...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Work sampling is a method in which the job is sampled at random intervals to determine the proportion of total time spent on a particular task.[46] It provides insight into how often workers are performing tasks which might cause strain on their bodies. In a work sampling study, a large number of observations are made of the workers over an extended period of time. For statistical accuracy, the observations must be taken at random times during...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Highly-trained and experienced operators can often compensate for a poor design; however, in the case of the Chernobyl disaster, the designers gave the operators too difficult a task. The design was not at all forgiving of operator mistakes. It may have been difficult for the operators to have compensated for design failures that they did not know about. Not only were the plant operators unaware of key design weaknesses, the designers were...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Members of the Forensics Professional Group are interested in all aspects of human factors as applied to litigation matters, both civil and criminal. FPGs goal is to bring ergonomic data and approaches to the investigation of losses influenced by design or by human limitations. Arguments may be presented on the degree to which a design meets current standards and known limitations and capabilities of the prospective users. The features and...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! A time study is a structured process of directly observing and measuring human work using a timing device to establish the time required for completion of the work by a qualified worker when working at a defined level of performance. Typically, time studies determine the time required for a worker to complete each task. by breaking the work into small, easily-measurable components or elements, measurement of those components and, synthesizing...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an association dedicated to advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity and is the worlds largest technical professional society. It is designed to serve professionals involved in all aspects of electrical, electronic and computing fields and related areas of science and technology that underlie modern civilization. IEEE and its members inspire a...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! In our previous Human Factors Minute on the Chernobyl disaster, we mentioned that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had released a report detailing their conclusions of the disaster. The IAEA updated their conclusions in a 1993 report. New information since the 1986 report led them to "shift the emphasis of its conclusions from the actions of the operating staff to faulty design of the reactor’s control rods and safety systems....

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Safety culture is about what people do (safety-related behaviours); how people feel (individual and group values, attitudes and perceptions) as well as what the organisation has (policies, procedures, structures and systems). These three aspects are interrelated and therefore not mutually exclusive. A company’s safety culture is shaped by corporate practices and organisational behaviour, and so a full picture can’t be gained from just focusing...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! The Wizard of Oz method is a process that allows a user to interact with an interface without knowing that the responses are being generated by a human rather than a computer by having someone behind-the-scenes who is pulling the levers and flipping the switches. This process allows researchers to test a concept by having one practitioner – the ‘Moderator’ – leading the session face to face with each user, whilst another practitioner – the...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Task analysis is a fundamental methodology in the assessment and reduction of human error. A wide variety of different task analysis methods exist, and it would be impracticable to describe all these techniques here. Instead, the intention is to describe representative methodologies applicable to different types of task. The term Task Analysis (TA) can be applied very broadly to encompass a wide variety of human factors techniques. Nearly all...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Let's take a look at the Human Error that contributed to the Chernobyl disaster. Many believe the disaster was caused by ‘human error’, based on early reports that placed substantial blame on the operators at Chernobyl. A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), placed considerable emphasis on the role of plant operators. This report was based upon a meeting organised by the IAEA, and was attended by international nuclear...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Did you know that the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society has 24 technical groups that are concerned with the human factors aspects of specific application areas? One of those is the The EDUCATION TECHNICAL GROUP The EDUCATION TECHNICAL GROUP is concerned with the education and training of human factors and ergonomics specialists. This includes undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education needs, issues, techniques, curricula, and...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering and engineering management that focuses on how to design, integrate, and manage complex systems over their life cycles. The outcome of these efforts, is an engineered system, and can be defined as a combination of components that work in synergy to collectively perform a useful function. Issues such as requirements engineering, reliability, logistics, coordination of different...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) International is a User Experience Design Organizatoin that supports people who research, design, and evaluate the user experience (UX) of products and services. Founded in 1991, they serve a community worldwide by promoting UX concepts and techniques through annual international conferences, publishing new UX findings through both the Journal of Usability Studies (JUS) and User Experience...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! As with any complex event, a variety of factors combined to cause the Chernobyl disaster. These causes illustrate exactly how Human Factors touches many parts of an overall system's design. The incident occurred during experiments to test the operation of the independent power supply, in the event of loss of external power sources. The plant was operated in an unstable condition without adequate safety precautions. Personnel were inadequately...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Did you know that the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society has 24 technical groups that are concerned with the human factors aspects of specific application areas? One of those is the Cybersecurity Technical Group. The CYBERSECURITY TECHNICAL GROUP (CYTG) was established to serve HFES members and nonmembers who share an interest in studying humans in the context of cyberspace, cybersecurity, and information security (InfoSec). promoting the...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! The Board of certification in professional ergonomics provides professional certification for practitioners of human factors/ergonomics and user experience (HF/E/UX) who demonstrate expertise and comprehensive understanding of the discipline. Employers and consumers know they are working with a professional who has met a rigorous standard. BCPE provides the gold standard of HF/E/UX certification, recognized nationally and internationally....

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Human performance modeling (HPM) is a traditional human factors method of quantifying human behavior, cognition, and processes; it's a tool used by human factors researchers and practitioners for both the analysis of human function and for the development of systems designed for optimal user experience and interaction. The goal of most human performance models is to capture enough detail in a particular domain to be useful for the purposes of...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! The Chernobyl disaster was caused by a nuclear accident that occurred in April 1986, in the north Ukrainian SSR and is considered the worst nuclear disaster in history. The accident occurred during a safety test on an RBMK-type nuclear reactor, commonly used throughout the Soviet Union. The test was a simulation of an electrical power outage to aid the development of a safety procedure for maintaining reactor cooling water circulation until the...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Did you know that the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society has 24 technical groups that are concerned with the human factors aspects of specific application areas? One of those is the Computer Systems Technical Group. The Computer Systems Technical Group (CSTG) works to ensure that all users of computer systems are able to accomplish their goals while enjoying a satisfying experience. They are professionals and academicians considered to be...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! It is commonly believed that using a cell phone while driving is dangerous. People often suggest that talking on a cell phone is similar to talking with in-vehicle passengers, or adjusting the radio. And aren't children an even bigger distraction? These are common opinions and questions, but they all are based on a poor foundation of the problem of Driver Distraction. Drivers must concurrently perform several tasks to safely operate a motor...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Human-computer interaction (HCI) is a multidisciplinary field of study focusing on the design of computer technology and, in particular, the interaction between humans (the users) and computers. While initially concerned with computers, HCI has since expanded to cover almost all forms of information technology design. HCI surfaced in the 1980s with the advent of personal computing, that started turning up in homes and offices in society-changing...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Task analysis is the process of learning about ordinary users by observing them in action to understand in detail how they perform their tasks and achieve their intended goals. With roots in activity theory, task analysis is a way of systematically describing human interaction with a system or process to understand how to match the demands of the system or process to human capabilities. The complexity of this process is generally...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Did you know that the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society has 24 technical groups that are concerned with the human factors aspects of specific application areas? One of those is the Communications Technical Group The Communications Technical consists of people interested in all aspects of human factors as applied to communication systems. This includes the initial determination of user needs as well as the implementation of human factors...

...and now for another Human Factors Minute! Machine guarding is an important human factors aspect of human machine interaction and design. Manufacturers must provide effective guards to separate operators, in time or distance, from a potential hazards while using machines. Adjustable guards often provide reasonble safe and efficient operation. Machine guards are often modified or removed by the workers for convenience or optimized workflow at the cost of safety, which exposes workers...