Reducing error and influencing behaviour (HSG48) is the key document in understanding HSE's approach to human factors. It gives a simple introduction to generic industry guidance on human factors, which it defines as:
"Human factors refer to environmental, organisational and job factors, and human and individual characteristics, which influence behaviour at work in a way which can affect health and safety"
In other words, human factors is concerned with what people are being asked to do (the task and its characteristics), who is doing it (the individual and their competence) and where they are working (the organisation and its attributes), all of which are influenced by the wider societal concern, both local and national.
Human factors interventions will not be effective if they consider these aspects in isolation. The scope of what we mean by human factors includes organisational systems and is considerably broader than traditional views of human factors/ergonomics. Human factors can, and should, be included within a good safety management system and so can be examined in a similar way to any other risk control system.
This definition includes three interrelated aspects that must be considered: the job, the individual and the organisation.
Job, equipment and environment focus
Including areas such as the nature of the task, workload, the working environment, the design of displays and controls, and the role of procedures. Tasks should be designed in accordance with ergonomic principles to take account of both human limitations and strengths. This includes matching the job to the physical and the mental strengths and limitations of people. Mental aspects would include perceptual, attentional and decision making requirements.
The way jobs are designed has a direct effect on the health and safety of workers. People will usually try to adapt to poor job, equipment or environment design, but this can impact on their health and safety and the overall safety of the work system (eg in safety critical or major hazard industries). The timing of shifts, the length and frequency of breaks, the workload, the physical and mental demands due to the design of the task, equipment and environment are all important factors to consider and can affect both the individual and the integrity of the whole work system.
Individual factors
Including his/her competence, skills, personality, attitude, and risk perception. Individual characteristics influence behaviour in complex ways. Some characteristics such as personality are fixed; others such as skills and attitudes may be changed or enhanced.
People vary in many ways: physically, mentally, personality, knowledge and experience.
- Physical differences are the most obvious. People have different body shapes and sizes, different levels of strength and capabilities
- Vision, hearing and manual dexterity can also vary widely and in some cases eg where colour vision or visual acuity is important it is necessary to test people's capabilities
- Mental abilities vary but can only really be assessed accurately using psychological testing – which is usually only important where the work is critical and demands that the right people are selected
- People also have different personalities, which can make a difference to the type of work that they are suited to and may be important where there are specific safety requirements
- Finally, people have different knowledge and experience on which to draw.
The design of the job, the equipment, information and work environment should all take account of individual capabilities and limitations, as far as is reasonably practicable. Where aspects of performance in the job are critical, it is usual to specify the individual characteristics being sought and then to try and select the best suited applicant for the job. People need to have the right knowledge, skills and abilities to be able to carry out their work effectively and safely. They also need to have the appropriate attitudes and awareness of the risks in order to work in a safe manner. Therefore making sure you select the right people for the job is important but it is also necessary to ensure they have the appropriate training and personal development if they are to work efficiently and safely. It is easier to develop skills and change attitudes than it is to alter personality.
It is also important to ensure that the workplace is adapted as far as is necessary to support rather than hinder people's task performance. When people are recruited, or change their jobs, it is sensible to check if any adaptations to the workplace would make it easier for them to do the job and reduce the risk of human error, injury or ill-health as well as increasing their efficiency or productivity.
People with disabilities have particular needs. From an ergonomics perspective a disability is simply another individual difference to be taken into account when designing the work system. However, there are specific legal requirements which need to be met. More information and advice is available by following the link below:
Organisational focus
Including work patterns, the culture of the workplace, resources, communications, leadership and so on. Such factors are often overlooked during the design of jobs but have a significant influence on individual and group behaviour.
People's behaviour in the workplace is affected by the characteristics of the business or organisation for which they work. For example, a new starter will quickly learn the ways of behaving that are considered normal from their fellow workers and supervisors. Workers and work groups also respond to the messages and cues they receive from managers and supervisors, though not always in the way intended. All these things reflect the culture of the organisation. To manage health and safety effectively it is important to consider how all these organisational level influences affect human behaviour.
Business benefits
Managing human failures is essential to prevent major accidents, occupational accidents and ill health, all of which can cost businesses money, reputation and potentially their continued existence.
Successful businesses achieve high productivity and quality while ensuring health and safety. Good technology combined with the best work systems can help to achieve these goals. The best work systems are based on having a skilled workforce, with well-designed jobs that are appropriate to individuals' abilities.
The influence of biological, psychological and organisational factors on an individual at work can affect their health and safety, but it also affects their efficiency and productivity. For example, if:
- someone needs to exert a large proportion of their strength to complete a task they are more likely to suffer injury and carry out the task inefficiently – possibly causing damage to the product and tools
- the mental demands of a task are too high, perhaps involving diagnosing faults under significant time pressures then there can be both a health issue for the employee but also a quality, and possibly safety issue for the production line, process and plant
- individuals have very limited scope for determining how to do their job then they may lack motivation and job satisfaction and be less effective at work
Individuals have a wide range of abilities and limitations. A human factors (or ergonomics) approach focuses on how to make the best use of these capabilities: by designing jobs and equipment which are fit for people. This not only improves their health and safety but often ensures a better managed, more effective organisation.