Importance of Human Factors
The greatest impact in aircraft safety in the future will not come from improving the technology. Rather it will be from educating the employee to recognize and prevent human error. A review of accident related data indicates that approximately 75–80 percent of all aviation accidents are the result of human error. Of those accidents, about 12 percent are maintenance related. Although pilot/co-pilot errors tend to have immediate and highly visible effects, maintenance errors tend to be more latent and less obvious. However, they can be just as lethal.
Definitions of Human Factors
Human factors are concerned with optimizing performance … including reducing errors so that the highest level of safety is achieved and maintained.
—Ron LoFaro, PhD
FAA
Human factors is the study of how people interact with their environments.
—FAA-H-8083-25,
Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, dated 2003
Human factors are those elements that affect our behavior and performance, especially those that may cause us to make errors.
—Canadian Department of Defense (video)
Our focus is on human factors as it relates to improper actions. Note, however, that human factors exist in both proper and improper actions. [Figure 14-1]
Since improper actions usually result in human error, we should also define that term.
Human error is the unintentional act of performing a task incorrectly that can potentially degrade the system. There are three types of human error:
- Omission: not performing an act or task.
- Commission: accomplishing a task incorrectly.
- Extraneous: performing a task not authorized.
There are also four consequences of human error:
- Little or no effect.
- Damage to equipment/hardware.
- Personal injury.
- Catastrophic.
Why are human conditions, such as fatigue, complacency, and stress, so important in aviation maintenance? These conditions, along with many others, are called human factors. Human factors directly cause or contribute to many aviation accidents. It is universally agreed that 80 percent of maintenance errors involve human factors. If they are not detected, they can cause events, worker injuries, wasted time, and even accidents. [Figure 14-2]
Aviation safety relies heavily on maintenance. When it is not done correctly, it contributes to a significant proportion of aviation accidents and incidents. Some examples of maintenance errors are parts installed incorrectly, missing parts, and necessary checks not being performed. In comparison with many other threats to aviation safety, the mistakes of an aviation maintenance technician (AMT) can be more difficult to detect. Often, these mistakes are present but not visible and have the potential to remain latent, affecting the safe operation of aircraft for extended periods of time.
AMTs are confronted with a set of human factors unique within aviation. They can be working in the evening or early morning hours, in confined spaces, on high platforms, and in a variety of adverse temperature/humidity conditions. The work can be physically strenuous, yet it also requires attention to detail. [Figure 14-3]
Because of the nature of maintenance tasks, AMTs commonly spend more time preparing for a task than actually carrying it out. Proper documentation of all maintenance work is a key element, and AMTs typically spend as much time updating maintenance logs as they do performing the work. [Figure 14-4]
Human factors awareness can lead to improved quality, an environment that ensures continuing worker and aircraft safety, and a more involved and responsible work force. The reduction of even minor errors can provide measurable benefits including cost reductions, fewer missed deadlines, reduction in work related injuries, reduction of warranty claims, and reduction in more significant events that can be traced back to maintenance error. Within this chapter, the many aspects of human factors are discussed in relation to aviation maintenance. The most common human factors are introduced along with ways to mitigate the risk to stop them from developing into a problem. Several Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) human factor resources are provided, including a direct link to aviation maintenance human factors are at https://hfskyway.faa.gov.
What are Human Factors?
The term “human factors” has grown increasingly popular as the commercial aviation industry realizes that human error, rather than mechanical failure, underlies most aviation accidents and incidents. Human factors science or technologies are multidisciplinary fields incorporating contributions from psychology, engineering, industrial design, statistics, operations research, and anthropometry. It is a term that covers the science of understanding the properties of human capability, the application of this understanding to the design, development, and deployment of systems and services, and the art of ensuring successful application of human factor principles into the maintenance working environment.
The spectrum of human factors that can affect aviation maintenance and work performance is broad. They encompass a wide range of challenges that influence people very differently as humans do not all have the same capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, or limitations. Unfortunately, aviation maintenance tasks that do not take into account the vast amount of human limitations can result in technical error and injuries. Figure 14-5 shows some of the human factors that affect AMTs. Some are more serious than others but, in most cases, when you combine three or four of the factors, they create a problem that contributes to an accident or incident.
Elements of Human Factors
Human factors are comprised of many disciplines. This section discusses ten of those disciplines: Clinical Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Anthropometrics, Computer Science, Cognitive Science, Safety Engineering, Medical Science, Organizational Psychology, Educational Psychology, and Industrial Engineering. [Figure 14-6]
The study and application of human factors is complex because there is not just one simple answer to fix or change how people are affected by certain conditions or situations. The overall goal of aviation maintenance human factors research is to identify and optimize the factors that affect human performance in maintenance and inspection. The focus initiates on the technician but extends to the entire engineering and technical organization. Research is optimized by incorporating the many disciplines that affect human factors in an effort to understand how people can work more efficiently and maintain work performance.
By understanding each of the disciplines and applying them to different situations or human behaviors, we can correctly recognize potential human factors and address them before they develop into a problem or create a chain of problems that result in an accident or incident.
Clinical Psychology
Clinical psychology includes the study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. It focuses on the mental well-being of the individual. Clinical psychology can help individuals deal with stress, coping mechanisms for adverse situations, poor self-image, and accepting criticism from coworkers.
Experimental Psychology
Experimental psychology includes the study of a variety of basic behavioral processes, often in a laboratory environment. These processes may include learning, sensation, perception, human performance, motivation, memory, language, thinking, and communication, as well as the physiological processes underlying behaviors, such as eating, reading, and problem solving. In an effort to test the efficiency of work policies and procedures, experimental studies help measure performance, productivity, and deficiencies.
Anthropometry
Anthropometry is the study of the dimensions and abilities of the human body. This is essential to aviation maintenance due to the environment and spaces that AMTs have to work with. For example, a man who is 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 230 pounds may be required to fit into a small crawl space of an aircraft to conduct a repair. Another example is the size and weight of equipment and tools. Men and women are generally on two different spectrums of height and weight. Although both are equally capable of completing the same task with a high level of proficiency, someone who is smaller may be able to perform more efficiently with tools and equipment tailored to his or her size. In other words, one size does not fit all and the term “average person” does not apply when employing such a diverse group of people.
Computer Science
The technical definition for computer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. Yet how this relates to aviation maintenance is simpler to explain. As mentioned earlier, AMTs spend as much time documenting repairs as they do performing them. It is important that they have computer work stations that are comfortable and reliable. Software programs and computer-based test equipment should be easy to learn and use, and not intended only for those with a high levels of computer literacy.
Cognitive Science
Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of minds as information processors. It includes research on how information is processed (in faculties such as perception, language, reasoning, and emotion), represented, and transformed in a nervous system or machine (e.g., computer). It spans many levels of analysis from low-level learning and decision mechanisms to high-level logic and planning. AMTs must possess a great ability to problem solve quickly and efficiently. They are constantly required to troubleshoot situations and quickly react to them. This can be a vicious cycle creating an enormous amount of stress. The discipline of cognitive science helps us understand how to better assist AMTs during situations that create high levels of stress so that their mental process does not get interrupted and affect their ability to work.
Safety Engineering
Safety engineering ensures that a life-critical system behaves as needed even when the component fails. Ideally, safety engineers take an early design of a system, analyze it to find what faults can occur, and then propose safety requirements in design specifications up front and changes to existing systems to make the system safer. Safety cannot be stressed enough when it comes to aviation maintenance, and everyone deserves to work in a safe environment. Safety engineering plays a big role in the design of aviation maintenance facilities, storage containers for toxic materials, equipment used for heavy lifting, and floor designs to ensure no one slips, trips, or falls. In industrial work environments, the guidelines of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are important.
Medical Science
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Disposition and physical well-being are very important and directly correlated to human factors. Just like people come in many shapes and sizes, they also have very different reactions to situations due to body physiology, physical structures, and biomechanics.
Organizational Psychology
Organizational psychologists are concerned with relations between people and work. Their interests include organizational structure and organizational change, workers’ productivity and job satisfaction, consumer behavior, and the selection, placement, training, and development of personnel. Understanding organizational psychology helps aviation maintenance supervisors learn about the points listed below that, if exercised, can enhance the work environment and productivity.
- Rewards and compensations for workers with good safety records.
- Motivation for workers to want to do well and work safely.
- Unifying work teams and groups so they get along and work together to get the job done right.
- Treating all workers equally.
Educational Psychology
Educational psychologists study how people learn and design the methods and materials used to educate people of all ages. Everyone learns differently and at a different pace. Supervisors should design blocks of instruction that relate to a wide variety of learning styles.
Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering is the organized approach to the study of work. It is important for supervisors to set reasonable work standards that can be met and exceeded. Unrealistic work standards create unnecessary stressors that cause mistakes. It is also beneficial to have an efficient facility layout so that there is room to work. Clean and uncluttered environments enhance work performance. Another aspect of industrial engineering that helps in the understanding of human factors is the statistical analysis of work performance. Concrete data of work performance, whether good or bad, can show the contributing factors that may have been present when the work was done.
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