The term “human factors” is used in many different ways in the aviation industry.
The term is, perhaps, best known in the context of aircraft cockpit design and Crew
Resource Management (CRM). However, those activities constitute only a small
percentage of aviation-related human factors, as broadly speaking it concerns any
consideration of human involvement in aviation.
The use of the term “human factors” in the context of aviation maintenance
engineering is relatively new. Aircraft accidents such as that to the Aloha aircraft in
the USA in 19881 and the BAC 1-11 windscreen accident in the UK in June 19902
brought the need to address human factors issues in this environment into sharp
focus. This does not imply that human factors issues were not present before these
dates nor that human error did not contribute to other incidents; merely that it took an
accident to draw attention to human factors problems and potential solutions.
Before discussing how these accidents were related to human factors, a definition of
human factors is required. There are many definitions available. Some authors refer
to the subject as ‘human factors’ and some as ‘ergonomics’. Some see “human
factors” as a scientific discipline and others regard it as a more general part of the
human contribution to system safety. Although there are simple definitions of human
factors such as: “Fitting the man to the job and the job to the man”, a good definition
in the context of aviation maintenance would be:
"Human factors" refers to the study of human capabilities and limitations in the workplace.
Human factors researchers study system performance. That is, they study the interaction
of maintenance personnel, the equipment they use, the written and verbal procedures and
rules they follow, and the environmental conditions of any system. The aim of human
factors is to optimise the relationship between maintenance personnel and systems with a
view to improving safety, efficiency and well-being”
Thus, human factors include such attributes as:
• human physiology;
• psychology (including perception, cognition, memory, social interaction, error,
etc.);
• work place design;
• environmental conditions;
• human-machine interface;
• anthropometrics (the scientific study of measurements of the human body).
The term is, perhaps, best known in the context of aircraft cockpit design and Crew
Resource Management (CRM). However, those activities constitute only a small
percentage of aviation-related human factors, as broadly speaking it concerns any
consideration of human involvement in aviation.
The use of the term “human factors” in the context of aviation maintenance
engineering is relatively new. Aircraft accidents such as that to the Aloha aircraft in
the USA in 19881 and the BAC 1-11 windscreen accident in the UK in June 19902
brought the need to address human factors issues in this environment into sharp
focus. This does not imply that human factors issues were not present before these
dates nor that human error did not contribute to other incidents; merely that it took an
accident to draw attention to human factors problems and potential solutions.
Before discussing how these accidents were related to human factors, a definition of
human factors is required. There are many definitions available. Some authors refer
to the subject as ‘human factors’ and some as ‘ergonomics’. Some see “human
factors” as a scientific discipline and others regard it as a more general part of the
human contribution to system safety. Although there are simple definitions of human
factors such as: “Fitting the man to the job and the job to the man”, a good definition
in the context of aviation maintenance would be:
"Human factors" refers to the study of human capabilities and limitations in the workplace.
Human factors researchers study system performance. That is, they study the interaction
of maintenance personnel, the equipment they use, the written and verbal procedures and
rules they follow, and the environmental conditions of any system. The aim of human
factors is to optimise the relationship between maintenance personnel and systems with a
view to improving safety, efficiency and well-being”
Thus, human factors include such attributes as:
• human physiology;
• psychology (including perception, cognition, memory, social interaction, error,
etc.);
• work place design;
• environmental conditions;
• human-machine interface;
• anthropometrics (the scientific study of measurements of the human body).
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