Developing human factors/ergonomics as a design discipline

This paper deals with internal challenges that the human factors/ergonomics (HFE) research faces when wishing to strengthen its contribution to development of work systems. Three established characteristics of high-quality HFE, i.e., HFE takes a systems approach, HFE is design-driven, and HFE focuses on two closely related outcomes, performance and well-being, are taken as a starting point of a methodological discussion, in which conceptual innovations, e.g. adopting the technology-in-use perspective, are proposed to support development of HFE towards the high-quality aims. The feasibility of the proposed conceptual choices is demonstrated by introducing a naturalistic HFE analysis approach including four HFE functions. The gained experience of the use of this approach in a number of complex work domains allows the conclusion that becoming design-driven appears as that most difficult quality target for HFE to reach. Creating an own design discipline identity in a multi-voiced collaboration is the key internal challenge for human factors/ergonomics.     

A sustainable system of systems approach: a new HFE paradigm

Sustainability issues such as natural resource depletion, pollution and poor working conditions have no geographical boundaries in our interconnected world. To address these issues requires a paradigm shift within human factors and ergonomics (HFE), to think beyond a bounded, linear model understanding towards a broader systems framework. For this reason, we introduce a sustainable system of systems model that integrates the current hierarchical conceptualisation of possible interventions (i.e. micro-, meso- and macro-ergonomics) with important concepts from the sustainability literature, including the triple bottom line approach and the notion of time frames. Two practical examples from the HFE literature are presented to illustrate the model. The implications of this paradigm shift for HFE researchers and practitioners are discussed and include the long-term sustainability of the HFE community and comprehensive solutions to problems that consider the emergent issues that arise from this interconnected world.

Practitioner Summary: A sustainable world requires a broader systems thinking than that which currently exists in ergonomics. This study proposes a sustainable system of systems model that incorporates ideas from the ecological sciences, notably a nested hierarchy of systems and a hierarchical time dimension. The implications for sustainable design and the sustainability of the HFE community are considered.     

A Review of: “The Elite Athlete”. By NANCY BUTTS,T. T. GUSHIKEN and B. ZARINS (Champaign,IL.: Life Enhancement Publications, 1985.) [Pp. 283.] $28·00. ISBN 0873229053

The past decade has seen an increase in the application of human factors and ergonomics (HFE) techniques to healthcare delivery in a broad range of contexts (domains, locations and environments). This paper provides a state of science commentary using four examples of HFE in healthcare to review and discuss analytical and implementation challenges and to identify future issues for HFE. The examples include two domain areas (occupational ergonomics and surgical safety) to illustrate a traditional application of HFE and the area that has probably received the most research attention. The other two examples show how systems and design have been addressed in healthcare with theoretical approaches for organisational and socio-technical systems and design for patient safety. Future opportunities are identified to develop and embed HFE systems thinking in healthcare including new theoretical models and long-term collaborative partnerships. HFE can contribute to systems and design initiatives for both patients and clinicians to improve everyday performance and safety, and help to reduce and control spiralling healthcare costs.     

A human-centric runtime framework for mixed service-oriented systems

A wide range of Web-based tools and socially-enhanced collaboration services have changed models of work. In today??s collaboration systems, interactions typically span a number of people and services to work on joint tasks or to solve emerging problems. Finding the right collaboration partner in Web-based interactions remains challenging due to scale and the temporary nature of collaborations. We argue that humans need different ways to indicate their availability and desire to join collaborations. In this work, we discuss collaboration scenarios where people define services based on their dynamically changing skills and expertise by using Human-Provided Services. This approach is motivated by the need to support novel service-oriented applications in emerging crowdsourcing environments. In such open and dynamic environments, user participation is often driven by intrinsic incentives and actors properties such as reputation. We present a framework enabling users to define personal services to cope with complex interactions. We focus on the discovery and provisioning of human expertise in service-oriented environments.     

Accimap and crowd flow in urban infrastructure: Case study of Elphinstone road railway station tragedy,Mumbai, India

The aim of this article is to show how Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) methods can be used to improve urban public infrastructure systems in densely populated countries, such as India. In this case, we use Accimap analysis with crowd flow approaches to inform safety and policy. We demonstrate the need for sociotechnical systemic safety by a case study of accident analysis of the Elphinstone Road railway station stampede. On September 29, 2017, the Elphinstone Road, Mumbai, India, railway platform bridge stampede killed at least 23 and injured 39 other commuters who traveled through the Mumbai Suburban railway. In this study, we understand the accident as it is presented in newspaper articles. We analyze the accident by a sociotechnical accident analysis method called the Accimap. The Accimap method helps by identification of various stakeholders and their interactions in the different levels of hierarchy in a sociotechnical system. This ensures moving away from individualistic and blame-based accounts of media reporting to a coherent sociotechnical account based on understanding the dynamics of the situation. The findings from the Accimap analysis identify the problem areas in the commuter transit system and provide recommendations. These recommendations range from commuter flow management to enforcement of rules for supporting pedestrian flow. The article concludes with an emphasis on the development of the sociotechnical dimension of public safety and infrastructure from a human factors perspective, above and beyond what is currently practiced in India.     

Ergonomics and human factors: the paradigms for science,engineering, design,technology and management of human-compatible systems

This paper provides a theoretical perspective on human factors and ergonomics (HFE), defined as a unique and independent discipline that focuses on the nature of human-artefact interactions, viewed from the unified perspective of the science, engineering, design, technology and management of human-compatible systems. Such systems include a variety of natural and artificial products, processes and living environments. The distinguishing features of the contemporary HFE discipline and profession are discussed and a concept of ergonomics literacy is proposed. An axiomatic approach to ergonomics design and a universal measure of system-human incompatibility are also introduced. It is concluded that the main focus of the HFE discipline in the 21st century will be the design and management of systems that satisfy human compatibility requirements.     

Ergonomics and human factors: the paradigms for science, engineering, design, technology and management of human-compatible systems

This paper provides a theoretical perspective on human factors and ergonomics (HFE), defined as a unique and independent discipline that focuses on the nature of human-artefact interactions, viewed from the unified perspective of the science, engineering, design, technology and management of human-compatible systems. Such systems include a variety of natural and artificial products, processes and living environments. The distinguishing features of the contemporary HFE discipline and profession are discussed and a concept of ergonomics literacy is proposed. An axiomatic approach to ergonomics design and a universal measure of system-human incompatibility are also introduced. It is concluded that the main focus of the HFE discipline in the 21st century will be the design and management of systems that satisfy human compatibility requirements.     

When paradigms collide at the road rail interface: evaluation of a sociotechnical systems theory design toolkit for cognitive work analysis

The Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit (CWA-DT) is a recently developed approach that provides guidance and tools to assist in applying the outputs of CWA to design processes to incorporate the values and principles of sociotechnical systems theory. In this paper, the CWA-DT is evaluated based on an application to improve safety at rail level crossings. The evaluation considered the extent to which the CWA-DT met pre-defined methodological criteria and aligned with sociotechnical values and principles. Both process and outcome measures were taken based on the ratings of workshop participants and human factors experts. Overall, workshop participants were positive about the process and indicated that it met the methodological criteria and sociotechnical values. However, expert ratings suggested that the CWA-DT achieved only limited success in producing RLX designs that fully aligned with the sociotechnical approach. Discussion about the appropriateness of the sociotechnical approach in a public safety context is provided.

Practitioner Summary: Human factors and ergonomics practitioners need evidence of the effectiveness of methods. A design toolkit for cognitive work analysis, incorporating values and principles from sociotechnical systems theory, was applied to create innovative designs for rail level crossings. Evaluation results based on the application are provided and discussed.     

SEIPS 2.0: a human factors framework for studying and improving the work of healthcare professionals and patients

Healthcare practitioners, patient safety leaders, educators and researchers increasingly recognise the value of human factors/ergonomics and make use of the discipline's person-centred models of sociotechnical systems. This paper first reviews one of the most widely used healthcare human factors systems models, the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) model, and then introduces an extended model, ‘SEIPS 2.0’. SEIPS 2.0 incorporates three novel concepts into the original model: configuration, engagement and adaptation. The concept of configuration highlights the dynamic, hierarchical and interactive properties of sociotechnical systems, making it possible to depict how health-related performance is shaped at ‘a moment in time’. Engagement conveys that various individuals and teams can perform health-related activities separately and collaboratively. Engaged individuals often include patients, family caregivers and other non-professionals. Adaptation is introduced as a feedback mechanism that explains how dynamic systems evolve in planned and unplanned ways. Key implications and future directions for human factors research in healthcare are discussed.     

Designing sociotechnical systems with cognitive work analysis: putting theory back into practice

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is a framework of methods for analysing complex sociotechnical systems. However, the translation from the outputs of CWA to design is not straightforward. Sociotechnical systems theory provides values and principles for the design of sociotechnical systems which may offer a theoretically consistent basis for a design approach for use with CWA. This article explores the extent to which CWA and sociotechnical systems theory offer complementary perspectives and presents an abstraction hierarchy (AH), based on a review of literature, that describes an ‘optimal’ CWA and sociotechnical systems theory design system. The optimal AH is used to assess the extent to which current CWA-based design practices, uncovered through a survey of CWA practitioners, aligns with sociotechnical systems theory. Recommendations for a design approach that would support the integration of CWA and sociotechnical systems theory design values and principles are also derived.     

Managing the risks of artificial general intelligence: A human factors and ergonomics perspective

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is the next and forthcoming evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Though there could be significant benefits to society, there are also concerns that AGI could pose an existential threat. The critical role of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) in the design of safe, ethical, and usable AGI has been emphasized; however, there is little evidence to suggest that HFE is currently influencing development programs. Further, given the broad spectrum of HFE application areas, it is not clear what activities are required to fulfill this role. This article presents the perspectives of 10 researchers working in AI safety on the potential risks associated with AGI, the HFE concepts that require consideration during AGI design, and the activities required for HFE to fulfill its critical role in what could be humanity's final invention. Though a diverse set of perspectives is presented, there is broad agreement that AGI potentially poses an existential threat, and that many HFE concepts should be considered during AGI design and operation. A range of critical activities are proposed, including collaboration with AGI developers, dissemination of HFE work in other relevant disciplines, the embedment of HFE throughout the AGI lifecycle, and the application of systems HFE methods to help identify and manage risks.     

Designing for operations: Towards a sociotechnical systems and cognitive engineering approach to concurrent engineering

In the practice of concurrent engineering, the factors that are considered early in the product design process include manufacturability, assembly, and cost. A set of issues that are not typically considered revolve around the operational requirements for human workers in the manufacturing system. What tasks will human workers accomplish? How will these tasks be organized and coordinated? What information and resources need to be shared? Will the workers have a coherent set of job responsibilities? How should the manufacturing environment be designed to support effective work practices? How can a manufacturing process be designed that also informs organizational structure and takes into account the quality of working life?

The field of sociotechnical systems theory (STS) focuses on exactly these kinds of issues. Rather than subscribing to the usual view of technological determinism — that a complex human-machine system is designed solely with respect to optimization of technical criteria — the goal of STS is to jointly optimize both human and technological considerations in system design and operation. The spirit of STS has much in common with recent work in cognitive systems engineering that advocates the design of joint cognitive systems in which machines serve as flexible, context-sensitive resources for human problem solving. Furthermore, a focus on design teams necessitates the study of the relationship between group work and technology as studied in the field of computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW). This paper briefly reviews current research in sociotechnical systems theory, computer-supported cooperative work, and cognitive systems engineering and proposes a framework for integrating operational concerns into the concurrent engineering process. Relevance to industry

To be competitive, organizations need to effectively manage human and technological resources. A key issue is the nature of the information and technological infrastructure that both enables and supports ‘best practice’ across the enterprise. This paper describes such an approach in the context of the ‘operational enterprise’ and provides both a philosophical stance as well as specific examples of software support.     

SLA management in federated environments

Increasingly, Internet services are being deployed over an infrastructure that spans multiple control domains. These services require cooperation between multiple organizations, systems and entities. Currently, few standard mechanisms exist to share selective management information between the various service providers or between service providers and their customers. Such mechanisms are necessary for end-to-end service management and diagnosis as well as for ensuring the service level obligations between a service provider and its customers or partners. This paper describes an architecture that uses contracts based on service level agreements (SLAs) to share selective management information across administrative boundaries. The design of a prototype implementation for automatically measuring, monitoring, and verifying service level agreements for Internet services is also described.     

A strategy for human factors/ergonomics: developing the discipline and profession

Human factors/ergonomics (HFE) has great potential to contribute to the design of all kinds of systems with people (work systems, product/service systems), but faces challenges in the readiness of its market and in the supply of high-quality applications. HFE has a unique combination of three fundamental characteristics: (1) it takes a systems approach (2) it is design driven and (3) it focuses on two closely related outcomes: performance and well-being. In order to contribute to future system design, HFE must demonstrate its value more successfully to the main stakeholders of system design. HFE already has a strong value proposition (mainly well-being) and interactivity with the stakeholder group of 'system actors' (employees and product/service users). However, the value proposition (mainly performance) and relationships with the stakeholder groups of 'system experts' (experts fromtechnical and social sciences involved in system design), and 'system decision makers' (managers and other decision makers involved in system design, purchase, implementation and use), who have a strong power to influence system design, need to be developed. Therefore, the first main strategic direction is to strengthen the demand for high-quality HFE by increasing awareness among powerful stakeholders of the value of high-quality HFE by communicating with stakeholders, by building partnerships and by educating stakeholders. The second main strategic direction is to strengthen the application of high-quality HFE by promoting the education of HFE specialists, by ensuring high-quality standards of HFE applications and HFE specialists, and by promoting HFE research excellence at universities and other organisations. This strategy requires cooperation between the HFE community at large, consisting of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), local (national and regional) HFE societies, and HFE specialists. We propose a joint world-wide HFE development plan, in which the IEA takes a leadership role. PRACTITIONER SUMMARY: Human factors/ergonomics (HFE) has much to offer by addressing major business and societal challenges regarding work and product/service systems. HFE potential, however, is underexploited. This paper presents a strategy for the HFE community to strengthen demand and application of high-quality HFE, emphasising its key elements: systems approach, design driven, and performance and well-being goals.     

Maladaptation in air traffic management: Development of a Human Factors methods framework

Human Factors methods play a key role in challenging assumptions, analyzing interactions, and informing decision-making in complex sociotechnical systems and organizations that manage safety risks. Structured methodological approaches also have a role to play in better understanding properties of systems such as adaptation. Adaptation is increasingly recognized as being an important feature that supports the production of safety in complex sociotechnical systems. A safety management intervention, introduced to address a real risk in UK air traffic control but which resulted in unanticipated, maladaptive, and emergent effects, is analyzed using the Hierarchical Task Analysis, Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes, Functional Resonance Analysis Method, Human Factors Analysis and Classification System, Cognitive Work Analysis, Critical Decision Method, and Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork Methods. The results from the application of each of the methods are presented and the different perspectives on adaptation that the methods provide are compared. A methodological framework is presented that has the potential to explore the factors of adaptation across the organizational hierarchy and assist safety practitioners in supporting decision makers in safety-related organizations.     

Human factors/ergonomics as a systems discipline? “The human use of human beings” revisited

Discussions of the possible future of Human factors/ergonomics (HFE) usually take the past for granted in the sense that the future of HFE is assumed to be more of the same. This paper argues that the nature of work in the early 2010s is so different from the nature of work when HFE was formulated 60–70 years ago that a critical reassessment of the basis for HFE is needed. If HFE should be a systems discipline, it should be a soft systems rather than a hard systems discipline. It is not enough for HFE to seek to improve performance and well-being through systems design, since any change to the work environment in principle alters the very basis for the change. Instead HFE should try to anticipate how the nature of work will change so that it can both foresee what work will be and propose what work should be.     

Designing a ticket to ride with the Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit

Cognitive work analysis has been applied in the design of numerous sociotechnical systems. The process used to translate analysis outputs into design concepts, however, is not always clear. Moreover, structured processes for translating the outputs of ergonomics methods into concrete designs are lacking. This paper introduces the Cognitive Work Analysis Design Toolkit (CWA-DT), a design approach which has been developed specifically to provide a structured means of incorporating cognitive work analysis outputs in design using design principles and values derived from sociotechnical systems theory. This paper outlines the CWA-DT and describes its application in a public transport ticketing design case study. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the process provide promising early evidence that the toolkit fulfils the evaluation criteria identified for its success, with opportunities for improvement also highlighted.     

Work system design in macroergonomics: A case study related to prioritization of major sociotechnical system components by using the fuzzy analytic network process

The primary lesson for a company in an industrially developing country that desires to build its competitive capabilities is that investing and focusing solely on the technical side of the work system results in disruptive technological and organizational change. The managers should take into account the broader prerequisites and be aware of the potential pitfalls of work system incompatibilities. Past experiences indicate that, to be successful, the work system design has to match certain requirements of major sociotechnical systems. Thus the matching process has to consider multiple criteria and the opinions of several managers. This work attempts briefly to identify factors affecting the success of work system design to reduce the potential for incompatibilities with respect to macroergonomics and to optimize the decision process of managers. The objective of the presented decision model in this article, based on the fuzzy analytic network process, determines the global weights (highest degree of importance) for different sociotechnical subsystem components/elements and examines the critical factors and benefits that affect the successful application of macroergonomic work system designs from a manager's point of view. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Human factors contributions to knowledge elicitation

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to lay out contributions of human factors to knowledge elicitation (KE) methodology. BACKGROUND: The background is historical, dating to about 1985, and involves the convergence of expert systems with applied psychology and cognitive psychology. METHOD: The method is a literature review, focusing on past issues of Human Factors. RESULTS: Human factors researchers have contributed significantly to KE methodology. However, KE methodology "belongs to" a number of communities of practice and has applications that transcend individual disciplines. CONCLUSION: Knowledge elicitation, thought of as a kind of cognitive task analysis, grows in importance with the increasing use of information technology to form complex sociotechnical work systems and the increasing importance of expertise to knowledge-based organizations. APPLICATION: I discuss some open issues for further research and methodological investigation.     

A multi-agent collaborative maintenance platform applying game theory negotiation strategies

Engineering asset management (EAM) is a broad discipline with distributed functions and services. When engineering assets are capital intensive, management requires specialized expertise for diagnosis, prognosis, maintenance and repairs. The current practice of EAM relies on self maintained experiential rules with coordinated collaboration and outsourcing for maintenance and repairs. In order to enhance the life long asset value and efficiency (from the stakeholder’s viewpoint) and after sales service quality (from the asset provider’s viewpoint), this research proposes a collaborative maintenance platform that integrates real time data collection with diagnostic and prognostic expertise. The collaborative system combines and delivers services among asset operation sites (the maintenance demanders), the service center (the intermediary coordinator), the system providers, the first tier maintenance collaborators, and the second and lower tier parts suppliers. Multi-agent system technology is used to integrate different systems and databases. Agents with autonomy and authority work to assist service providers and coordinate communications, negotiations, and maintenance decision support. Finally, game theory is used to design the decision models for strategic, tactical, and operational decision making during collaborative maintenance practices.