Human Factors Engineering
Design a system that is easy for people to do right and difficult to do wrong
Human Factors Engineering (HFE) is a multi-disciplinary field focused on understanding and refining the interactions between human elements and other system components.
Despite advancements in technical defences within high integrity systems, human error still persists as a common cause of failure to meet mission-critical goals with consequences for individuals, organisations and society. Such goals may be health, safety, environmental or quality and those failures can occur at any stage in the system lifecycle.
We ensure that HFE is effectively integrated into your systems, as required by safety and environmental regulators. This means your systems, processes, and environments will be optimised for human use; reducing failures and improving overall performance.
AFRY's approach to human factors engineering
To be effective, HFE processes must be an integral part of all stages of the system life cycle, as well as organisational design, engineering design, safety case and environmental assessment. By closely collaborating with our technical counterparts, we ensure mutual understanding of the diverse objectives and constraints within complex high integrity systems. This approach guarantees that our solutions are not only effective but also seamlessly integrated, which means your projects will benefit from cohesive and optimised designs.
We aim to integrate our expertise in ergonomics & psychology into operations, maintenance, and systems architecture. Benefits include operator decision-making, optimise training and development and more; ultimately creating a safer and more reliable working environment.
Our goals are to provide solutions that are:
- Technically Sound: Based on rigorous investigation and proven methodologies.
- Practical and Feasible: Tailored to the specific needs and constraints of each project.
- Sustainable: Ensuring long-term usability and satisfaction, that are critical for maintaining safety and operational efficiency.
Mission critical systems in high-risk industries
- AFRY provides a wide range of services in Human Factors Engineering
- 1. Input to Design
- 2. Assessments of Design
- 3. Assessments to Risk Management
Our team is comprised of young, technically knowledgeable engineers supported by seasoned HFE specialists with over 40 years of experience in mission critical systems in high-risk industries including:
- Nuclear
- Defence
- Oil & Gas
- Railways
- Maritime
- Healthcare
- Safety Regulation
We provide comprehensive HFE services designed to enhance human well-being, safety, efficiency, and overall system performance. Our services are grouped into three key areas:
Our strategic planning involves the production of a Human Factor Integration Plan (HFIP). This ensures that the proposed HFE processes align with your needs and project requirements. It sets out the collaborative and informational interactions with other project disciplines.
Assessments of Design involves the ergonomic optimisation of your work environments in terms of efficiency, reliability and safety tailored to the needs of both personnel and the system's goals. Assessments can include:
- Workplace Design Evaluation: We analyse actual or intended workspace designs to support comfort, productivity and error minimisation, to reduce the potential for injuries.
- Equipment Usage Analysis: Assessing tools and equipment to minimise hazards to personnel.
- Risk Identification: Identifying risks and providing recommendations to mitigate them, ensuring compliance with safety standards, relevant good practice and safety assessment requirements.
- User Research: Conducting in-depth research and investigations to understand user needs and preferences, particularly in high-integrity systems.
- Iterative Improvement: Continuously refining designs based on user feedback and performance data, ensuring they meet the everchanging industry demands.
In the assessment of risk, we focus on key activities that contribute to system safety. By meticulous study and quantification of potential hazards and human errors, we are able to develop strategies that promote optimal performance and safety. These include:
- Task Analysis: We conduct comprehensive task analyses to understand the interaction between human operators and their task environment. Our analyses contribute to designing systems and operational processes that support human performance and reduce the likelihood of errors.
- Human Error Identification: Based on our task analysis we can employ rigorous methods to undertake more searching examinations of potential human error. In a human HAZOP, we consider the psychological mechanisms that can increase or reduce error. Our services include participating as a secretary or specialist in HAZOPs conducted by others.
- Human Reliability Analysis (HRA): Our human error prediction capabilities include both the application of HEART+ and THERP methodologies to assess and enhance human reliability in complex systems. We aim to assess potential human error probabilities and develop strategies to mitigate them.
- Human Error Modelling: We collaborate with risk modellers to certify that identified human error or failures are adequately represented in qualitative or quantitative risk models such as bowtie diagrams, fault and event trees. In turn this ensures that the human contribution to risk is properly represented and estimated.
Safety Case Development: The development of an effective safety case typically relies on HFE information from any of the four key groupings of activity as listed above. We would expect to work in full collaboration with other safety case authors to ensure that the goals of the case are effectively met by sufficient argumentation and HFE evidence.
If you are interested in utilising our expertise in HFE, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Interested in our offering? Contact us!
Contact Dave Taylor
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