The following papers have been published by CIEHF in Contemporary Ergonomics & Human Factors 2020, Eds R Charles & D Golightly, ISBN tbc
Contemporary EHF 2020
‘Accidental’ design in participatory simulation
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Author Abigail R. Wooldridge, Emily Heuck, Paul M. Jeziorczak and Jonathan A. Gehlbach |
| Abstract Participatory simulation involves workers in simulations to identify ergonomic challenges and inform work system (re)design efforts. It leverages benefits of both participatory ergonomic programs and simulation in activity ergonomics, but has not been applied to care transitions, inherent to paediatric trauma care and key to safe, high quality care. As part of a larger project focused on improving transitions of paediatric trauma patients from the operating room to the paediatric intensive care unit, we used participatory simulations in our analysis phase before our design phase. Simulating the work of care transitions proved challenging, as the simulated setting did not have working phones, and the physical transition required leaving and re-entering the high-fidelity space. Written and verbal information about the patient was provided to participants before the scenario – the written document inadvertently became a tool for the participants and thus an artefact for future analysis. This work represents an example of incorporating participatory simulation in the analysis phase in addition to the simulation phase of a design project, enriching the work of participants and the study itself. It also discusses some the challenges of designing scenarios for participatory simulation. Choices we make, even to support participants, could lead to accidental design. Further, this work represents an important advance in the study of care transitions and could lead to implementing our accidental design following further evaluation. |
Feedback in Highly Automated Vehicles: What Do Drivers Rely On?
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Author Joy Richardson, Kirsten M.A. Revell, Jediah R. Clark, Nermin Caber, Mike Bradley, Theocharis Amanatidis, Patrick Langdon, Simon Thompson, Lee Skrypchuk, Neville A. Stanton |
| Abstract SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Level 3 vehicles are in development by many manufacturers. In order to deliver increasing amounts and types of information, in-car information systems are becoming more varied and complex. Feedback can now be given to the driver in a wide variety of ways including text and graphics and changing colours across multiple screens, on the windscreen with a Head Up Display, vocal or other audio alerts, ambient lighting and haptics. A high-fidelity simulator study was undertaken in which participants were exposed to all of these feedback modes and then ranked them in terms of reliance. Analysis shows how the feedback modes participants relied on varies widely and how gender can influence the results. |
Training of occupational health and safety professionals in design thinking
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Author Ole Broberg and Sisse Grøn |
| Abstract There is a need for making occupational health and safety management more agile and involving relevant stakeholders early on in the problem-solving process. We propose the design thinking (DT) approach as a candidate for this endeavour. DT may be defined by the double diamond model pointing to a non-linear problem-solving process iterating through divergent and convergent phases. The first diamond is focussed on exploring and defining the problem to be solved. In the second diamond many ideas for solutions are developed and tested, and in the end the best solution is chosen. In this study we investigate if occupational health and safety professionals can learn a DT approach with the help of a training program. It was our assumption that the ‘designerly’ way of problem framing and solving were well suited for complex workplace problems. Hence, we designed an interactive research project in which six experienced professionals from three organisations completed a DT training program. The ultimate goal of the project was to develop guidelines and tools that can support occupational health and safety professionals in applying the DT approach. The six participants in the training program were four internal professionals in companies and two professionals in an occupational health service consultancy. After a full-day workshop in which we introduced the DT approach and tools, the participants were instructed to plan and facilitate a DT problem-solving process in their own company or within a customer company. The company cases included two focusing on a psychosocial workplace challenge and two focusing on a musculoskeletal challenge. The first two cases were both within municipality services, and the others were in a pharmaceutical company and a mail distribution centre. |
Using social media for sociotechnical analysis: Examining the Fyre Festival
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Author Catherine Primrose and Matthew C. Davis |
| Abstract We present a sociotechnical analysis of the 2017 Fyre Festival. The Fyre Festival was marketed as a luxury festival in the Bahamas, promoted heavily through social media, attracting over 4000 attendees. The event was cancelled one day into its inaugural weekend amid chaos and acrimony, resulting in million-dollar losses for the organisers and subsequent law suits. We demonstrate the utility that social media presents for researchers undertaking sociotechnical analysis of business events and failures. Our sociotechnical analysis utilised archival materials, corporate websites, leaked internal documents and documentary accounts. These materials were supplemented with expert interviews with independent event organisers. Relevant twitter posts shared during the Fyre Festival were integrated into the analysis. 58467 tweets were collected in total. We discuss our key findings, drawing out sociotechnical factors and interdependencies that contributed to the failure. We reflect on the methodological challenges and opportunities of working with social media data, considering how this may be integrated within sociotechnical frameworks. We supplement our own interpretation with interviews with experts in the use of social media within social science research. We conclude by discussing the potential to apply sociotechnical frameworks to diverse business events, situations and problems. |
Attitudes to wireless audio for self-service accessibility
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Author Phil Day, Eleanor Forrest, Cathy Rundle, Lori Di Bon-Conyers and Maggie McKendry |
| Abstract Blind and partially sighted people often use headphones for listening to audio feedback, particularly in public places. This paper presents the results of a survey of blind and partially sighted people regarding their attitude towards using wireless headphones, to avoid the need to plug a physical cable into a machine. Results are presented regarding attitudes to the use of speech input and output in a self-service context. |
The complexity of connectivity
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Author Daniel P. Jenkins |
| Abstract The introduction of the internet and the proliferation of connected devices has completely revolutionised almost every aspect of our lives. For many of us, the way that we work, move around, shop, and even socialise has changed dramatically in the last twenty-five years. What’s more, it is safe to say that we are only partway through this connected revolution. Advances in communication technologies and microprocessors are making it possible to connect more things – allowing for further changes in the way we live our lives, the way we manage our family’s health, and how we interact with each other. While connectivity brings great opportunities, it also brings a number of challenges. Many of the dominant tools and philosophies within human factors practice remain based around a dialogue of human-machine interaction – whereby a user provides inputs to a device and the device provides feedback and information. As we migrate towards a world that now has a connected variant of almost every product imaginable, how should we be designing these devices? This paper and talk will address this question, describing the challenge for practitioners and describing how systems-based tools can play an important role in informing the design or the next generation of products. |
Allocation of Function Method to support future nuclear reactor plant design
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Author Dr Arzoo Naghiyev, Mr John Mount, Mr Anthony Rice and Mrs Caroline Sayce |
| Abstract Current Allocation of Function methods require significant levels of judgement and interpretation and there is an opportunity to develop an improved capability for Allocation of Function for the context of the Nuclear Reactor Plant. This paper presents the development and application of an Allocation of Function method that provides a flexible and configurable set of tools which can be selected in accordance to the design stage and project requirements. The Allocation of Function method has been designed to be used in an iterative manner throughout the different stages of design development and used to engage with different engineering teams. The method draws upon existing and well-established HF methods to investigate and capture human-system interactions associated with function delivery. It also focuses on cognitive tasks to ensure introduction of automation continues to provide support to the operator. Particular emphasis is placed on mapping and understanding the cognitive processes employed in function delivery to ensure that all functionality and information requirements are captured in future automation design. The method also informs assigning and selecting a Level of Automation to a function. The Allocation of Function method enables integration with Systems Engineering to trade HF requirements against the engineering requirements for provision of automation. |
Getting cognitive requirements for system design right
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Author Shirley Brennen and Victoria Doherty |
| Abstract Recently, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) updated guidance on the application of human factors in system acquisition. During that process, a number of gaps were identified. The aim of this study was to address one of the gaps by providing the MOD with a generic process that would allow them to: determine the cognitive capabilities required for accurate system operation; and measure the current cognitive capabilities of a proposed user group to inform the design or selection of any military system. Building on an analysis of cognitive literature, and an understanding of military tasks, a framework was derived for the classification of cognitive abilities. By combining the framework with guidance and best practice, a simple process for deriving and incorporating cognitive requirements into military system development was created. This process extends the current standardised approach, providing a holistic approach to human factors in system design. |
Using flexible work practices to organise nursing staffing: impacts on the activity of caregivers
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Author Nicolas Canales Bravo, Adelaide Nascimento and Pierre Falzon |
| Abstract Nursing staffing is an essential component of managing human resources in hospitals. The performance of any healthcare organisation is dependent on their continuous ability to have a sufficient number of qualified workers, who must be deployed judiciously in an enabling work environment. Studies show that having adequate nursing staff has a positive influence on quality of care and on the health of caregivers. However, problems such as the shortage of nursing staff or the financial demands imposed on hospitals often constrain this possibility. The aim of this research was to explore the different types of flexible practices used to organise hospital nursing staffing and their consequences on the activity of caregivers. The study was carried out in the hospitalisation units of the Department of Neurology of a large Parisian hospital and responds to a request from the director of the department. This department suffers from a permanent shortage of caregivers, which affects the possibility of ensuring a continuous quality of care. This shortage of personnel leads the nursing managers to readjust the organisation of the teams according to the available personnel. Results aim to contribute to the reflection of decision-makers to find ways to improve the organisation of nursing staff. |
Staff team perceptions of the Maltese outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy service
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Author Sara Jo Bugeja, Derek Stewart and Helen Vosper |
| Abstract The outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) service was developed to cater for hospitalised patients receiving antimicrobial treatment and who are stable enough to be discharged to an outpatient or home setting. The authors have used the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) 2.0 as a framework for exploring OPAT performance in the Maltese context. This study investigated the perceptions of the system from the perspective of the OPAT staff. Analysis of the output from a focus group was mapped onto the SEIPS 2.0 framework in order to identify and assess how OPAT work system factors interacted to produce outcomes. Thematic analysis allowed key interactions to be explored. Four key themes were identified: the referral process, training and education, trust and service expansion. Combined with output from a future study phase exploring the patient experience, it is envisaged that these findings will assist in future intelligent redesign of the service. |
Road safety in Cambridgeshire: Who decides? A STAMP control structure analysis
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Author Matt Staton, Jo Barnes, Andrew Morris and Patrick Waterson |
| Abstract Until the introduction of the Locomotives on Highways Act on 14th November 1896 ‘locomotives’ used on the ‘Queen’s Highway’ in the UK had to be driven very slowly and preceded by a man on foot holding a red flag. Approximately 120 years later, trials of driverless pods on the Greenwich peninsula in London took place where the vehicles could travel at a ‘fast walking pace’ accompanied by marshals on foot wearing hi-visibility jackets. The comparison between the risk mitigation techniques applied in these two developments in road transport is striking and serves as the context for this work. In the 120 years between these two events a vast international body of knowledge and understanding has been developed, but the decision taken when dealing with a key technological development is almost identical. This research aims to understand the decision-making processes in relation to road safety in the UK, focussed on the municipal area of Cambridgeshire. The STAMP control structure analysis method, verified using a modified two-stage Delphi approach, has previously been used to map the road transport system in Queensland, Australia. This approach was replicated to map the actors involved in the Cambridgeshire road transport system and demonstrate the validity of this method for the UK. |
Interdisciplinary solutions to complex problems: Going to Mars
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Author Cristina G. Banks, Kathleen L. Mosier, Andrew S. Imada, Kriss J. Kennedy and Christopher Miller |
| Abstract The notion of interdisciplinarity is inherent in the principles of human factors and ergonomics (hereafter referred to as human factors). Human factors can be described as a multidisciplinary, user-centric ‘bundling science’, in that it applies theory, principles, and data from many relevant disciplines to the design of work systems, taking into account the complex interactions between the human and other humans, the external environment, tools and equipment, and technology to enhance human performance and wellbeing. The mission to Mars is the ultimate opportunity to make a strong contribution with these three dimensions. First, this bold human exploration is human-centered and human habitability will be highly dependent upon the design of human-machine interfaces. Second, multiple areas of expertise will be needed to come up with a suitable design, requiring a systems approach rather than a singular focus. Finally, mission success and the welfare of those involved are both critically important for long duration and sustainable performance. The stakes are high. This presentation addresses how we can enhance the perceived value of human factors by partnering with other disciplines to solve a critical organisational problem. We use the example of the Mars spacecraft habitat design to illustrate how human factors and other disciplines can intersect to create a living, working and recreational space that supports astronaut health, wellbeing and performance. |
The quest for the ring: Designing submarine control room work using ComTET
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Author Neville A. Stanton, Aaron P. J. Roberts, Daniel Fay and Kiome A. Pope |
| Abstract Research and development for new operational capability in submarines comprises research into human centred design of new capability (where the Command Team-work Experimental Testbed (ComTET) resides), procurement of new capability training capability, and operational evaluation of capability and lessons learnt. The research is given impetus from lessons learnt at sea as well as horizon scanning for technological capability by Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). This is fed into the design challenge, which is presented to the ComTET Team, who undertake the research. The ComTET team work with submarine trainers to review current operations and new ways of working. Experiments conducted using the ComTET facilities with serving submariners are able to test and evaluate new technologies and new ways of working. The refined concepts may be taken into the simulators to further refine and test. Once the new operational capabilities have been shown to deliver benefit in ComTET facilities, and the simulators, then they may enter the procurement process. When the new capability enters service on operational platforms, then full evaluation in-service may begin. Any lessons learnt during service may then be fed back into the research cycle. The ComTET team have delivered a guidance document reviewing simulator fidelity, validity and transfer of training to underpin understanding of facility requirements across the different phases of testing. |
Effects of work flexibilisation: The role of interruptions and unfinished work tasks
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Author Christian Korunka and Edo Meyer |
| Abstract The organisation and management of work is constantly changing. The growing impact of information and communication technology (ICT) and the growing importance of knowledge-based services have enabled an increase in individual flexibility at work. Core elements of flexible work are flexible time schedules, with or without core times, flexibilisation in work locations, ranging from conventional telework to highly flexible mobile work, and flexibility in work organisation. Many studies examined the effects of these different aspects of work flexibility on quality of working life indicators, showing a wide range of – often contradictory – results. Some studies found mostly positive effects of flexibility at work, for instance on work-life balance or job satisfaction, whereas other studies reported work intensification and/or increases in employees’ strain due to work flexibility. Paradoxes, such as the telecommuting paradox, the connectivity paradox and the autonomy paradox are sometimes used to explain these results. These paradoxes describe phenomena which unexpectedly contradict what is generally expected in a certain situation or which lead to a contradiction (for example, positive and negative effects at the same time). A similar paradox is the relation between flexibility at work and work interruptions. On the one hand, flexibility at work may reduce work interruptions by the possibility to select undisturbed work locations and by using time slots uninterrupted by meetings and coworkers. On the other hand, flexible work organisation may increase work interruptions, because of increased ICT use and increases in communication efforts. Work interruptions are important work stressors, which may result in unfinished work tasks and finally in reduced detachment from work and decreases in wellbeing. |
Human factors and ergonomics-based work system assessment to facilitate quality improvement dissemination
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Author Anping Xie, PhD, Danielle W. Koontz, MAA, Annie Voskertchian, MPH, James C. Fackler, MD, Aaron M. Milstone, MD, MHS, and Charlotte Z. Woods-Hill, MD |
| Abstract Successful dissemination of quality improvement (QI) programs requires a proactive work system assessment (WSA). We applied a human factors and ergonomics (human factors) approach to facilitate WSA in the dissemination of a QI program for optimising blood culture use in pediatric intensive care units. Initially, we conducted an interview-based WSA to disseminate the program to two hospitals. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews guided by the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety 2.0 model were conducted with 32 clinicians to identify work system factors influencing blood culture ordering practices. The interview results were shared with the local QI teams to adapt interventions and customise implementation strategies. Following the small-scale dissemination, we further disseminated the program to a collaborative consisting of 15 hospitals. Given the number and geographic span of these hospitals, we could not conduct in-person interviews at each hospital. With limited capabilities and resources, the local QI teams could also not easily conduct their own WSA. Therefore, we devised a WSA survey based on findings from the interviews and administered it to 347 clinicians from the 15 hospitals. The survey results were summarised, shared, and discussed with individual hospitals to inform program adaptation and implementation. In addition, physician champions leading local QI teams assessed the use of the WSA survey. Both the WSA survey data and the evaluation of the WSA survey showed that the survey-based WSA tool could help participating hospitals understand their current blood culture ordering practices and identify potential barriers to implementing the program. This study highlighted the importance and challenges of doing a WSA in QI dissemination and demonstrated how a human factors based WSA could be effectively and efficiently performed in small and large scale dissemination. Future research is needed to expand the application of human factors based WSAs and develop additional tools to address other challenges of QI dissemination. |
Contextual factors influencing barriers and facilitators in paediatric trauma care transitions
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Author Abigail R. Wooldridge, Pascale Carayon, Peter Hoonakker, Bat-Zion Hose, Michelle M. Kelly,Thomas B. Brazelton, Ben Eithun, Shannon M. Dean, Jonathan E. Kohler, Joshua C. Ross, Deborah Rusy and Ayse P. Gurses |
| Abstract Care transitions, important for patient safety and quality of care, are common during inpatient care of paediatric trauma patients. Previous research has described the sociotechnical systems involved in care transitions from the emergency department to operating room, emergency department to paediatric intensive care unit and from operating room to paediatric intensive care unit, identifying work system barriers and facilitators that hinder or support work in those transition processes. However, that work did not explore how contextual factors, which vary across the transitions, influenced those barriers and facilitators. In this secondary analysis of interviews with 18 physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses and support staff, we investigated contextual factors that impact work system barriers and facilitators. We identified eight contextual factors that influenced barriers and facilitators in the three care transitions: time pressure, documentation practices, patient acuity, unknown or uncertain information, on-call staff, relationship between units, handoff organisation and organisational resources. Identifying contextual factors influencing barriers and facilitators to work could be an additional way to consider how interactions between system elements impact work. Future work should develop additional methods to explore and quantify work system interactions, as well as use the identified contextual factors to inform improvement efforts to redesign care transitions. |
Human performance modelling within rail decarbonisation simulation
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Author David Golightly, Ken Pierce, Carl Gamble and Roberto Palacin |
| Abstract Rail simulation modelling can support decarbonisation, along with efficiency, capacity and safety. Modelling typically assumes perfect operator performance, or human performance is in some way stochastic (noise). In practice, human variability is rational while bounded by more general human performance characteristics (for example workload or fatigue). This study describes the foundations for more realistic human performance modelling within simulation. We describe two roles – driver and signaller – by which human performance can be embedded within systems models of rail operations. We describe the potential characteristics of those models including work in progress to show their impact. We also describe the functional mockup interface (FMI) standard and collaborative modelling paradigm that allows these models to be exported and embedded within other rail modelling efforts. In this way, there is a path for human factors to more accurately reflect the contribution and influence of human performance in rail simulation modelling efforts. |
Driver interaction with a semi-autonomous vehicle on the road
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Author Jisun Kim, Kirsten Revell, Pat Langdon, Simon Thompson, Lee Skrypchuk, Jim O-Donoghue, Joy Richardson, Jediah Clark and Neville A. Stanton |
| Abstract The current Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Level 2 (automated acceleration and steering capabilities) autonomous vehicles on the market require constant monitoring and intermittent interventions by the driver whenever the system reaches its limitations. Although drivers’ workload could be increased in the processes, interactions associated with them have rarely been explored in a naturalistic environment. Therefore, our understanding about drivers’ interaction with the current generation of autonomous vehicles seems limited. In order to extend the relevant knowledge, this paper investigates drivers’ interaction with a semi-autonomous vehicle in a complex naturalistic urban environment. Five drivers with varying levels of experience in autonomous cars participated in the experiment. Findings show that active monitoring was required in automated driving for safety to gain sufficient situation awareness that preceded manual interventions in certain conditions. The process seemed to be smoother for the experienced drivers as they had a better understanding about capabilities and limitations of the autonomy. Insights to automotive manufacturers on how driver-vehicle interaction could be enhanced are discussed. |
Analysing two serious incidents in clinical research from a systems theory perspective
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Author Anthony Vacher, Yannick Bardie, Monica Pollina, Myra Daridan and Brian Edwards, for the Safety Analysis Team |
| Abstract Effectively ensuring the safety of volunteers that participate in clinical trials involving healthcare products (drugs, medical devices) is a subject of debate in clinical research. This is especially so when healthy volunteers choose to enter Phase I (first-in-human) trials where any serious incident is unacceptable and undermines the confidence in the whole healthcare industry. As in other industries, safety management of clinical trials rely mainly on a traditional view that aims to avoid serious incidents by the identification of hazards, the development of safety barriers (technological barriers, procedures, regulation, laws) to prevent and mitigate risks, and the strict compliance of operators with these safety barriers. This traditional view of safety management is recognised as no longer sufficient to maintain safety in a dynamic, complex, and competitive environment where changes and perturbations are permanent, and the pace of technological innovations is high. In that respect, a group of individual pharmacology and clinical professionals have argued for the need to introduce the principles and methods from human factors and systems theory into the process of safety investigations following serious incidents occurring in clinical research. In this perspective, an international, interdisciplinary and multi-stakeholder collaboration was established to explore the feasibility to transpose human factors and systems theory methods to the specific context of investigation of serious incidents that occurred during phase I-trials. The Causal Analysis using System Theory method was applied to two emblematic serious incidents, one in London (United Kingdom) in 2006 and one in Rennes (France) in 2016. These two serious incidents have benefited from extensive investigations by both stakeholders and authorities afterwards to identify their root-causes and propose remedial actions to avoid their recurrence. |
The war on accidents: knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns
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Author Paul M. Salmon, Adam Hulme, Guy H. Walker, Neville A. Stanton and Patrick Waterson |
| Abstract Regardless of domain, accidents continue to create an unacceptable personal, social and economic burden. Worryingly, despite many years of research, reductions in accidents, injuries and fatalities in many areas are plateauing. In this presentation we argue that this failure to control safety is driven, in part, by significant gaps in contemporary accident causation models and analysis methods which leave practitioners ill-equipped to fully understand, forecast, and prevent accidents. We present the findings from the first phase of a program of research designed to develop and test a new model of accident causation and practical methods for accident analysis and proactive risk assessment. A synthesis of previous accident investigations and an analysis of eleven recent major catastrophes revealed that there may be a common causal network of contributory factors involved in accidents regardless of domain, and further that there are a set of systemic conditions that are present when major catastrophes occur. Unfortunately, the research also found that state-of-the-art accident analysis methods such as AcciMap are being applied in a manner that is inconsistent with the systems thinking perspective on accident causation. Further, aspects of the causal texture of accidents remain poorly understood, and current models and methods are ill-equipped to elucidate them. These include the role of normal performance in accidents, migration of work practices, feedback loops, and emergent behaviours. It is concluded that, despite the significant advances that have been made to date, further work is required to develop more comprehensive models and methods to support more effective accident analysis and prevention practices. |
Identifying the higher-order factors of a motorcycle collision: An Accimap analysis
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Author Rich C. McIlroy, Katherine L. Plant and Neville A. Stanton |
| Abstract The UK’s STATS19 road traffic collision database contains large volumes of information regarding the road users, vehicles, and physical factors involved in a given collision. There is little, however, in the way of the higher system factors that led to the collision’s occurrence. We present the analysis of a fatal motorcycle accident in the UK using the Accimap approach, a sociotechnical systems method that aims to help the analyst identify the broader, systemic factors contributing to safety outcomes. In doing so, we contribute to the growing literature calling for the sociotechnical approach to be applied to road safety, and we provide road safety recommendations that, if implemented, would provide wide reaching benefits beyond simply reducing the likelihood of collisions of the same type and location as that analysed here. |
Mountain guides’ everyday work: Articulating safety and service relationship
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Author Antoine Girard, Sandrine Caroly and Pierre Falzon |
| Abstract With a worrying accidentology (ten fatal accidents per year for approximately 1700 professionals in France), a culture that promotes a high level of performance and a profession based on the craft-type approach, the practice of mountaineering with a guide can be considered as an unsafe system (Amalberti et al., 2005; Morel et al., 2009). This practice has two particular characteristics. Firstly, it is currently undergoing a deep transformation not only in terms of its environmental context (with global warming), but also because of the media, legal and regulatory pressure that weakens the sustainability of the profession, due to low safety standards. Secondly, it belongs to the service situations. The client is present and involved in the production phases (Falzon and Cerf, 2005): they may be a novice or more experienced and may themself be a victim of accidents. For instance, fifteen clients died in 2018 in France. If, for the guide, clients are a variable to be monitored in a dynamic situation (Hoc, 2001), they are also participants, with their own goals, in the interactive process of the service relationship (Falzon and Cerf, 2005). This service situation, where a professional applies specific skills to provide the service requested by the client, should be distinguished from situations of cooperation between two operators (Falzon and Cerf, 2005; Flageul-Caroly, 2001). According to these elements, this study examines the way the guides build safety with their clients, in a hazardous, dynamic environment and in this particular socio-professional context. |
Optronics: Examining future scopes
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Author Kiome A. Pope, Aaron P. J. Roberts, Daniel Fay and Neville A. Stanton |
| Abstract A critical task when completing submarine operations in shallow littoral waters is the collection of visual data for safe navigation. Contemporary submarines complete this task using optronics masts. However, a question remains as to whether advancements afforded by such technologies are being fully utilised. The current work assessed optronics mast usage by expert operators to examine new ways of working to maximise the utility of the technology afforded. |
Top managers’ leadership of blue-collar workers in food production
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Author Marie Louise Kirkegaard, Kasper Edwards and Christine Ipsen |
| Abstract The production of goods in Europe employs many blue-collar workers. The strong international competition and high hygiene requirements in food production leads to an organisational pressure to perform while maintaining safe and healthy work. In this paper, we present preliminary findings on how six slaughterhouse factory managers (FMs) handle occupational safety and health (OSH) while adapting their leadership to modern factory conditions. The FMs describe the change in leadership as a balancing act to make money in a globalised highly competitive and ever-changing market, while also ensuring good, safe and healthy work conditions. |
An approach for modelling sociotechnical influences in mixed human-artificial agent workforce design
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Author Ashleigh Brady and Neelam Naikar |
| Abstract Advances in intelligent technologies have made it feasible to consider future workforces with a mix of human and sophisticated artificial actors. During periods of significant societal transformation, organisations must be responsive to a range of public and governmental concerns in order to remain viable or effective. The sociotechnical influences space (SIS) models the social, psychological, cultural, and technological factors that must be considered in designing a future workforce that is not only safe, productive, and healthy, but also one that is acceptable to society. While these factors are largely studied in isolation by specialists in different disciplines, this model considers how the confluence of factors can shape the outcomes that are reached. The model utilises a representational scheme that captures the relevant sociotechnical factors at different levels of the societal system, highlighting the stratum at which individual factors are open to modification and should therefore be addressed. The model also captures links or influences between sociotechnical factors, both within and across system levels, identifying how factors interact to produce desirable workforce outcomes of safety, productivity, health, and acceptability. A proof-of-concept study demonstrates how the SIS could be utilised to model sociotechnical influences of significance in mixed human-artificial agent workforce design, focusing on the Royal Australian Air Force as a hypothetical example. If such an approach is utilised, it should provide organisations with a systematic basis for informing policy development and for identifying organisational bodies and actors who, through their spheres of influence and responsibility, can shape the outcomes that are reached. Through these avenues, the range of sociotechnical issues can be addressed, preparing people and processes to capitalise on the benefits of a novel technological future rapidly and successfully—in a way that is safe, productive, healthy, and acceptable to society. |
Organisational pitfalls of individual incentive innovation systems
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Author Kasper Edwards and Christine Ipsen |
| Abstract Employee-driven changes are thought to result in sustainable work that balances organisational performance and employee wellbeing. Explicating in-house knowledge about problems and potential solutions aligns the direction of change with employees’ knowledge of what is needed, and professional insight. Consequently, employees support the identified changes and welcome their implementation, increasing wellbeing at work and improving work practices. Individual incentive innovation systems (IIISs) are a particular example of employees driving change. In IIISs the organisation incentivises innovation by providing benefits to the individual who champions an innovation. IIIS shortcuts the organisational structure and hierarchy and motivates frontline employees to submit innovation proposals on their own. A Wealth of Ideas (WoI) was an individual incentive innovation system at a large Danish University Hospital. The project idea was generated and was funded by top management and would allow ten employees with the best innovation ideas to work for six months full time on their idea and be educated in innovation at the same time. The purpose of the project was to engage employees across all functions and seniority to submit ideas to introduce new, or improve existing procedures and practices in the hospital. An unforeseen effect of the project was that the ten employees seemed to be alienated by their original employer because their ideas were not aligned with their department. Moreover, the WoI had the effect that the ten employees were removed from their wards and the wards experienced a de facto loss of competence and resources, though they were compensated. The winning projects were instructed by the WoI and hospital top management that they should implement their innovations in daily practices and structures. Again, the departments experienced a loss of resources as the person returned but was ordered to work on something else, causing further alienation. |
Cooperation at work: insights from the psychodynamics of work
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Author Lucca Pérez Pompeu, Tiago Fonseca Albuquerque Cavalcanti Sigahi, Laerte Idal Sznelwar, Cláudio Brunoro, Ruri Giannini, Daniele Pimentel Maciel and Bruno César Kawasaki |
| Abstract Collective deterioration processes along with extreme levels of competition between subjects have undermined the possibility of genuine cooperation. In the perspective of the psychodynamics of work, cooperation cannot be prescribed: instead, it needs to be constructed through a triple relationship between the subject, the activity and the reality of the work. Supported by this theoretical approach, in a dialogue with ergonomic work analysis, research projects conducted in service and industrial organisations revealed important elements to advance understanding of cooperation construction, such as: authority and authoritarianism; subjectivity and intersubjectivity; competition; fear and sense of threat; and defensive strategies, among others. Researchers and practitioners can benefit from the psychodynamics of work approach to reflect – and, more than that, to develop actions – aiming to improve work and, accordingly, organisations. |
Evaluating System Usability of Augmented Reality in Flight Operations
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Author Wen-Chin Li, Tim Bord, Jingyi Zhang, Graham Braithwaite and Mudassir Lone |
| Abstract The human-centred design of augmented visualisation aids can have significant effect on human performance and cognitive processes by increasing an operator’s capability to manage complex checklists. This study investigated the use of an Augmented Reality (AR) device as a cockpit integration tool and the possible new challenges relating to Human-Computer interactions it induces. Seventeen aviation professionals (pilots, engineers, and training pilots) aged from 23 to 53 (M=29.82, SD=8.93) participated in this experiment. Their flight experience ranged from zero flight hours to 3000 flight hours (M=605.00, SD=1051.04). Two types of interaction - by gesture and voice control, have been compared with traditional paper checklists. The results show that gesture control AR gives rise to unnecessary complexity and tends to be cumbersome to use. On the other hand, voice control AR checklists could constitute an improvement in terms of usability of checklists completion in flight operations. Paper checklists tend to score higher in terms of ‘learnability’ as it is the simplest way to use a traditional checklist. It is also interesting to find that voice control AR checklists tend to be rated as the highest on both the total score of System Usability Scale (SUS) and in terms of ‘usability’. These phenomena are consistent with the comments of participants that they would prefer to apply a voice control AR checklist over a paper checklist, if they were more familiar with it in the future. The improvement in modes of interaction and the presentation of information could lead to changes in usability and operational procedures. There is a need for further exploration of the implications of AR technology on the flight deck before implementation. |
Towards Future Driver Training: Analysing Human Behaviour in Level 3 Automated Cars
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Author Emily Shaw, David R. Large and Gary Burnett |
| Abstract Automation capability of future Level 3 vehicles will extend to tactical as well as control levels of the driving task. However, if systems fail or boundary limitations are exceeded the human driver must be ready to take over control of the vehicle. Behavioural adaptations of drivers when interacting with automated vehicles, highlight an inverse relationship between automation and human performance, often attributed to complacency. This study investigated behavioural adaptations of drivers during transitions to manual control in a level 3 automated vehicle. An extensive existing data set from a recent longitudinal study was re-analysed. 49 drivers undertook a series of 5 simulated drives in a level 3 automated vehicle. The study’s design allowed the investigation of driver interactions with driver-led non-driving related tasks (NDRTs) and changes in driver behaviour with experience. Frame-by-frame video analysis showed driver behavioural adaptations to improve performance of control level tasks, complacency effects on tactical level tasks, and evidence of cognitive heuristics to allow prioritisation of NDRTs during the transition. Findings highlight the importance of clearly defining concepts, such as complacency, to accurately identify and interpret patterns of behaviour, to select appropriate mitigation strategies within system design or driver training. |
Virtual reality training: Making construction work safer
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Author Dr Shelley Stiles |
| Abstract The Construction Industry damages over 60,000 underground services each year, a significant cost and risk to human life. Training is an established aspect of safety management, and research recognises the importance of interaction and engagement to enhance the training experience and increase knowledge retention. Despite this, often training sessions are delivered via traditional presentation – an approach lacking in the focus on engagement for a positive impact on learning outcomes. The use of virtual reality technologies within a safety context is becoming more commonplace, but there is limited evidence that this type of training intervention can improve safety performance with a reduction of accidents and incidents. The work presented evaluates the effectiveness of 360° film and virtual reality technology as a safety training intervention delivered to workers on construction projects. This study has evaluated the impact of this safety intervention on the number of service strikes for one principal contractor organisation over a two-year period – a case study. Services strikes are when workers accidentally dig through underground utilities. The delivery of 85 training sessions was found to have a positive impact on safety outcomes, with a 32% reduction of services strikes following 12 months of training. It is concluded that the use of 360° film virtual reality technology as part of a safety training intervention can have a significant impact improving safety outcomes. |
Adaptations to everyday work amongst nuclear operators: A safety-II approach
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Author Robin Hamer, Gyuchan Thomas Jun and Patrick Waterson |
| Abstract The safety-II movement has recently been gaining momentum. Most of the work has been conceptual in nature; however, some efforts have been made to apply Safety-II thinking in a practical manner. Current safety-II based methods have been criticised as being difficult to administer and complicated to understand. Although some research has been carried out to address safety-II, there is still some ambiguity about how the construct can be applied in practice. One way forward is to understand adaptations that occur in normal everyday work. This can be achieved by contrasting work-as-imagined and work-as-done in the context of the work environment. One understanding of this is to capture and analyse such adaptations and demonstrate value by sharing good practice. The current case study was undertaken at a major British nuclear installation. The research aims were to understand and learn from normal every day work done by nuclear operators, more specifically the adaptations they make to successfully navigate their work. A mixed methods study design (document analysis, contextual inquiry and interviews) was selected to obtain a complete understanding of work-as-imagined and work-as-done from two selected tasks, common in a nuclear power plant. Semi-structured interviews were administered to nuclear personnel who performed the tasks. These were subsequently transcribed and coded to extract the adaptations. 47 adaptations were elicited and interpreted using an analysis framework, adapted for use in the nuclear industry. The framework enabled adaptations to be classified and provided new insights into how and why the adaptations occurred. The findings were reviewed by human factors practitioners at a major UK nuclear operator. The consensus was positive, and a potential benefit of application was recognised – in particular the new information on adaptations to review tasks and rewrite standard operating procedures. |
The challenge of cultural heritage visitation: A problem demanding new approaches
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Author Arthur Stewart, Chiara Eva Catalano, Eyad Elyan, Andrea Giachetti, John Isaacs, Michela Mortara, Peter Reid and Helen Vosper |
| Abstract Tangible cultural heritage includes assets dating across millennia characterising many of the world’s major cityscapes and landscapes. In many cases massive and spectacular architecture has been re-purposed for mass-visitation from a burgeoning tourist economy creating wealth and employment across transportation, hospitality and heritage sectors. Historic building visitation is increasing at 6-7% annually, and however promising in the short term, such a trend is ultimately unsustainable. Limited space, and queueing and close packing of visitors diminishes the quality of the visitor experience and degrades the built environment via pressure of numbers and reduces personal safety both for visitors and employees. However, the problem is much more complex and must also address the challenge of visitor experience for different users, financial, legal and operational constraints and a profoundly changing visitor-demographic which clearly identifies that past practice will not be suitable for operating such heritage sites in the future. Added to such known unknowns are the unknown unknowns concerning the uncertainties of future travel, economic demands placed on visitor attractions, and political and security uncertainty. Rationalising possible solutions to managing visitors in the 21st and subsequent centuries demands the description and parameterisation of a complex-sociotechnical system such as SEIPS 2.0. This must first identify the known domains, and seek approaches, data and innovative future research to inform policy sufficient to persuade authorities locally, nationally and internationally that the cost of doing nothing is too high a price to pay for the legacy which so many of us enjoy. |
Needs for resilient fire safety management on land and sea
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Author Helene Degerman and Staffan Bram |
| Abstract Fires are associated with potentially large consequences for life, environment and property and are therefore an important aspect in workplace design. This article summarises two case studies, examining the preconditions for a well-functioning fire safety system on land and at sea respectively, applying a systems perspective on work and safety. Today’s fire safety management is mainly focused on technical installations, constructional and building measures, control plans and evacuation routines. Fire safety installations could meet all regulative requirements and still create problems for production, sometimes to the point where fire protective routines or installations are bypassed. A common answer to such issues is to strengthen administrative barriers such as rules, safety information and training. However, in tightly optimised organisations like heavy industries or shipping, more checks and routines will only run the risk of aggravating the problem at hand. The problem could instead be viewed as an effect of poor design. Flaws in fire safety design can be traced to the processes of ship and industrial workplace design, building and revision. In the observed fire safety design processes, there are no established ways to ensure that end-user needs are taken into account, and the construction project's main incentive is to keep the construction cost down. Instead, costs are pushed to the operational phase in the form of reduced production and lower safety levels. Safety management in general, and fire safety management in particular, needs to be further developed from a systems perspective. |
Comparison of safety system designs using risk assessment
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Author Dr Mike Tainsh |
| Abstract Current work within the team of ergonomics, safety and operability specialists on user risk assessment for naval systems, has enabled the development of comparative techniques. They start from user system architectures, and the identification of user tasks in a form that supports assessment and mitigation of risks. In this paper the aim is to present assessment techniques for comparing safety aspects of design options. An example addresses the introduction of an automated information system. |
Predicting how people will respond to a disruptive event: The human factors response framework
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Author Richard Farry |
| Abstract System disruptions can have far reaching negative consequences. The extent to which a system can anticipate, absorb and adapt to a disruption is a characteristic of its resilience. As people are often fundamental to system resilience, an improved understanding of the people-related factors that underpin system resilience helps in predicting system vulnerability and the response to a disruptive event. The Human Factors Response Framework was developed to provide this improved understanding. The framework supports analysts in identifying relevant people-related factors within a system, and the prediction of the system’s resilience and the likely dominant response from key personnel. This paper provides a high-level overview of the framework, its development, and future research direction. |
Guidance on customising Bowtie Analysis for use in healthcare
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Author Ronald W. McLeod and Paul Bowie |
| Abstract Based on the CIEHF white paper ‘Human factors in barrier management’, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has been exploring the potential application of Bowtie Analysis (BTA) in healthcare. Both an initial workshop-based study in a primary care context, as well as feedback from training and a series of case studies conducted across primary and secondary care and supporting health functions, suggested BTA has significant potential as an approach to identifying and managing risk in healthcare. It seems realistic to expect that existing healthcare professionals should be able to conduct BTAs to a reasonable quality standard making use of an NES Guide guidance document, together with a relatively small amount of training and support. |
Sustainable management of job (re)design: A position paper on balancing competitive advantage and organisational performance to ensure healthy workplaces
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Author Christine Ipsen, Kasper Edwards, Giulia Nardelli and Kathrin Kirchner |
| Abstract The risk of work-related stress and the high costs associated with it in combination with a proactive focus has initiated an interest from research and practice on what works. Regarding potential solutions, this has also motivated a discussion on how to ensure a joined focus on both organisational performance and wellbeing. Worldwide, companies are beginning implement new ways of working and organising work that takes into account both employee wellbeing and organisational performance, also coined as sustainable management. The idea behind sustainable management is to be proactive to prevent stress and ensure wellbeing by adjusting how work is designed, organised and managed and ensure organisational performance. Pioneering organisations across industries offer some inspiring examples illustrating a combined focus on organising and managing both organisational performance and employee wellbeing. Companies such as V2C, IIH Nordic, and Pentia in Denmark and SAS Institute, Patagonia, Hilton and Cisco Systems in the US offer examples of initiatives focused on shorter workweeks or less overtime – initiatives linked to improvements in both employee wellbeing and organisational performance. While the interest is high, examples are few and there is a pressing need for new knowledge about how redesigning of jobs can include the concern for both organisational performance and employee wellbeing in tandem. This study aims to further the discussion on management of job (re)design. We focus on how managers and workplaces can ensure both organisational performance and employee wellbeing in practice by focusing on prevention, job design, organisational design and business models. |
New ways of working: Implications for office ergonomics
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Author Michelle M. Robertson, Jim Taylour, Guy Osmond, Meg Honan and Bob Bridger |
| Abstract Places of work have been completely transformed in the past decade from traditional offices to working from home to working from anywhere imaginable by innovations in electronic tools and ever-present access to data over the internet. How does an organisation manage and implement an effective office ergonomics program to achieve and sustain organisational excellence? What organisational change factors need to be considered by enterprises when technology disruptions occur in the workplace including how these technological changes impact workspace design and workers’ wellbeing? Applying ergonomics and human factors design principles and implementation strategies, within a systems framework, can positively affect knowledge workers’ performance and wellbeing, and organisational effectiveness. This groups consist of experts in the area of office ergonomics who each present research findings, design strategies and practices related to designing and implementing leading edge office ergonomics workplaces and programs. |
Usability of interaction devices whilst wearing personal protective equipment
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Author Victoria Doherty |
| Abstract The impact of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) on the usability of a set of interaction devices was examined using a single experiment. Participants performed two concurrent tasks: tracking and monitoring/response, while wearing or not wearing PPE, and the resulting performance impact was measured. A differential impact of gloves on device usability according to the glove characteristics was shown. Heavy gloves impaired performance on both response times and the tracking task. Light gloves did not impede task performance. Some headwear was found to hinder colour change detection. Tentative conclusions regarding effects of device orientation and error rates were also made. The results were used to create an update to the extant UK defence standard. Areas proposed for further research include the impact of performance shaping factors on PPE and usability of interaction devices; study of usability impact with different task types; and specific design investigations regarding interaction device design for use with PPE. |
Using Cognitive Work Analysis to Evaluate Psychological Wellbeing in School-based Camps
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Author Michaela E. Schuler, Gemma J. M. Read, Clare Dallat and Paul M. Salmon |
| Abstract Every year, large numbers of school students attend residential camps in Australia and around the world. While it is assumed that these experiences promote psychological development and wellbeing through exposure to novel environments and challenges, little research has evaluated the extent to which camps facilitate psychological well-being (PWB). This study represents a novel application of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) to describe the current residential camp system, providing insight into how the current design of school-based residential camps support PWB. The Six-Factor Model of PWB was adopted, which proposes six dimensions of PWB: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, environmental mastery, purpose in life and personal growth. The first phase of CWA, Work Domain Analysis, was used, with an initial model developed by the researchers and validated through workshops with nine subject matter experts. The model indicates that some PWB dimensions are well supported in the current system (e.g., positive relations with others), while others (e.g. purpose in life and personal growth) are less well supported. Further, the model provides insight into which functions or activities support which PWB dimensions, enabling changes to be made to the design of camps to better support specific dimensions. |
Quantifying mental workload in performance driving: The motor racing load index (MRLIN)
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Author James W.H. Brown, Kirsten M. Revell and Neville A. Stanton |
| Abstract Within the upper echelons of motorsport, it is usual for teams to spend tens or even hundreds of millions of pounds developing aspects of their cars to achieve best performance. Despite this, costly, and potentially dangerous errors occasionally occur due to the complexity of steering wheel-based interfaces. Investigations into improving usability of steering wheel-based controls should employ a range of metrics, one important aspect being the measurement of mental workload. The NASA task load index (NASA-TLX) represents a well-validated method that has been applied to many domains, a derivative of which, called the driving activity load index (DALI) was developed to focus solely on the driving task. However, motorsport differs considerably from conventional road driving – the competitive nature of the task, combined with high levels of physical and emotional stresses indicates that the domain may benefit from a specific derivative of the NASA-TLX. This paper examines the motorsport domain with respect to the NASA-TLX Index and DALI to identify suitable adaptions that may improve the suitability and usefulness of the workload evaluation. A motor racing load index (MRLIN) might provide a more domain-focussed description of racing drivers’ mental workloads, and therefore provide insight into potential areas of improvement, not just in terms of steering wheel-based control usability, but also other aspects of car design and team function. |
Working at 70mph? Non-driving related tasks in future autonomous vehicles
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Author Christopher Wilson, Diane Gyi and Andrew Morris |
| Abstract Autonomous vehicles will provide an exciting opportunity for drivers and passengers to disengage from the task of driving and engage in non-driving related tasks. However, little is known about how future owners of autonomous vehicles will use their vehicles and understanding this will allow car manufacturers to re-invent the journey experience. This paper presents the development of a survey as well as results with 1,378 drivers. The survey found that those who are most likely to own an autonomous vehicle prioritise leisure activities, resting and socialising. The results will lead to priorities for the design of the interior space to support non-driving related tasks. |
Supporting decision making in a simulated air defence activity
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Author Chris Baber and Chris Vance |
| Abstract A simulated air defence task is used to explore the impact of decision support on operator performance under different levels of task complexity. In this simulation, the status of autonomous air vehicles (drones) is indicated by their colour and by their threat level. Threat level is indicated by a polygon display which is automatically updated when drones fly into areas of attack or areas of risk. From two experiments, we can draw some tentative conclusions on the strategies that participants employ and the role that decision support might play in supporting or thwarting these. Contrary to instructions, participants did not always respond to the cue from the polygon display to engage (particularly when the number of drones was high, which resulted in more dynamic changes to the polygon display). Discussion with participants after the experiments suggested that some of them tried to ‘read’ the changes in polygon display in terms of possible paths that the drones were taking. From this, they might have attempted to anticipate when to respond and rely on their anticipation rather than the decision support. Situation awareness was rated lower when participants monitored two types of drone, and this was sufficient to lead to them performing at levels not far from chance. This is concerning in that it suggests that the decision support (in the polygon display) was not regarded as part of the situation awareness that the participants were using. It also raises the possibility of a difference between awareness of the situation and the awareness of decision options. |
Applying the ‘many models’ approach to the successful introduction of advanced automated vehicles
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Author Gemma J. M. Read, Paul M. Salmon, Alison O’Brien and Neville A. Stanton |
| Abstract There have been previous calls for a ‘many model’ approach to solving complex challenges in ergonomics (Salmon and Read, 2018). In this work, we demonstrate how the combination of three systems ergonomics methods can provide different, yet compatible insights into the emerging challenge of the successful (safe and effective) introduction of advanced automated vehicles. Specifically, we applied ActorMap, Hierarchical Task Analysis, and the abstraction hierarchy from the Cognitive Work Analysis framework. Each model provides detailed descriptions of the road transport system that can be used as a basis to explore the issues surrounding the introduction of automated vehicles. Importantly, they provide a series of compatible insights from different perspectives regarding the future road transport system that can inform policy response and other initiatives to support the successful introduction of advanced automated vehicles. It is concluded that the application of multiple methods is beneficial to gain more insight than would be available from a single method used in isolation. |
A contributing factor classification framework to support systemic accident investigation in construction
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Author Anastacio Goncalves, Patrick Waterson and Gyuchan Thomas Jun |
| Abstract Previous researchers have attempted to develop accident analysis models and methods for the construction sector. However, a key limitation of current methods is that they are limited to describing contributing factors only as far as the organisational levels of analysis. The present study has the aims of developing a contributing factor classification framework to support systemic accident investigation in the construction sector. A list of contributing factors from literature review and accident reports was generated. In total 26 articles were reviewed, and 532 accident reports were analysed. Contributing factors were elicited from each. Accimap was selected as a framework as well as a set of contributing factors by five experts with more than ten years’ experience with accident investigations in the construction domain as federal inspectors. Then each of them was located by the experts into each six levels of the classification framework (government, regulatory body, organisations, technical and operational management, physical process, and equipment, surround and physical environment). It has 51 contributing factors distributed across the six levels. |
Systemic consequences of an augmented reality mobile paediatric code cart application
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Author Abigail R. Wooldridge, Widya Ramadhani, Jyotika Roychowdhury, Ashley Mitchell, Trina Croland, Keith Hanson, Elsa Melendez, Harleena Kendhari, Nadia Shaikh, Teresa Riech, Matthew Mischler, Sara Krzyzaniak, Ginger Barton, Kyle T. Formella, Zachary R. Abbott, John N. Farmer and Rebecca Ebert-Allen |
| Abstract Paediatric code carts (crash trolleys) contain equipment, tools and medication required quickly to resuscitate a child. Infrequent use of carts, as paediatric resuscitations are relatively rare, and logistical issues preventing access to stocked carts combine to decrease familiarity with cart contents, delay resuscitation efforts and potentially harm patients. A team of engineers, clinicians and educators developed an augmented reality application for smartphones to increase access to carts and familiarise clinicians with cart contents. Introducing a new technology into a sociotechnical system can have far reaching consequences in both expected and unexpected ways. Using focus groups as part of a larger evaluation project, physicians, physicians-in-training, nurses and nurse educators identified those consequences after using the application. The identified consequences included increasing access to carts, improving familiarity with cart contents, using the application as a clinical study guide, motivating learning, supporting stocking code carts, facilitating accreditation and certification, using the application to locate items during real resuscitations and not double-checking items before use during a real resuscitation. This project will inform the redesign of the application in light of those consequences and the development of the implementation strategy. Broadly, this project exposes clinicians, educators and engineers to principles of sociotechnical system design and influences the development of future educational technologies. |
A human factors approach to understanding information flow in the discharge process
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Author Eva-Maria Carman, Mike Fray and Patrick Waterson |
| Abstract Care transitions are a common feature in healthcare, as patient care usually will require input from a range of healthcare providers. This requires the interaction of various subsystems and a degree of coordination to ensure continuity of care is provided. At these transition points, continuity of care is often put at risk due to a lack of coordination of the discrete elements of care originating from different subsystems. This has resulted in care transitions becoming commonly recognised as an area of risk for patient safety. The aspect of continuity of care that was the focus of this study was that of informational continuity. This study aimed to understand the required information flow for care transitions from acute care to community-based care and develop an intervention toolkit, based on participatory ergonomics. The methods used to map the information flow and identify associated constraints included the analysis of 374 incident reports, 87 patient complaint reports, two focus groups with community staff involved in this process and three observation sessions on the tasks associated with this care transition. The intervention toolkit was developed using a literature review, the two focus groups held with community staff and seven interviews with acute staff involved in the discharge process. Common themes relating to problems associated with information flow that were identified included communication problems with patients, their families, other services involved in the process; difficulties in retrieving the required information, inaccurate information provided; missing or insufficient information transmitted and missing and unclear documentation. The proposed intervention toolkit consisted of four intervention suggestions, namely supporting documentation or education on available services and the process for staff and patients, a discharge checklist to aide acute staff and a decision guide for referrals to district nursing services to ensure appropriate referrals. |
How sensemaking by people and artificial intelligence might involve different frames
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Author Hebah Bubakr and Chris Baber |
| Abstract Sensemaking can involve selecting an appropriate frame to explain a given set of data. The selection of the frame (and the definition of its appropriateness) can depend on the prior experience of the sensemaker as much as on the availability of data. Moreover, artificial intelligence and machine learning systems are dependent on knowledge elicited from human experts, yet, if we trained these systems to perform and think in the same way as a human, most of the tools will be unacceptable to be used as criterion because people consider many personal parameters that a machine should not use. In this paper, we consider how an artificial intelligence system that can be used to filter curriculum vitae (or résumés) might apply frames that result in socially unacceptable decisions. |
Leaps and Shunts: Designing pilot decision aids on the flight deck using Rasmussen’s ladders
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Author Victoria A. Banks, Katherine L. Plant and Neville A. Stanton |
| Abstract When designing a new pilot decision aid for the flight deck, it is important to understand ‘how’ pilots make decisions in abnormal operating scenarios so that we can ensure they are provided with appropriate support. This paper provides a decision ladder analysis of an aircraft engine oil leak using data collected from six commercial airline pilot interviews. Traditionally, decision-making models are used reactively as a means to explore why things go wrong. However, we explore whether these models can also be used prospectively. Our analysis yields a number of possible design implications for the design of a pilot decision aid on the flight deck. |
Digital technology competence and experience in the UK population: who can do what
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Author Joy Goodman-Deane, Mike Bradley and P. John Clarkson |
| Abstract Digital interface designers often assume that users will have a certain level of digital interface competence, but this is often not the case. In a previous study in 2010, we showed that frequency of technology use and perceptions of ease of use decline with age, across a range of products. This paper updates and expands this work, presenting results from a survey in 2019 of 338 adults across England and Wales. The survey examined the frequency of use of digital devices and the execution of common computing tasks. In addition, it directly assessed users’ ability to use some common technology symbols and interface patterns using simplified paper prototype testing. The results indicate that technology experience and competence decline with age, and many aspects also decline with decreasing social grade. However, there is no correlation with gender. We identify particular demographic groups with very low levels of digital competence, of which designers should be aware. |
Preliminary development of the Psychological Factors Assessment Framework for manufacturing human-robot collaboration
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Author Iveta Eimontaitre and Sarah Fletcher |
| Abstract Robots, although not new in manufacturing, are still only just being directly integrated with human operators. Although timely and measured human factors integration in technology development can increase its acceptance, the impacts on manufacturing operators are still largely unknown. The proposed work described in this paper discusses the SHERLOCK (seamless and safe human-centred robotic applications for novel collaborative workplace) project approach to human factors integration that aims to develop a standardised tool for evaluating the impacts of robotics in manufacturing (psychological factors assessment framework). Four industrial use case studies of new collaborative applications will allow investigations of changes in operators’ psychological states depending on the robot characteristics and assembly requirements. This analysis will enable the development of the framework, which will allow quicker assessment of psychological factors and recommendations for operator needs and requirements in a variety of manufacturing applications. |
The 2017/18 Cape Town drought: A sociotechnical systems analysis
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Author Andrew Thatcher and Patrick Waterson |
| Abstract Our world has become increasingly interconnected and complex. In human factors and ergonomics (human factors) this complexity has been recognised by a growing number of researchers and practitioners as humans face a number of global crises that seriously threaten human wellbeing (and possibly our own existence as a species). Globally-challenging issues such as energy supply, urbanisation, health provision, violence and terrorism, food supply, and water scarcity have now been investigated and interventions implemented by people working in the human factors field. While most of this work has been at a relatively small scale, several human factors authors (including the authors) have suggested that there are now a variety of human factors systems analysis tools that can be used to analyse and find solutions to incidents and unfolding situations at a much larger scale including the analysis of trading on the darknet and an international food scandal. In 2018 the city of Cape Town was literally days away from shutting off the municipal water supply to four million residents. Persistent drought, exacerbated by climate change, had led the city to announce ‘day zero’ – the day when the potable water supplies would be shut off and water would only be available from water tankers at designated safe zones. This didn’t happen. The rains started falling and the water supplies were replenished. In safety science analysis this would be referred to as a near miss. Was this luck or the result of concerted efforts by city officials and the associated human systems (such as residents, engineers, scientists, local government, and national government)? This is the question that we investigated in this paper by examining the human-systems interactions as they unfolded over time from a sociotechnical systems perspective using a series of four STAMP analyses. |
Holistic outcome-driven approach: How do patients and providers prioritise healthcare outcomes?
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Author I. Cecilia Landa-Avila, Gyuchan Thomas Jun, Carolina Escobar-Tello and Rebecca Cain |
| Abstract Healthcare systems are facing pressures to fulfil various needs from different stakeholders at different levels. Different stakeholders tend to prioritise different sets of healthcare outcomes. Consequently, how outcomes are valued or prioritised by different stakeholders needs to be understood in a holistic way to develop and improve new or existent systems. Human factors frameworks and approaches such as Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) and Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) recognise the importance of outcomes, but fewer practical approaches for understanding and communicating outcomes as interrelated systems exist. This study applied network analysis as a practical approach to collect, aggregate and visualise interrelations among multiple outcomes. Also, this practical approach provides a mechanism for different stakeholders to communicate and negotiate priorities for holistic outcome-driven healthcare system development. We conducted graphic facilitation mapping interviews with ten patients with chronic conditions and eleven healthcare providers. Participants built outcome interrelationship maps following three steps: 1) Select and explain meaningful and ideal outcomes. 2) Make sense of outcomes by creating influence relationships and groups. 3) Select the most important outcome. Two outcome-based visualisations emerged from the network analysis respectively for patients and healthcare providers. Agreements, disagreements and critical outcomes between patients and providers were identified from those analyses. Wellbeing was equally acknowledged by both groups. However, patients prioritised outcomes such as personal resilience and self-monitoring, while providers prioritised integrated working, (re)admissions and hospitalisations. Overall, this practical approach contributes to a holistic outcomes integration for healthcare systems developing. The mapping process supports interrelated outcomes collection, while the network analysis offers a novel visual communication strategy to identify critical outcomes. This practical approach may complement frameworks such as SEIPS and CWA. A further study could be conducted to explore how multiple stakeholders use this approach for collectively discussing and negotiating their outcome prioritisation. |
Designing Future Submarine Control Room HMIs
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Author Daniel Fay, Aaron PJ Robers and Neville A Stanton |
| Abstract Future submarine control rooms will be required to utilise new sensors and process more data, without crewing increases. While current submarine control rooms are highly capable, new ways of working may be required to meet these future challenges and maintain safety. Human-Machine Interfaces on board submarines are fundamental to facilitating the completion of command team objectives and so understanding how to optimise their design is critical. Contemporary interfaces have continuously evolved to match contemporary requirements, but this approach might not be suitable for future requirements. As the work of submarine command teams becomes more complex, new interfaces might be required to maintain effective performance. A potential design methodology to address this is Ecological Interface Design, as it aims to make environmental constraints apparent and reduce operator workload. This is synergistic with the goals of submarine control rooms. The current work presents an overview of the development of a novel Sonar and Target Motion Analysis proof-of-concept interface, using the Ecological Interface Design paradigm. |
Exploring team sensemaking with an adaptive report generation assistant
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Author Robert J. Houghton and Chris Wragg |
| Abstract Collaborative interpretation and understanding of complex and uncertain information is a pervasive and growing challenge across many industries and domains from defence and ‘blue light’ services to commerce and government. We carried out two studies to evaluate the Adaptive Report Generation Assistant (ARGA), a piece of collaborative software designed to aid team sensemaking by supporting coding of information inputs and visualisation of outputs. In the first study, ARGA was contrasted with pen and paper processes in laboratory trials and in a second, and more ecologically valid trial, ARGA was contrasted with the use of generic shared electronic documents by two larger teams of expert analysts. In both cases, in addition to usability analysis and evaluation of final report quality, team activity was also analysed with reference to recordings, post-hoc interviews and examination of the cognitive artefacts produced. It was found that by structuring input and interpretation phases of the activity and offering greater flexibility in the rework of both ontologies for input and visualisations of output, groups using ARGA generally produced better quality analyses through avoiding premature fixedness and confirmation bias. However, a persistent problem across all groups lay in maintaining consistent visibility of relative information quality and credibility. The findings imply that sensemaking quality can be enhanced by interventions that reduce the administrative and clerical demands of information management and representation. |
Identifying work system components and constraints of cancer multidisciplinary team meetings
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Author Eva-Maria Carman, Giulia Miles, Sarah Gregory, Gemma Bristow, Eleanor Robinson, James Catton, Alastair Ross and Bryn Baxendale |
| Abstract Multidisciplinary teams have been introduced into cancer care to improve quality of care and are now considered the gold standard for the management of cancer patients in the UK. Meetings of these teams provide an opportunity for experts to discuss the best possible treatment options for the patient. Trends show that referral numbers to these meetings are increasing, placing strain on the capacity of meetings to function optimally. This in turn has cognitive and workload implications for staff involved. Promoting MDT Excellence is a project that aims to examine the variation in practice of these meetings across one NHS Trust and to understand the challenges they are currently facing. In the first phase of this project, a systems analysis of cancer multidisciplinary teams was conducted for the purpose of identifying system constraints and resource issues. A total of twelve meetings were observed, and 42 staff from four specialties were interviewed. Using the SEIPS 2.0 model, key work system components and constraints for multidisciplinary team meetings were identified for the people involved, the tasks, tools and technology, organisation of work, internal environment and external environment. Furthermore, aspects that promoted efficient ways of working and positive outcomes were captured. Examples identified included adopting a more structured agenda, real time digital notetaking and different work organisation techniques, such as distribution of responsibilities and the scheduling of patient groups to be discussed during the meeting. These results provide the basis for a multifaceted approach for system improvement for this work process. |
Surgeons’ ratings of an intraoperative stretch web-app: A pilot study
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Author M. Susan Hallbeck Ph.D and Bethany R. Lowndes Ph.D |
| Abstract Surgeons are reporting increased musculoskeletal disorders. Specifically, in the surgical suites at this institution, one surgeon had to permanently stop performing surgery due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders and others were in pain. It was determined that one intervention to be tested was periodic intraoperative microbreaks with exercises performed by surgeons within the sterile field. Previous research has shown self-reported improvement for the operative day when microbreaks are incorporated into the surgeon’s operating room (OR) routine. The initial work was done by having a 90-second microbreak leader in the room to lead calisthenic-type exercises that didn’t break scrub at convenient stopping points during surgery, about every 20 minutes. The surgeons and their teams loved having the microbreaks with exercises; however, their feedback was that the 20-minute period was not long enough and the exercises didn’t flow and lasted too long. From the researcher perspective, it also needed to be automated. Since tablets were password-protected and there were already networked computers in the ORs, a web-based application was created. New evidence-based stretches were created that shortened the duration while they focused on the surgeon’s primary target pain areas and an adjustable timer alert with snooze was added. This new GDPR compliant intraoperative stretch web-app was created and tested in ORs. This paper discusses the results of the internal roll-out. The free web-app is now available for dissemination. |
Ergonomics of paragliding reserve deployment
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Author Matt Wilkes, Geoff Long, Heather Massey, Clare Eglin, Mike Tipton and Rebecca Charles |
| Abstract Paragliding is an emerging discipline of aviation, which is considered relatively high risk. Reserve parachutes are rarely used, but typical deployments are at low altitude, with pilots under the extreme stress of a life-threatening situation. To date, paraglider equipment design has focused primarily on weight and aerodynamics, so reserve parachute deployment systems have evolved haphazardly. Our study aimed to characterise deployment behaviours in amateur pilots. Fifty-five paraglider pilots were filmed deploying their reserve parachutes from a zipline. Test conditions were designed for ecologically valid body, hand and gaze positions; cognitive loading and switching; and physical disorientation akin to a real deployment. The footage was reviewed by two groups of subject matter experts. It was noted that pilots searched for the reserve handle using the hip as an anatomical landmark and tried to extract the deployment bag upwards, irrespective of optimum direction. Recommendations, which are being incorporated into the latest draft of the European Norm for harness design included: positioning reserve handles at the pilot’s hip; better system integration between different manufacturers; and containers being designed so deployment bags are extractable at any angle of pull. Deployment in a single, sweeping action should be encouraged in preference to the multiple actions sometimes taught. |
Actor Map and AcciMap: Analysis of the Uber collision with a pedestrian in Arizona, USA
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Author Neville A. Stanton & Paul M. Salmon |
| Abstract The aim of this paper is to explore the Actor Map and AcciMap methods as applied to the Uber collision with a pedestrian. These methods have been applied in a wide range of settings, but collisions between automated vehicles and a pedestrian is a new area. The Actor Map presents the major actors in the system that could have created the conditions within which the collision occurred. The AcciMap identifies the events, decisions and actions taken by those actors. This approach moves the foci of study away from the immediate events surrounding the driver and pedestrian, to consider broader system influences that were necessary for the collision to occur. The AcciMap is presented together with recommendations for systems-based interventions. |
Translating complex system analysis into a story-based film for participatory design: Dilemmas in suicide prevention
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Author Gyuchan Thomas Jun and I. Cecilia Landa-Avila |
| Abstract It has been widely recognised that whole systems approaches are required, but underexplored in the design and development of complex healthcare systems. Human factors and ergonomics (human factors) has adopted and developed various conceptual models and frameworks in order to support the application of systems approaches such as Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA), Systems Engineering Intitiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS), STAMP and FRAM to name but a few. Application of these systems approaches benefit from the involvement of all relevant stakeholders and the inclusion of their input in system design. However, evidence also suggests that involving healthcare stakeholders is challenging mainly due to their lack of time and system expertise. Undertanding outputs of system analysis, usually in the form of complex system maps, tends to require time and certain level of visual learning capacity, which some people don’t have. The full potential of a participatory systems approach has been hardly realised, so there is a need for improving the way the outputs of systems approaches are communicated. This study, therefore, aims to translate the outputs of complex system analysis into a story-based film for participatory design. |
Working environment effects of agile-stage-gate in manufacturing SMEs
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Author Kasper Edwards |
| Abstract Agile-stage-gate is a hybrid product development methodology which combines agile methods such as SCRUM with overall portfolio management from Stage-Gate®. Agile development methods are known from software development and have seen extensive use the past ten years. Agile methods are participatory and empowering as the development team with concrete technical knowledge and not a manager should make the technical decisions for the product. Agile organises work in specific ways and stipulates methods and artefacts to be used. Agile projects are typically organised as a series of sprints each with a specific focus and tasks to be completed. Agile projects are described as having a positive impact on working environment. This paper describes a test of agile-stage-gate in three Danish SMEs and the impact on the working environment. It is hypothesised that use of agile-stage-gate will lead to an increase in wellbeing at work. Results show general but non-significant decline of the working environment possibly influenced by contextual factors. This questions the assumed positive effect of agile development methods and highlights the importance of analysing the impact of contextual factors in intervention research. |
Imagining how intravenous insulin infusions are used in hospitals: A hierarchical task analysis
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Author Mais Iflaifel, Rosemary Lim, Clare Crowley, Kath Ryan and Francesca Greco |
| Abstract Intravenous (IV) insulin infusions are the treatment of choice to reduce elevated blood glucose (BG) levels in patients during an acute illness or a period of starvation in the UK. There are benefits to using IV insulin infusions such as reduced mortality, time spent in hospital and improved wound healing; however, there have also been problems reported with its use such as variability in insulin doses, complex preparation of insulin infusion in clinical areas, and the need for frequent monitoring. The wide range and complex interplay of factors associated with the use of IV insulin infusions have resulted in errors and, in some cases, have led to patient harm. Traditional safety approaches have focused on identifying and preventing errors and have explained safety in relation to the absence of errors. Efforts to reduce errors include implementing barriers and other protective measures, but such interventions can increase the complexity of the work system and introduce unexpected consequences. An emerging approach, called resilient health care, proposes understanding the variability in healthcare practitioners’ everyday work. One way to understand variability in work practices is to compare work-as-imagined: what people say, or think they do, with work-as-done: what people actually do in practice. This study aimed to explore how IV insulin infusions were perceived to be used (work-as-imagined) from the perspectives of different stakeholders and users using Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA). This study is part of a wider project, for which there is a published protocol. To our knowledge, this is the first study exploring work-as-imagined in the use of IV insulin infusions using HTA in an English tertiary hospital. |
Patient ergonomics: The next macroergonomic frontier
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Author Richard Holden and Rupa Valdez |
| Abstract Patient ergonomics is the ‘science of patient work’, and can be defined as the application of human factors and ergonomics (human factors) or a related discipline (for example, human-computer interaction, usability engineering) to study or improve patients’ and other non-professionals’ performance of effortful work activities in pursuit of health goals (Holden and Valdez, 2018, p.466). Patient ergonomics begins with the assumption that patients, families, and others without formal healthcare training nevertheless perform activities that constitute work (Valdez et al., 2015); work is here defined as “any form of human effort or activity, including recreation and leisure pursuits” (Hendrick, 2002, p.1). If patients and other non-professionals perform work, human factors experts and macroergonomists in particular have the tools, training, and obligation to study and improve their work systems, processes, and outcomes (Holden et al., 2013). |
Effect of mental games as cognitive ergonomic intervention on subjective workload and objective productivity of call centre employees
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Author Silvia Ahmed Khattak, Laurence Clift and Michael Fray |
| Abstract Call centre work is tedious and stressful. The nature of call centre work lacks the flexibility to bring variety of tasks in a typical workflow of an employee’s work shift. The stringent time limitations on the call monitoring key performance indicators makes work challenging for employees. A previous study which highlighted the ergonomic problems that call centre employees face, led to further investigation in this area. This study was an intervention study which rose from the interest in finding ways to make the work of call centre employees more enjoyable to enhance employee wellbeing and efficiency. This study attempted to alter the design of the workflow of the employees by placing mental games (such as crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, hangman and board games) in the break areas of employees. Employees were encouraged to play the games in their breaks. Because this study was based on mental games as an intervention (not physical), and involved employee’s perceptions, hence its association with cognitive ergonomics. The game playing was kept within the entitled breaks, avoiding other times, to bring minimum disruption to the normal workflow. The aim of the study was to mentally engage employees in mental games rather than work related thoughts. It was assumed that this kind of short but enjoyable disengagement might reset the mind of the employee and enhance wellbeing when they reassume their work after the break. This wellbeing in turn might affect outcomes such as objective productivity and subjective workload. |
Brain-centred performance: understanding how the brain works, so we can work more safely
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Author Sebastian Blair |
| Abstract Through improved education, technology and data analysis, safety leaders have become increasingly adept at recognising and controlling external hazards and exposures related to people, processes, and materials. What we are beginning to understand, however, is that this is not sufficient for driving operational excellence or sustained reductions in significant injuries and fatalities. The missing key to unlocking sustained performance reliability and safety comes from within the human brain. The overarching “human error” hazard can only be effectively controlled by aligning existing organisational culture, structures and procedures with the functional realities and limitations of the human brain - that is, by making our organisational systems brain-aligned. Studies underpinning the Brain-Centric Reliability™ (BCR™) System have uncovered important insights into human performance. The good news is, everything from organisational culture and leadership messaging, to work schedules, procedures, human machine interfaces and incident investigations can be revamped to align with brain science, to reduce exposure. Taking a data-driven, brain-centred approach, uncovers weaknesses in operational and safety systems, forces a re-examination of how accidents and exposures originate, are classified and addressed and has begun to fundamentally influence the way we design, lead and work. |
When did the collision happen? Exploring predictors of RTC involvement
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Author Louise Bowen and Andrew P. Smith |
| Abstract Road transport often represents one of the major safety risks to which individuals are exposed. In the present study, variables known to be associated with road traffic collision involvement and risk-taking, such as demographics, mental health, job characteristics and appraisals, issues of work/life balance, accidents and cognitive failures and propensity to socialise were measured. Analyses examined whether there were unique predictors depending upon what type of driving the road user was engaging with: commuting, driving as part of a job, or during leisure time. A secondary analysis of a survey of 2488 individuals presenting at accident and emergency departments revealed risk-taking was predicted by established factors, affording confidence in findings related to road traffic collision occurrence. Multinomial regressions revealed that collisions occurring as part of the commute into work were predicted by high job stress, minor accidents at work and jobs with high noise levels. Collisions during the commute home from work were associated with being female, high levels of bullying at work, and issues of work/life balance. Collisions when travelling as part of a job were predicted by failures of cognition, low satisfaction with how ability is utilised, being younger, harassment at work and working long, unsociable hours, and being frequently on-call. Finally, collisions taking place in leisure time were associated with failures of cognition, low satisfaction with how the work organisation was run, harassment, high levels of risk-taking and frequently socialising with friends. Such insights provide potential ways in which employers and policymakers may tailor interventions to achieve more positive safety behaviour for drivers. |
Factors influencing perceptions of productivity associated with digital manufacturing technology
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Author Tony Sandhu, Elizabeth M. Argyle and Sarah Sharples |
| Abstract Industry 4.0, or the fourth industrial revolution, has the potential to transform manufacturing productivity through the integration of digital manufacturing technology. Although digital technologies are considered to have the potential to enhance organisational productivity, the impact of such technologies on humans and the systems they work within is not fully understood. Furthermore, there is also a lack of knowledge related to factors influencing perceived impact of digital manufacturing technology on productivity – improved understanding of public perceptions can provide insight into predicting technology acceptance and developing readiness for the introduction of new workplace technologies. Using a questionnaire approach and factor analysis, this work investigated perceived impact of digital technology on manufacturing productivity. Seven underlying factors associated with productivity were found through principal component analysis and included innovation, adaptability, reliability, performance, quality, time efficiency and risk management. This enabled the questionnaire to be refined, providing a tool that could be used in future research into public perceptions of technology and productivity. |
Staffing models in ergonomics/human factors
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Author Colin G. Drury and Catherine Drury Barnes |
| Abstract The level of staffing in an organisation is an important determinant of both the organisation’s effectiveness and of the workforce wellbeing. To predict staffing we need to know the work content of the enterprise. This was comparatively simple when the main work content was repetitive tasks, with total output measured in numbers of identical items produced per unit time. This is not the situation with most modern work, where more complex tasks performed by teams are more common, for example nursing or maintenance. Unfortunately staffing is not well-represented in the ergonomics/human factors (subsequently referred to as human factors) literature, for example in an Ergonomics Abstracts search. More literature is in trade journals, and in the industrial/organisational psychology literature. Specific staffing models have been developed for specific situations, and later applied to analogous enterprises. There are two types of model, depending on how the data are collected and analysed. Models of existing staffing levels use staffing data from a number of enterprises to predict the staffing needs of other enterprises with analogous tasks. For example, in nursing there is much data on existing staffing levels across sites in a health service, such as the UK’s National Health Service. We can examine the staffing levels and concomitant input and process variables to determine how input variables correlate with overall nursing staff levels. The alternative method is summation of task times: if we know the time for each task, then we can sum across all of the tasks in a job to find the total workload and hence the number of staff to meet that workload. The estimates of time per task can come from historical data such as timesheets and work order records, from estimates by subject matter experts or from one of the various time study techniques. Staffing models are needed in human factors, so we need to access literature outside the immediate profession. |
Classifying vessels using broadband sonar: considerations for future autonomous support
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Author Faye McCabe, Prof. Chris Baber & Prof. Robert Stone |
| Abstract Submarine Command Teams often rely on sensor systems such as sonar to gain situational awareness when operating below periscope depth. Classifying different vessels using broadband sonar relies on the analysis of aural characteristics to build up a target motion solution for each sonar contact. This process is inherently uncertain, and misclassification can be potentially fatal, resulting in collisions between vessels and submarines. This paper offers suggestions for artificially intelligent support which could be created and provided through the analysis of historically collected information about fishing vessels transmitted via satellite. These suggestions were formed through an interview with a subject matter expert and the analysis of a report compiled about a collision that occurred between a Royal Navy submarine and fishing vessel in 2015. |
70 years of sociotechnical systems (STS) principles for systems design: A review and reassessment of their relevance for the 21st century
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Author Amangul A. Imanghaliy, Guy Walker, Patrick Waterson, Pauline Thompson, Paul Salmon, Neville A. Stanton and Ken Eason |
| Abstract In the last couple of years two separate groups of researchers (Waterson and Eason, 2018; Imanghaliy et al., 2019) have worked on reviewing and reassessing a variety of principles for sociotechnical systems (STS) principles which have been developed for systems design. The principles date back to work carried out in the 1950s by a group of researchers at the London Tavistock Institute of Human Relations. The work of Eric Trist and Fred Emery for example, initially focused on understanding the role of human skill and methods of working (for example team working) on productivity within coal mines (Trist and Bamforth, 1951). One of the primary motivations for the STS principles was to underscore the role of choice and organisational design in the interaction between people (the social system) and tools, technologies and techniques (the technical system; Weisbord, 2012; Eason, 2014). A core value embodied in the principles is that, given the right choices, social and technical systems could be harmonised and balanced such that productivity, worker satisfaction and safety could be optimised in parallel (Cherns, 1976, 1987; Clegg, 2000). It is perhaps fair to say that the fortunes of sociotechnical theory have ebbed and flowed over the past seventy years, but the value of sociotechnical principles has remained. In our paper we argue that they are increasingly relevant to a host of distinctly 21st century problems (for example, automation and robotics, globalisation, climate change), all of which share a common imperative to effectively integrate people, technology and complex systems. |
I just woke up behind the wheel: Sleep Inertia as a new risk in semi-automated cars
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Author Sylwia I. Kaduk, Aaron P. J. Roberts and Neville A. Stanton |
| Abstract Semi-autonomous driving introduced new challenges and expectations from the driver. It requires sustained attention during a monotonous task. The long automated mode might cause boredom due to too low stimulation. Because of these factors, it has the potential to induce sleep episodes. Unlike in manual driving, the driver might shift from an awake state to sleep and back to awake without leading to an accident. However, sleep inertia caused by a such sleep might decrease cognitive and psychomotor functions of the driver and jeopardise the driving safety. Because of that, sleep inertia is a new driving risk that might emerge from semi-automated driving. This paper reviewed literature about sleep inertia in work, shift work and machine operations in order to provide evidence that sleep inertia should be treated and studied as a new risky driver state in semi-automated driving. |
Rationalities at work: Insights from complexity theory for engineering actions
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Author Tiago Fonseca Albuquerque Cavalcanti Sigahi, Lucca Pérez Pompeu, Ivan Bolis and Laerte Idal Sznelwar |
| Abstract Developing engineering actions that favour the work and the worker requires acknowledging the existence of different rationalities in the universe of production. Distinguishing types of rationalities is an operation that researchers and practitioners can benefit from, while disjoining risks leading to blindness by not capturing the complexity of work. Based on this idea, we use concepts of activity-centred ergonomics and psychodynamics of work to distinguish between four types of rationalities involved in work. Then, we briefly explore some insights from the concept of rationality of complexity, as opposed to a disjointed view, and conclude with some implications of a complex view of rationalities for developing engineering actions. |
Developing skills for operational frontline leaders in the GB rail industry
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Author Anisha Tailor and Paul Leach |
| Abstract In the GB rail industry, staff with operational line management responsibilities – termed ‘operational frontline leaders’ – have been identified as having an important role in safety performance through the development and management of frontline staff competence. However, there is a limited understanding of the skills they need to do this effectively and how these can be developed. To investigate this, this project undertook a workshop, literature review and qualitative interviews. It identified: the opportunities that operational frontline leaders have to develop and manage staff competence; the common knowledge and skills required across this group; the resources and strategies currently used in the rail industry to develop these, and the organisational, job/workplace and individual factors that can inhibit effective performance. It created a leadership model for operational frontline leaders in GB rail and developed ten recommendations for how companies can implement the model and support leaders to develop and apply the required skills. |
Ranking priorities for safety improvement: a study of methods
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Author Anthea Ashford, Liz Hellier and Andrew Weyman |
| Abstract Effective safety management relies on the identification of vulnerabilities. Tapping employee insights is a valuable source of intelligence. Of the array of qualitative and quantitative elicitation techniques, staff surveys are the most commonly encountered: psychometric measures of situational influences on workplace climate provide a valuable means of benchmarking and monitoring. However, they afford little insight about the relative importance of the constituent themes – they are essentially silent on the issue of prioritising topics for intervention. In recognition of this, an arising question relates to determining the strengths and limitations of alternative elicitation techniques. The study reported here compared the performance of three widely used methods of priority elicitation techniques: direct ranking, Q-sort and the method of paired comparisons, for a set of nine features of workplace safety climate. Results showed high agreement with respect to the rank order produced by the three methods. A point of contrast was that the interval scale output from the method of paired comparisons provided an indication of the relative difference (proportional importance) between the variables. However, this method was lengthier to complete. The relative merits of the three methods and the implications for eliciting priorities in safety management are discussed. Areas of future research were identified to develop these measures further for use in the safety management arena. |
Facilitating the tasks of observers and observees
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Author Lisette Kanse, Hawa Muhammad Farid and Florian Klonek |
| Abstract Human factors professionals and researchers have a wide variety of methods at their disposal to collect data to further our understanding of human factors issues encountered in work settings. Among the most labour-intensive methods, and less frequently used, are workplace and worker observations. However, because observations can provide a truly in-depth understanding of a worker’s tasks and factors impacting on these tasks, it is important to find ways to reduce the effort required to collect data via observations and to improve the quality of such data. In this paper, we present a software tool that supports task observers in recording their observations quickly and easily, that eliminates the need for a separate data coding step and that stores the data in a format ready for statistical analysis. The tool was originally developed to record and code team communication and was restructured to enable task observation recordings. This restructuring came about when a mining organisation operating in a remote area of Australia approached us with concerns they had about the workload and work pressures faced by their frontline supervisors. Both human factors and work design research has shown that heavy workloads and work pressure can negatively impact wellbeing, and general and safety performance. The mining organisation wanted to better understand a typical supervisor’s workday, and an observation-based approach seemed most appropriate. The goal of the observations was to gain insight into the various tasks performed, time dedicated to each task, how many and which tasks are juggled on an hour-by-hour basis, when peaks in workload occur, and which potential improvement areas exist to make work life easier for the supervisors and to better support them. |
A discussion relating individual performance evaluation and mental health: Research conducted in public services in Brazil
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Author Laerte Idal Sznelwar, Ruri Giannini, Daniele Pimentel Maciel and Selma Lancman |
| Abstract The results presented here are related to the research ‘Construction of intersectoriality in the health and work field: Perspective of professionals inserted in the service network of the city of São Paulo’. The main objective of this research is to understand, through the approach of psychodynamics of work (PDW), the work processes of various actors that are in the frontline of the implementation of different policies (Brasil, 2011). One of the main issues that emerged throughout the research concerns the relationship between work and performance appraisal systems, more specifically in the Labour Court. From the evidence already obtained, we can consider that the performance evaluation systems disregard the real work – they are based on production goals defined from strategic objectives adopted without considering what judges actually face, as well as the servitors who work in support teams. There is still a great distortion regarding alignment with the values of the profession. Often, when seeking to achieve goals, other issues are relegated, such as treating cases with stronger degrees of complication, as if they were similar to others considered as routine. Another distortion is that there is not really an engagement in improving the quality of work – there are almost no organisational devices for discussion and feedback. The main purpose is to meet deadlines and goals regarding production volumes rather than to analyse and increase the usefulness of the performance of these public actors. As these evaluation processes, different reward modalities such as promotions and getting more resources, are also involved, there is an even greater distortion, even if this puts different actors in a difficult situation regarding ethical issues. The emergence of pathogenic suffering is one of the mental health consequences of judges and servitors. |
Integrating social and economic sustainability with lean production methods
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Author Peter Hasle and Jan Vang |
| Abstract Ergonomists have traditionally ended up on the side line of production, left to remind the key actors in the company about the human agenda. Managers and production engineers have been occupied by contributing to key business goals, and in practice considered health and safety of workers as an intrusion to this endeavour. Legal obligations, workers’ demands and institutional pressure have secured a moderate place for health and safety in the operations, but pushed to experts (ergonomists and OHS engineers) out of the central line of management. Development during the last decade has increased the priority to the sustainability issue, a development enforced by the UN sustainable development goals. Both private and public companies are developing policies to strengthen the sustainability of their operations. Climate and the environment have for good reasons been in the forefront, but with the holistic approach of the sustainable development goals, other issues such as work get stronger attention, among others in the form of CSR policies and reports. However, the link to the daily operations where work takes place and the safety and health of workers potentially are at risk, is in many cases rather weak. In spite of frequent criticism, lean production methods open possibilities to create a tangible link between the traditional drive for productivity and the need to secure a safe and healthy workplace. Lean offers possibilities to get in-depth insights into the flow of work, which has a clear link to the ergonomic approach to work analysis. Yet, lean may, as just as ergonomic tools, carry a risk of easing the work with one hand and intensifying work with the other hand. A risk which needs to be controlled during the effort to increase productivity as well as safety and health. |
Developing an abstraction hierarchy for visual displays in semi-automated vehicles
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Author Jediah R. Clark, Neville A. Stanton and Kirsten M. A. Revell |
| Abstract Understanding how to begin the process of designing a complex system can be challenging. Fortunately, human factors experts have a range of methods available for each step of the process from modelling domain constraints and affordances to more refined concept generation. For domains of high risk such as shared-control automated driving, understanding what, why and how to construct the environment around the human to optimise communication could be a major factor in preventing fatal collisions. In this presentation, we describe the process of developing an abstraction hierarchy – the process of mapping out physical objects, processes and values within the domain of semi-automated vehicles and present a section of this analysis exploring the implementation of visual displays for effective driver-automation communication. |
Resilience through the daily work of first line managers
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Author Magnus Karlsson, Anette Karltun, Karin Havemose and Johan Karltun |
| Abstract Organisational resilience can be a source of competitiveness, enabling companies to respond and adapt to unexpected changes, ensuring that a company can thrive whilst dealing with the unexpected. The ability of first line managers (FLMs) to handle their daily work at the operational level in order to maintain a stable production output, while managing the many challenges in the complex industrial context, is key. The importance of how FLMs can handle their role has been confirmed by several researchers – and more research is needed. In this research, two manufacturing companies are participating as they wish to develop their FLMs’ abilities to handle their role as an intermediate position between workers, technical support staff and upper management. The study aims to produce knowledge of how the daily work in the role of FLMs is enacted in the manufacturing context and how resilient action strategies can be developed for both performance and wellbeing. The study follows a collaborative approach in which two manufacturing companies are participating. After an initial workshop and ten in-depth interviews with FLMs the preliminary results indicate that the disturbances of daily work per se were expected by many of the interviewees. Difficulties involved were diminished by developed routines, although the information about those sometimes were difficult to find. Improvement opportunities regarded for example clarification of the role, better collaboration with support functions, more time to spend with operators interacting at shop floor level and expanding proactive action strategies. |
Enhancing Drivers’ Awareness of Passing Pedestrians with Exocentric Digital Mirrors
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Author Sarunchana Viputsakul, David R. Large and Gary Burnett |
| Abstract Digital mirrors are expected to feature in next generation cars. Ongoing technological developments in on-board cameras, sensors and sensor-fusing algorithms means that future drivers could be provided with novel visualisations that are not limited to traditional reflective mirror views. Comparing a traditional, egocentric, rear-view side mirror with novel, exocentric top and side views (all presented on a ‘digital mirror’ display inside a stationary vehicle), the study exposed 25 participants to 36 passing pedestrian scenarios to explore their ability to accurately locate the pedestrian, with the ultimate aim of reduce potential ‘dooring’ accidents. Overall, relative depth judgement was significantly more accurate when using the exocentric top view compared to the egocentric and side views. The top view also attracted the highest confidence and lowest ratings of workload. The study demonstrates clear benefits associated with enhanced, exocentric visualisations presented on internal digital mirrors to assist drivers in hazard detection and localisation. |
Preventative solutions from a systems perspective: Outcomes of a co-creating process among executives and researchers
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Author Christine Ipsen and Signe Bergmann |
| Abstract Stress is still one of the biggest challenges when it comes to people’s mental health and workplace opportunities to create growth and wellbeing puts new demands on managers to solve the problem. There is also a stronger focus on top executives and managers, who play a key role in preventing and managing stress, but without a clear picture of what that role implies. There are plenty of international tools and methods available to support interventions to prevent stress, but managers still search for ways to deal with the increasing and costly problem. This search also includes two Danish companies, the Danish Association of Managers and Executives (DAME) and the Danish Pension and Insurance Company, (PFA) which experience an increase in the request for concrete knowledge and tools from their members and customers to solve this problem. Besides applying their vast in-house consultants’ experience to serve their members, the two companies also wish to provide their customers and members with current, relevant and research-based knowledge on how to prevent stress in practice. Acknowledging the experience and knowledge among executives, managers and researchers, the aim of this project was to allow these actors inspired by Mode 2 knowledge production to co-create new knowledge on preventative strategies. The idea is that the joint knowledge production in combination with a systems perspective on prevention and stress management can qualify the ongoing stress and management debate and provide ideas for new solutions, enhancing the implementability of stress preventive changes that can ensure both business relevance and improved mental health. |
Human factors and the digital railway: Effecting and managing change through innovation and integration
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Author Richard Bye |
| Abstract With an infrastructure operating at full capacity, a testing political climate, and a mix of government, regulatory and public pressures, the GB railway is under more strain and scrutiny than ever before. Currently, more than 4.8 million journeys are made across the network every day, a number which is forecasted to increase by around 40% over the next 20 years. As such, the complex sociotechnical system that makes up Britain’s railway is in a constant state of flux, continually evolving to meet the everchanging demands of today, whilst anticipating the myriad needs of tomorrow. Without proactive interventions, the predicted growth in passenger journeys will erode the resilience of the railway, especially on the busiest parts of the network that are already characterised by an extreme density of train services. Passengers expect, and should receive, a right-time rail service all day, every day. However, minor disruptions frequently lead to congestion and delays, and result in losses to public satisfaction and confidence. Technological interventions to optimise system performance, whilst maintaining a continuous focus on passenger, workforce and public safety, require a robust and coordinated approach from the ergonomics and human factors (human factors) community. Human factors practitioners, in collaboration with frontline rail staff, engineers, system architects and policy makers, can innovate through practice and research to integrate digital railway (DR) technologies, and reduce environmental stressors, whilst maximising the return on investments at every level of the sociotechnical system. This work illustrates the application of systems ergonomics to the delivery of DR technologies within safety-critical work environments. The DR project is focused on deploying new technology to maximise train capacity on the existing infrastructure. To do this requires a comprehensive programme of human factors integration to effect the necessary cultural and organisational changes, and in doing so develop appropriate policies, regulations, standards and plans. |
A2/M2 Connected Corridor Connected Autonomous Vehicle Testbed
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Author Matt Blackwell and Ahmad Jamal |
| Abstract The A2/M2 Connected Corridor pilot is a flagship project which will contribute to industry knowledge and promote the UK as a market leader in Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAV) and Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) technology. Working in collaboration with Highways England, the Department for Transport, Transport for London (TfL) and Kent County Council, we designed, installed and implemented one of the UK’s first pilot connected vehicle corridors on a live road, to demonstrate how we could improve people’s lives with safer, faster journeys. The project is part of a European initiative to create a network of interoperable, connected corridors for autonomous vehicles across the Netherlands, Belgium, UK and France, aiming to achieve seamless interoperability of services between the countries and ensure safer and more efficient mobility of people and goods. The key focus is on factors likely to determine user acceptance, engagement, trust, and likely continued usage of CAV HMIs. |
Something for everyone: A generic AcciMap contributory factor classification scheme
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Author Paul M. Salmon, Adam Hulme, Guy H. Walker, Patrick Waterson, Elise Berber and Neville A. Stanton |
| Abstract AcciMap is now arguably the most popular accident analysis method with applications across a wide range of domains; however, one limitation of the method is the absence of a classification scheme to support analysts in identifying and classifying contributory factors. This potentially limits the reliability of the method and prevents the aggregation of data when the method is used to analyse multiple incidents. In response to this, this paper presents a generic AcciMap contributory factor classification scheme that was developed based on a review and analysis of the AcciMap analyses published in the peer-reviewed literature. The classification scheme comprises seventy-nine contributory factor types spanning the standard six AcciMap system levels and is generic in nature so can be applied in any domain. To close we discuss the implications for accident analysis and prevention activities and in particular encourage other analysts to apply the classification scheme in future applications. Aggregating accident analyses across the safety critical domains is recommended as an important area for future research. |
