Human Factors Key Points Flashcards
Human Factors definition
Human Factors is the study and management of human performance in the
workplace. The field covers human capabilities and limitations, human
psychology, physiology, and sociology; and embraces the physical, organisational
and procedural environment the individual works within and equipment they work
with
What errors cause accidents
Pilot deviated from basic operational procedures 33%
Inadequate cross-check by second crew member 26%
Design faults 13%
Maintenance and inspection deficiencies 12%
Absence of approach guidance 10%
Captain ignored crew inputs
Air traffic control failures or errors 9%
Improper crew response during abnormal conditions 9%
Insufficient or incorrect weather information 8%
Runways hazards 7%
Air traffic control/crew communication deficiencies 6%
Improper decision to land 6%
What is the chain of events that lead to an accident
Event –> incident –> accident
What does the cornea do
At the front of the eye. Acts as fixed focusing device and responsible for 70-80% of total focusing ability (refraction) of the eye
What dies the iris and pupil do?
The iris (the coloured part of the eye) controls the amount of light that is allowed
to enter the eye. It does this by varying the size of the pupil (the dark area in the
centre of the iris). The size of the pupil can be changed very rapidly to cater for
changing light levels. The amount of light can be adjusted by a factor of 5:1.
What does the lens of the eye do?
Where rinal focusing occurs. Shape is changed by ciliary muscles
What does the retina do
Located at rear of eyeball. Made uo of complex nerve cells connected to optical nerve
What are rods and cones
Cones function in good light and detect fine detail and colour. Distinguish 1000 different shades of colour
Rods cannot detect colour, poor at distinguishing fine detail but good at detecting movement at edge of visual field. More sensitive at lower lights
What is visual acuity
Visual acuity is the ability of the eye to
discriminate sharp detail at varying distances.
An individual with an acuity of 20/20 vision should be able to see at 20 feet that
which the so-called ‘normal’ person is capable of seeing at this range
What do the 3 sections of the ear do
Outer ear: The outer ear consists of the auditory canal which directs sound waves down to
the eardrum. The sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate
Middle ear: transmits vibrations from eardrum throught 3 small bones (ossicles). Protects ears from sounds above 80 dB by upto 20 dB for about 15 min
Inner ear: filled with fluid connecting to cochlea covered in hairs
What are the 4 forms of attention
Selective attention
Divided attention
Focused attention
Sustained attention
What is perception
Perception involves the organisation and interpretation of sensory data in order to
make it meaningful to us and discarding data that is not relevant. i.e. Perception
transforms data into useable information.
How long is ultra short term memory, short term memory and long term memory
Ultra short is up to 2 seconds
Short term is enough time to use it (working memory)
Long term is upto forever
What is sematic and episodic memory
. Semantic Memory
‘Semantic memory’ refers to our store of general, factual knowledge about the
world, such as concepts, rules, one’s own language, etc. It is information that is not
tied to where and when the knowledge was originally acquired.
e. Episodic Memory
Episodic memory refers to memory of specific events, such as our past
experiences (including people, events and objects). We can usually place these
things within a certain context. It is believed that episodic memory is heavily
influenced by a person’s expectations of what should have happened, thus two
people’s recollection of the same event can differ
What does disposition of an engineer mean
Mood/ mental state
