biological needs (air, water, shelter ,food)
Vroom (Expectant theory)
V H Vroom defined motivation as a process
Expectancy- efforts will lead to desired outcome
Instrumentally- effort will achieve a particular result
Desirability- the person desires the outcome
Blanchard
Ken Blanchard said people have a natural desire to grow, develop and do meaningful work. They need the key psychological needs AUTONOMY, RELATEDNESS and COMPETENCE if these are satisfied there will be a highly motivated workforce.
Blanchard identified six motivational outlooks
1) Disinterest
2) External
3) Imposed
4) Aligned
5) integrated
6) inherent
Human sensory receptors
- Sight
- Hearing
- Touch
- Smell
- Taste
Others are sense of heat and acceleration
Perception
The recognition and interpretation of sensory stimulation based on memory
Perceptual set
Perceptual set is our tendency to interpret things in certain ways based on previous experiences. We see a problem and think we see the answer.
ie a train driver going by the same green light daily for several years will not necessarily see it when it’s red as he will expect to see a green light.
Perceptual distortion
Perception becomes distorted where things to our advantage seem more right than those not to our advantage, or where our perception of a hazard is wrong.
Human Failure Errors
Skill based
- Slip of action (performing an action too soon)
- Lapses in memory (forgetting an action)
Mistakes
- Rule based mistakes (no routine is known, so don’t know what to do if something fails)
- Knowledge based mistakes (something is incorrectly considered believing it to be right)
Violations (Deliberate and intentional)
Routine - routine violation that has become the normal way of doing things (awkward, painful work posture).
Situational - broken rules due to pressures ( insufficient staff for task, time pressures)
Exceptional - occur when something has gone wrong and staff believe they have to break a rule to solve a problem
Rasmussen’s model - levels of behaviour
Skill based - describes a situation where a person is carrying out a tried and tested operation in automatic mode. Errors occur where there is variation to the normal system.
Rule based - describes a situation where the operator has available a wide selection of well tried and tested routines. Errors occur where the wrong rule is applied or remembered incorrectly.
Knowledge based - where a person has to cope with unknown situations, there are no rules or skills. trial and error is the only course of action.
Methods of employee motivation
- financial incentives
- job growth or promotion
- management feed back via appraisals etc
- general job satisfaction from a job well done
Job factors that could cause human error
- Equipment design - ease of use, ergonomic
- Task complexity
- Work load
- Procedures and information - clarity/ ease of understanding
- Disturbances and interruptions
- Working conditions - noise, temperature
Possible effects of shift work on an individual
Fatigue and stress Sleep loss and sleep debt Health problems Social and family life Natural circadian rhythm
Ergonomics - fitting the task to the man
Designing the machine around the operators
Poor design could cause and unsafe practices may result in injury, ill heath due to
- Equipment not suited to body size
- Operator not able to readily see or hear all they need to
- Lack of understanding of the information that is being presented
- Equipment causing discomfort if used for long durations
Ergonomic design features that should be thought about in design of a crane
- Controls are in easy reach, sensitive and move in straight lines to allow delicacy of control
- Seat is fully adjustable, to allow a good view of operations
- Cab is protected from dust, weather and fumes etc
- Dials and displays in a prominent position but not obscuring view.
Principles of behaviour change programs
- Observations
- Feedback
- Goal setting
- Team working
Steps of a behavioural change program
Step 1 - identify behaviour that needs changing
Step 2 - Measure the level of desired behaviour by observations
Step 3 - identify cues or triggers that cause the behaviour or consequences (good and bad)
Step 4 - train workers to observe and record critical safety behaviour
Step 5 - Praise and reward safe behaviour and challenge poor or un safe behaviour
Step 6 - feedback behaviour levels to the workforce
Desirable features for equipment controls
- Kept to a minimum
- Protected against inadvertent activation
- Emergency stops overriding all run functions
- Located within easy, usable reach
- of ergonomic design
- of a suitable size and easily visible
- Well marked/ labelled
- Suitably robust
- Sensitivity to suit application
Desired features for equipment displays
- Clearly visible
- Protected against glare or reflection
- Suitable for the environment they are in
- More Safety/ high importance displays should be in more direct line of sight
- Only requisite informational be displayed
- Appropriate to the sense
- Simple and not confusing
Define the term violation
A violation is the deliberate and intentional deviation from the rules, procedures, instructions or regulations.
