Misconceptions of human factors concepts

Abstract

Like many scientific topics, Human Factors, and Ergonomics concepts are susceptible to being misunderstood by people unfamiliar with the subject matter. Most of the time these misunderstandings are harmless, like when a safety poster within a work setting encourages employees to 'overcome complacency'. This misunderstanding of complacency suggests it is a motivational aspect of human behaviour correctable with encouragement, whereas the human factors approach to overcoming complacency would be to evaluate how task design could diminish the destructive consequences of unexpected changes within a routine setting. No harm comes from the message within the safety poster, other than some wasted ink and paper, but misconceptions among particular audiences can eventually result in dire consequences for the human operator. This paper presents recent evidence that the concepts are being misapplied by casual consumers of human factors, particularly in the aftermath of accidents within complex systems, in ways detrimental to the core mission of improving the well-being of the human operator. Later, because this special issue presents new ways to demonstrate value via return on investment, practical efforts we can take to overcome such misconceptions are suggested.     

Context enabled decision aids to support the situation awareness and performance of risk engineers carrying out loss prevention surveys

Routine inspection by insurance companies at their clients’ facility, also known as loss prevention survey, help identify the best strategies to minimize damages when there is a high-speed wind event. More specifically, wind vulnerabilities associated with a building are evaluated using a process known as windstorm risk inspection. This routine inspection helps clients reduce the extent of damages caused by high-speed wind events including hurricane and tornado. Risk engineers make use of their subjective and analytical deduction skills to successfully carry out the inspection tasks. In this research the researchers investigated the effect of context-based visualization strategies on situation awareness and their understanding of the situation. The study examined how different types of information contribute towards the three levels of situation awareness. Following a between-subjects study design, 65 participants completed the study. Each session lasted 90–120 min. A checklist based and predictive display-based decision aids were tested and found to be effective in supporting the situation awareness requirements as well as performance of risk engineers. However, the predictive display only helped with certain tasks such as understanding the interaction among different components on the rooftop. For remaining tasks such as perceiving obvious issues like membrane tear, clogged drains and vegetation growth, checklist alone was sufficient. This study helped the understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the decision aids tested. More specifically, these decision aids can improve the mental model of novice risk engineers. Additionally, this study provided insights that could help design training materials for infrastructure inspectors.     

Literature Listing

The quarterly Literature Listing is intended as a current awareness service for readers indicating newly published books, journal and conference articles on: patent search techniques, databases, analysis and classifications; patent searcher certification; patents relating to a) life sciences and pharmaceuticals and b) software; patent policy and strategic issues; trade marks; designs; domain names; and articles reviewing historical aspects of intellectual property or reviewing specific topics/persons. The current Literature Listing was compiled end-November 2019. Key resources used are Scopus, Digital Commons, publishers’ RSS feeds, and serendipity! Please feel free to send the author details of newly published reports/monographs/books for potential inclusion.     

The EC Directive on Drinking Water (EEC 80/778)

The background to and technical deficiencies of the EC Drinking Water Directive are discussed. Although the inadequacies of the Directive are becoming increasingly recognized, there is no doubt that it has had a major impact on the UK water industry, much of which will be beneficial in the long term. However, it has provided a significant challenge to water suppliers on technical and environmental issues, as well as in new areas such as publicity and customer awareness. The water industry should be seen to be responding to the situation vigorously and positively to meet the spirit of the Directive, whilst seeking technical refinements which will make it a more practicable piece of legislation for the future.     

基于物联网感知技术的电源监控系统设计

针对传统的电源监控系统结构复杂、功能单一等缺点,以小型通信基站电源系统为模型,提出了基于物联网感知技术的电源监控系统。本系统中,利用布置在电源周围以及电源电路上的各种传感器实现电池运行状态的参数采集,并且将采集到的海量数据进行数据的清洗、压缩和融合。同时利用MSP430F149微处理器实现现场信息的高速处理。     

智能配电网优化调度设计及关键技术

含多类型分布式电源和多样性负荷的智能配电网迫切需要优化调度以实现各种资源的优化配置,近些年配电自动化系统和信息系统的建设也为配电网优化调度的实现提供了基础。根据智能配电网实际需求,文中提出了配电网优化调度设计框架,以实现对智能配电网多种元素的全局优化调度。首先分析了配电网态势感知和配电网运行趋势分析两个配电网优化调度基础技术,然后提出了配电网优化调度的总体目标,给出了配电网优化调度的框架设计和基本功能,主要包括优化手段、优化内容、人工决策等方面,并分析了实现配电网优化调度的6项关键技术。     

Adaptive Multimodal In‐Vehicle Information System for Safe Driving

This paper proposes an adaptive multimodal in‐vehicle information system for safe driving. The proposed system filters input information based on both the priority assigned to the information and the given driving situation, to effectively manage input information and intelligently provide information to the driver. It then interacts with the driver using an adaptive multimodal interface by considering both the driving workload and the driver's cognitive reaction to the information it provides. It is shown experimentally that the proposed system can promote driver safety and enhance a driver's understanding of the information it provides by filtering the input information. In addition, the system can reduce a driver's workload by selecting an appropriate modality and corresponding level with which to communicate. An analysis of subjective questionnaires regarding the proposed system reveals that more than 85% of the respondents are satisfied with it. The proposed system is expected to provide prioritized information through an easily understood modality.     

数字化核电厂班组SSA测度方法与实验研究

情景意识(SA)问题在数字化核电厂中更为突出。为识别班组共享情景意识（SSA）水平及行为形成因子（PSF）对班组SSA的影响，基于情景意识全面评估技术（SAGAT）建立一种班组SSA测量和计算方法并进行模拟机实验。结果表明，个体SA（ISA）水平与SSA水平有关，ISA级别越高，SSA级别越高；ISA和班组SSA都受到PSF的影响，PSF的状态水平越高，ISA和SSA的水平越高；对于不同的实验场景，操纵员的ISA水平和班组SSA水平不同，这表明风险场景的症状越明显及知识经验水平越好，ISA和SSA水平就越高。最后，通过被试的自评价识别当前PSF的状态水平，主要不良的PSF是班组沟通和合作水平、压力水平、人-机界面等。这些评估结果为提高数字化核电厂人因可靠性和安全水平提供了理论支持。     

Literature Listing

The quarterly Literature Listing is intended as a current awareness service for readers indicating newly published books, journal and conference articles on: patent search techniques, databases, analysis and classifications; patent searcher certification; patents relating to a) life sciences and pharmaceuticals and b) software; patent policy and strategic issues; trade marks; designs; domain names; and articles reviewing historical aspects of intellectual property or reviewing specific topics/persons. The current Literature Listing was compiled end-August 2020. Key resources used include Scopus, Digital Commons, publishers’ RSS feeds, and serendipity! Please feel free to send the author details of newly published reports/monographs/books for potential inclusion.