WorldWideScience

Sample records for human factor information

  1. Human factors information system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goodman, P.C.; DiPalo, C.A.

    1991-01-01

    Nuclear power plant safety is dependent upon human performance related to plant operations. To provide improvements in human performance, data collection and assessment play key roles. This paper reports on the Human factors Information System (HFIS) which is designed to meet the needs of the human factors specialists of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. These specialists identify personnel errors and provide guidance designed to prevent such errors. HFIS is a simple and modular system designed for use on a personal computer. It is designed to contain four separate modules that provide information indicative of program or function effectiveness as well as safety-related human performance based on programmatic and performance data. These modules include the Human Factors Status module; the Regulatory Programs module; the Licensee Event Report module; and the Operator Requalification Performance module. Information form these modules can either be used separately or can be combined due to the integrated nature of the system. HFIS has the capability, therefore, to provide insights into those areas of human factors that can reduce the probability of events caused by personnel error at nuclear power plants and promote the health and safety of the public. This information system concept can be applied to other industries as well as the nuclear industry

  2. Human factors estimation methods using physiological informations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takano, Ken-ichi; Yoshino, Kenji; Nakasa, Hiroyasu

    1984-01-01

    To enhance the operational safety in the nuclear power plant, it is necessary to decrease abnormal phenomena due to human errors. Especially, it is essential to basically understand human behaviors under the work environment for plant maintenance workers, inspectors, and operators. On the above stand point, this paper presents the results of literature survey on the present status of human factors engineering technology applicable to the nuclear power plant and also discussed the following items: (1) Application fields where the ergonomical evaluation is needed for workers safety. (2) Basic methodology for investigating the human performance. (3) Features of the physiological information analysis among various types of ergonomical techniques. (4) Necessary conditions for the application of in-situ physiological measurement to the nuclear power plant. (5) Availability of the physiological information analysis. (6) Effectiveness of the human factors engineering methodology, especially physiological information analysis in the case of application to the nuclear power plant. The above discussions lead to the demonstration of high applicability of the physiological information analysis to nuclear power plant, in order to improve the work performance. (author)

  3. Information Technology: A challenge to the Human Factors Society?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Jens

    1988-01-01

    In his presidential address at the annual meeting of the Human Factors Society, Julian Christensen urged the members of the society to spread the gospel and to persuade the members of other professional societies such as psychologists,sociologists and engineers to join the Human Factors Society......, the argument being that advanced technology requires a cross-disciplinary approach to human factors problems. In the present note, I would like to support this presidential effort. In fact, I will go further in that direction and argue that the present fast pace of information technology threatens to overrun...

  4. The role of human factors when evaluating information accountability for eHealth systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gajanayake, Randike; Sahama, Tony; Lane, Bill

    2013-01-01

    The availability of health information is rapidly increasing; its expansion and proliferation is inevitable. At the same time, breeding of health information silos is an unstoppable and relentless exercise. Information security and privacy concerns are therefore major barriers in the eHealth socio-eco system. We proposed Information Accountability as a measurable human factor that should eliminate and mitigate security concerns. Information accountability measures would be practicable and feasible if legislative requirements are also embedded. In this context, information accountability constitutes a key component for the development of effective information technology requirements for health information system. Our conceptual approach to measuring human factors related to information accountability in eHealth is presented in this paper. Measuring the human factors associated with information accountability can benefit from extant theories from information systems research and business management. However, the application of such theories must clearly address the specialised nature of the application context coupled with the role of the users within the context.

  5. Where's the emotion? How sport psychology can inform research on emotion in human factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eccles, David W; Ward, Paul; Woodman, Tim; Janelle, Christopher M; Le Scanff, Christine; Ehrlinger, Joyce; Castanier, Carole; Coombes, Stephen A

    2011-04-01

    The aim of this study was to demonstrate how research on emotion in sport psychology might inform the field of human factors. Human factors historically has paid little attention to the role of emotion within the research on human-system relations. The theories, methods, and practices related to research on emotion within sport psychology might be informative for human factors because fundamentally, sport psychology and human factors are applied fields concerned with enhancing performance in complex, real-world domains. Reviews of three areas of theory and research on emotion in sport psychology are presented, and the relevancy of each area for human factors is proposed: (a) emotional preparation and regulation for performance, (b) an emotional trait explanation for risk taking in sport, and (c) the link between emotion and motor behavior. Finally, there are suggestions for how to continue cross-talk between human factors and sport psychology about research on emotion and related topics in the future. The relevance of theory and research on emotion in sport psychology for human factors is demonstrated. The human factors field and, in particular, research on human-system relations may benefit from a consideration of theory and research on emotion in sport psychology. Theories, methods, and practices from sport psychology might be applied usefully to human factors.

  6. Human Factors Principles in Information Dashboard Design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hugo, Jacques V.; St. Germain, Shawn

    2016-06-01

    When planning for control room upgrades, nuclear power plants have to deal with a multitude of engineering and operational impacts. This will inevitably include several human factors considerations, including physical ergonomics of workstations, viewing angles, lighting, seating, new communication requirements, and new concepts of operation. In helping nuclear power utilities to deal with these challenges, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed effective methods to manage the various phases of the upgrade life cycle. These methods focus on integrating human factors engineering processes with the plant’s systems engineering process, a large part of which is the development of end-state concepts for control room modernization. Such an end-state concept is a description of a set of required conditions that define the achievement of the plant’s objectives for the upgrade. Typically, the end-state concept describes the transition of a conventional control room, over time, to a facility that employs advanced digital automation technologies in a way that significantly improves system reliability, reduces human and control room-related hazards, reduces system and component obsolescence, and significantly improves operator performance. To make the various upgrade phases as concrete and as visible as possible, an end-state concept would include a set of visual representations of the control room before and after various upgrade phases to provide the context and a framework within which to consider the various options in the upgrade. This includes the various control systems, human-system interfaces to be replaced, and possible changes to operator workstations. This paper describes how this framework helps to ensure an integrated and cohesive outcome that is consistent with human factors engineering principles and also provide substantial improvement in operator performance. The paper further describes the application of this integrated approach in the

  7. A review of human factors principles for the design and implementation of medication safety alerts in clinical information systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phansalkar, Shobha; Edworthy, Judy; Hellier, Elizabeth; Seger, Diane L; Schedlbauer, Angela; Avery, Anthony J; Bates, David W

    2010-01-01

    The objective of this review is to describe the implementation of human factors principles for the design of alerts in clinical information systems. First, we conduct a review of alarm systems to identify human factors principles that are employed in the design and implementation of alerts. Second, we review the medical informatics literature to provide examples of the implementation of human factors principles in current clinical information systems using alerts to provide medication decision support. Last, we suggest actionable recommendations for delivering effective clinical decision support using alerts. A review of studies from the medical informatics literature suggests that many basic human factors principles are not followed, possibly contributing to the lack of acceptance of alerts in clinical information systems. We evaluate the limitations of current alerting philosophies and provide recommendations for improving acceptance of alerts by incorporating human factors principles in their design.

  8. Human factors in network security

    OpenAIRE

    Jones, Francis B.

    1991-01-01

    Human factors, such as ethics and education, are important factors in network information security. This thesis determines which human factors have significant influence on network security. Those factors are examined in relation to current security devices and procedures. Methods are introduced to evaluate security effectiveness by incorporating the appropriate human factors into network security controls

  9. A review of human factors principles for the design and implementation of medication safety alerts in clinical information systems

    OpenAIRE

    Phansalkar, Shobha; Edworthy, Judy; Hellier, Elizabeth; Seger, Diane L; Schedlbauer, Angela; Avery, Anthony J; Bates, David W

    2010-01-01

    The objective of this review is to describe the implementation of human factors principles for the design of alerts in clinical information systems. First, we conduct a review of alarm systems to identify human factors principles that are employed in the design and implementation of alerts. Second, we review the medical informatics literature to provide examples of the implementation of human factors principles in current clinical information systems using alerts to provide medication decisio...

  10. Information Presentation: Human Research Program - Space Human Factors and Habitability, Space Human Factors Engineering Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holden, Kristina L.; Sandor, Aniko; Thompson, Shelby G.; Kaiser, Mary K.; McCann, Robert S.; Begault, D. R.; Adelstein, B. D.; Beutter, B. R.; Wenzel, E. M.; Godfroy, M.; hide

    2010-01-01

    The goal of the Information Presentation Directed Research Project (DRP) is to address design questions related to the presentation of information to the crew. The major areas of work, or subtasks, within this DRP are: 1) Displays, 2) Controls, 3) Electronic Procedures and Fault Management, and 4) Human Performance Modeling. This DRP is a collaborative effort between researchers atJohnson Space Center and Ames Research Center. T

  11. Human factor reliability program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knoblochova, L.

    2017-01-01

    The human factor's reliability program was at Slovenske elektrarne, a.s. (SE) nuclear power plants. introduced as one of the components Initiatives of Excellent Performance in 2011. The initiative's goal was to increase the reliability of both people and facilities, in response to 3 major areas of improvement - Need for improvement of the results, Troubleshooting support, Supporting the achievement of the company's goals. The human agent's reliability program is in practice included: - Tools to prevent human error; - Managerial observation and coaching; - Human factor analysis; -Quick information about the event with a human agent; -Human reliability timeline and performance indicators; - Basic, periodic and extraordinary training in human factor reliability(authors)

  12. Human issues of library and information work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jela Steinerová

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines philosophical, methodological and practical strategic aspects of library and information activity from the viewpoint of natural human and social factors. In contrast to traditional methodological patterns, real-life information problems and supportive methods of information seeking are stressed. The formulated conceptual framework is related to new competencies of information professionals, needs of information institutions and position of a human being in information processes. New methodological approach is outlined in models including factors with impact on a position of people in information work, human complexity and relationships of people and information. The resulting idea of human unity in information-related behaviour forms the vision of research directed to philosophy of a man in information science.

  13. A formal design verification and validation on the human factors of a computerized information system in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Yong Hee; Park, Jae Chang; Cheon, Se Woo; Jung, Kwang Tae; Baek, Seung Min; Han, Seung; Park, Hee Suk; Son, Ki Chang; Kim, Jung Man; Jung Yung Woo

    1999-11-01

    This report describe a technical transfer under the title of ''A formal design verification and validation on the human factors of a computerized information system in nuclear power plants''. Human factors requirements for the information system designs are extracted from various regulatory and industrial standards and guidelines, and interpreted into a more specific procedures and checklists for verifying the satisfaction of those requirements. A formalized implementation plan is established for human factors verification and validation of a computerized information system in nuclear power plants. Additionally, a Computer support system, named as DIMS-web (design Issue Management System), is developed based upon web internet environment so as to enhance the implementation of the human factors activities. DIMS-Web has three maine functions: supporting requirements review, tracking design issues, and management if issues screening evaluation. DIMS-Web shows its benefits in practice through a trial application to the design review of CFMS for YGN nuclear unit 5 and 6. (author)

  14. A formal design verification and validation on the human factors of a computerized information system in nuclear power plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Yong Hee; Park, Jae Chang; Cheon, Se Woo; Jung, Kwang Tae; Baek, Seung Min; Han, Seung; Park, Hee Suk; Son, Ki Chang; Kim, Jung Man; Jung Yung Woo

    1999-11-01

    This report describe a technical transfer under the title of ''A formal design verification and validation on the human factors of a computerized information system in nuclear power plants''. Human factors requirements for the information system designs are extracted from various regulatory and industrial standards and guidelines, and interpreted into a more specific procedures and checklists for verifying the satisfaction of those requirements. A formalized implementation plan is established for human factors verification and validation of a computerized information system in nuclear power plants. Additionally, a Computer support system, named as DIMS-web (design Issue Management System), is developed based upon web internet environment so as to enhance the implementation of the human factors activities. DIMS-Web has three maine functions: supporting requirements review, tracking design issues, and management if issues screening evaluation. DIMS-Web shows its benefits in practice through a trial application to the design review of CFMS for YGN nuclear unit 5 and 6. (author)

  15. Critical human-factors issues in nuclear-power regulation and a recommended comprehensive human-factors long-range plan. Critical discussion of human factors areas of concern

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hopkins, C.O.; Snyder, H.L.; Price, H.E.; Hornick, R.J.; Mackie, R.R.; Smillie, R.J.; Sugarman, R.C.

    1982-08-01

    This comprehensive long-range human factors plan for nuclear reactor regulation was developed by a Study Group of the Human Factors Society, Inc. This Study Group was selected by the Executive Council of the Society to provide a balanced, experienced human factors perspective to the applications of human factors scientific and engineering knowledge to nuclear power generation. The report is presented in three volumes. Volume 1 contains an Executive Summary of the 18-month effort and its conclusions. Volume 2 summarizes all known nuclear-related human factors activities, evaluates these activities wherever adequate information is available, and describes the recommended long-range (10-year) plan for human factors in regulation. Volume 3 elaborates upon each of the human factors issues and areas of recommended human factors involvement contained in the plan, and discusses the logic that led to the recommendations

  16. Undergraduates Learn about Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Human Factors from an Informational Brochure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kottke, Janet L.; Shoenfelt, Elizabeth L.; Stone, Nancy J.

    2017-01-01

    An informational brochure was created to assist students and faculty unfamiliar with the industrial-organizational (IO) and human factors (HF) disciplines. The brochure highlights the content of these two professions, presents advice for undergraduates to prepare for admission to IO and HF graduate programs, provides sources of IO and HF…

  17. Implementing human factors in clinical practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmons, Stephen; Baxendale, Bryn; Buttery, Andrew; Miles, Giulia; Roe, Bridget; Browes, Simon

    2015-01-01

    Objectives To understand whether aviation-derived human factors training is acceptable and useful to healthcare professionals. To understand whether and how healthcare professionals have been able to implement human factors approaches to patient safety in their own area of clinical practice. Methods Qualitative, longitudinal study using semi-structured interviews and focus groups, of a multiprofessional group of UK NHS staff (from the emergency department and operating theatres) who have received aviation-derived human factors training. Results The human factors training was evaluated positively, and thought to be both acceptable and relevant to practice. However, the staff found it harder to implement what they had learned in their own clinical areas, and this was principally attributed to features of the informal organisational cultures. Conclusions In order to successfully apply human factors approaches in hospital, careful consideration needs to be given to the local context and informal culture of clinical practice. PMID:24631959

  18. Critical Factors Influencing Decision to Adopt Human Resource Information System (HRIS in Hospitals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md Golam Rabiul Alam

    Full Text Available The aim of this research is to explore factors influencing the management decisions to adopt human resource information system (HRIS in the hospital industry of Bangladesh-an emerging developing country. To understand this issue, this paper integrates two prominent adoption theories-Human-Organization-Technology fit (HOT-fit model and Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE framework. Thirteen factors under four dimensions were investigated to explore their influence on HRIS adoption decisions in hospitals. Employing non-probability sampling method, a total of 550 copies of structured questionnaires were distributed among HR executives of 92 private hospitals in Bangladesh. Among the respondents, usable questionnaires were 383 that suggesting a valid response rate of 69.63%. We classify the sample into 3 core groups based on the HRIS initial implementation, namely adopters, prospectors, and laggards. The obtained results specify 5 most critical factors i.e. IT infrastructure, top management support, IT capabilities of staff, perceived cost, and competitive pressure. Moreover, the most significant dimension is technological dimension followed by organisational, human, and environmental among the proposed 4 dimensions. Lastly, the study found existence of significant differences in all factors across different adopting groups. The study results also expose constructive proposals to researchers, hospitals, and the government to enhance the likelihood of adopting HRIS. The present study has important implications in understanding HRIS implementation in developing countries.

  19. Critical Factors Influencing Decision to Adopt Human Resource Information System (HRIS) in Hospitals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alam, Md Golam Rabiul; Masum, Abdul Kadar Muhammad; Beh, Loo-See; Hong, Choong Seon

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this research is to explore factors influencing the management decisions to adopt human resource information system (HRIS) in the hospital industry of Bangladesh—an emerging developing country. To understand this issue, this paper integrates two prominent adoption theories—Human-Organization-Technology fit (HOT-fit) model and Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. Thirteen factors under four dimensions were investigated to explore their influence on HRIS adoption decisions in hospitals. Employing non-probability sampling method, a total of 550 copies of structured questionnaires were distributed among HR executives of 92 private hospitals in Bangladesh. Among the respondents, usable questionnaires were 383 that suggesting a valid response rate of 69.63%. We classify the sample into 3 core groups based on the HRIS initial implementation, namely adopters, prospectors, and laggards. The obtained results specify 5 most critical factors i.e. IT infrastructure, top management support, IT capabilities of staff, perceived cost, and competitive pressure. Moreover, the most significant dimension is technological dimension followed by organisational, human, and environmental among the proposed 4 dimensions. Lastly, the study found existence of significant differences in all factors across different adopting groups. The study results also expose constructive proposals to researchers, hospitals, and the government to enhance the likelihood of adopting HRIS. The present study has important implications in understanding HRIS implementation in developing countries. PMID:27494334

  20. Critical Factors Influencing Decision to Adopt Human Resource Information System (HRIS) in Hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alam, Md Golam Rabiul; Masum, Abdul Kadar Muhammad; Beh, Loo-See; Hong, Choong Seon

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this research is to explore factors influencing the management decisions to adopt human resource information system (HRIS) in the hospital industry of Bangladesh-an emerging developing country. To understand this issue, this paper integrates two prominent adoption theories-Human-Organization-Technology fit (HOT-fit) model and Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework. Thirteen factors under four dimensions were investigated to explore their influence on HRIS adoption decisions in hospitals. Employing non-probability sampling method, a total of 550 copies of structured questionnaires were distributed among HR executives of 92 private hospitals in Bangladesh. Among the respondents, usable questionnaires were 383 that suggesting a valid response rate of 69.63%. We classify the sample into 3 core groups based on the HRIS initial implementation, namely adopters, prospectors, and laggards. The obtained results specify 5 most critical factors i.e. IT infrastructure, top management support, IT capabilities of staff, perceived cost, and competitive pressure. Moreover, the most significant dimension is technological dimension followed by organisational, human, and environmental among the proposed 4 dimensions. Lastly, the study found existence of significant differences in all factors across different adopting groups. The study results also expose constructive proposals to researchers, hospitals, and the government to enhance the likelihood of adopting HRIS. The present study has important implications in understanding HRIS implementation in developing countries.

  1. Implementing human factors in clinical practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmons, Stephen; Baxendale, Bryn; Buttery, Andrew; Miles, Giulia; Roe, Bridget; Browes, Simon

    2015-05-01

    To understand whether aviation-derived human factors training is acceptable and useful to healthcare professionals. To understand whether and how healthcare professionals have been able to implement human factors approaches to patient safety in their own area of clinical practice. Qualitative, longitudinal study using semi-structured interviews and focus groups, of a multiprofessional group of UK NHS staff (from the emergency department and operating theatres) who have received aviation-derived human factors training. The human factors training was evaluated positively, and thought to be both acceptable and relevant to practice. However, the staff found it harder to implement what they had learned in their own clinical areas, and this was principally attributed to features of the informal organisational cultures. In order to successfully apply human factors approaches in hospital, careful consideration needs to be given to the local context and informal culture of clinical practice. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  2. The development of human factors technologies -The development of human factors experimental evaluation techniques-

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shim, Bong Sik; Oh, In Suk; Cha, Kyung Hoh; Lee, Hyun Chul

    1995-07-01

    In this year, we studied the followings: 1) Development of operator mental workload evaluation techniques, 2) Development of a prototype for preliminary human factors experiment, 3) Suitability test of information display on a large scale display panel, 4) Development of guidelines for VDU-based control room design, 5) Development of integrated test facility (ITF). 6) Establishment of an eye tracking system, and we got the following results: 1) Mental workload evaluation techniques for MMI evaluation, 2) PROTOPEX (PROTOtype for preliminary human factors experiment) for preliminary human factors experiments, 3) Usage methods of APTEA (Analysis-Prototyping-Training-Experiment-Analysis) experiment design, 4) Design guidelines for human factors verification, 5) Detail design requirements and development plan of ITF, 6) Eye movement measurement system. 38 figs, 20 tabs, 54 refs. (Author)

  3. Human factors influencing decision making

    OpenAIRE

    Jacobs, Patricia A.

    1998-01-01

    This report supplies references and comments on literature that identifies human factors influencing decision making, particularly military decision making. The literature has been classified as follows (the classes are not mutually exclusive): features of human information processing; decision making models which are not mathematical models but rather are descriptive; non- personality factors influencing decision making; national characteristics influencing decision makin...

  4. Factors Affecting Successful Implementation of Hospital Information Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farzandipur, Mehrdad; Jeddi, Fatemeh Rangraz; Azimi, Esmaeil

    2016-02-01

    Today, the use of information systems in health environments, like any other fields, is necessary and organizational managers are convinced to use these systems. However, managers' satisfaction is not the only factor in successfully implementing these systems and failed information technology projects (IT) are reported despite the consent of the directors. Therefore, this study aims to determine the factors affecting the successful implementation of a hospital information system. The study was carried out as a descriptive method in 20 clinical hospitals that the hospital information system (HIS) was conducted in them. The clinical and paraclinical users of mentioned hospitals are the study group. 400 people were chosen as samples in scientific method and the data was collected using a questionnaire consisted of three main human, managerial and organizational, and technological factors, by questionnaire and interview. Then the data was scored in Likert scale (score of 1 to 5) and were analyzed using the SPSS software. About 75 percent of the population were female, with average work experience of 10 years and the mean age was 30 years. The human factors affecting the success of hospital information system implementation achieved the mean score of 3.5, both organizational and managerial factors 2.9 and technological factors the mean of 3. Human factors including computer skills, perceiving usefulness and perceiving the ease of a hospital information system use are more effective on the acceptance and successful implementation of hospital information systems; then the technological factors play a greater role. It is recommended that for the successful implementation of hospital information systems, most of these factors to be considered.

  5. Tire aging: a human factors analysis of failure to warn and inform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wogalter, Michael S; Laughery, Kenneth R

    2012-01-01

    A scenario of an automotive accident caused by tire failure is given followed by a human factors analysis of the information available to consumers on tire aging. Consumers have not been told that the age of the tire is a safety concern. It is not easy to decode the date of manufacture on tires. More publicity and prominent warnings are needed to communicate the dangers of older tires. Also, better ways to present the date of manufacture so that consumers can more easily and accurately assess tire age are needed.

  6. Critical human-factors issues in nuclear-power regulation and a recommended comprehensive human-factors long-range plan. Executive summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hopkins, C.O.; Snyder, H.L.; Price, H.E.; Hornick, R.J.; Mackie, R.R.; Smillie, R.J.; Sugarman, R.C.

    1982-08-01

    This comprehensive long-range human factors plan for nuclear reactor regulation was developed by a Study Group of the Human Factors Society, Inc. This Study Group was selected by the Executive Council of the Society to provide a balanced, experienced human factors perspective to the applications of human factors scientific and engineering knowledge to nuclear power generation. The report is presented in three volumes. Volume 1 contains an Executive Summary of the 18-month effort and its conclusions. Volume 2 summarizes all known nuclear-related human factors activities, evaluates these activities wherever adequate information is available, and describes the recommended long-range (10-year) plan for human factors in regulation. Volume 3 elaborates upon each of the human factors issues and areas of recommended human factors involvement contained in the plan, and discusses the logic that led to the recommendations

  7. Morphology of Design of Aerospace Systems with Inclusion of Human Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    1977-08-01

    Visual Indicators," Human Factors, 1971, 13(5), pp. 427-433. 22. Mayer, Sylvia R., "Trends in Human Factors Research for Military Information Systems...34The Standardi- zation of Human Factors Data," Human Factors, 1970, 12(1), pp. 55-62. 29. Plath , D.W., "Th’ Readability of Segmented and Con... Sylvia R., "Trends in Human Factors Research for Military Information Systems," Human Factors, 1970, 12(2), pp. 177-186. 35. Meister, David, Dennis 3

  8. Evolution of human factors research and studies of health information technologies: the role of patient safety

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beuscart-Zéphir, M. C.; Borycki, E.; Carayon, P.; Jaspers, M. W. M.; Pelayo, S.

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this survey paper is to present and explain the impact of recent regulations and patient safety initiatives (EU, US and Canada) on Human Factors (HF)/Usability studies and research focusing on Health Information Technology (HIT). The authors have selected the most prominent of these

  9. Integrating Data and Networks: Human Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, R. S.

    2012-12-01

    The development of technical linkages and interoperability between scientific networks is a necessary but not sufficient step towards integrated use and application of networked data and information for scientific and societal benefit. A range of "human factors" must also be addressed to ensure the long-term integration, sustainability, and utility of both the interoperable networks themselves and the scientific data and information to which they provide access. These human factors encompass the behavior of both individual humans and human institutions, and include system governance, a common framework for intellectual property rights and data sharing, consensus on terminology, metadata, and quality control processes, agreement on key system metrics and milestones, the compatibility of "business models" in the short and long term, harmonization of incentives for cooperation, and minimization of disincentives. Experience with several national and international initiatives and research programs such as the International Polar Year, the Group on Earth Observations, the NASA Earth Observing Data and Information System, the U.S. National Spatial Data Infrastructure, the Global Earthquake Model, and the United Nations Spatial Data Infrastructure provide a range of lessons regarding these human factors. Ongoing changes in science, technology, institutions, relationships, and even culture are creating both opportunities and challenges for expanded interoperability of scientific networks and significant improvement in data integration to advance science and the use of scientific data and information to achieve benefits for society as a whole.

  10. Human Factors in Cabin Accident Investigations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chute, Rebecca D.; Rosekind, Mark R. (Technical Monitor)

    1996-01-01

    Human factors has become an integral part of the accident investigation protocol. However, much of the investigative process remains focussed on the flight deck, airframe, and power plant systems. As a consequence, little data has been collected regarding the human factors issues within and involving the cabin during an accident. Therefore, the possibility exists that contributing factors that lie within that domain may be overlooked. The FAA Office of Accident Investigation is sponsoring a two-day workshop on cabin safety accident investigation. This course, within the workshop, will be of two hours duration and will explore relevant areas of human factors research. Specifically, the three areas of discussion are: Information transfer and resource management, fatigue and other physical stressors, and the human/machine interface. Integration of these areas will be accomplished by providing a suggested checklist of specific cabin-related human factors questions for investigators to probe following an accident.

  11. Information processing. [in human performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wickens, Christopher D.; Flach, John M.

    1988-01-01

    Theoretical models of sensory-information processing by the human brain are reviewed from a human-factors perspective, with a focus on their implications for aircraft and avionics design. The topics addressed include perception (signal detection and selection), linguistic factors in perception (context provision, logical reversals, absence of cues, and order reversals), mental models, and working and long-term memory. Particular attention is given to decision-making problems such as situation assessment, decision formulation, decision quality, selection of action, the speed-accuracy tradeoff, stimulus-response compatibility, stimulus sequencing, dual-task performance, task difficulty and structure, and factors affecting multiple task performance (processing modalities, codes, and stages).

  12. Human factors quantification via boundary identification of flight performance margin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Changpeng

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available A systematic methodology including a computational pilot model and a pattern recognition method is presented to identify the boundary of the flight performance margin for quantifying the human factors. The pilot model is proposed to correlate a set of quantitative human factors which represent the attributes and characteristics of a group of pilots. Three information processing components which are influenced by human factors are modeled: information perception, decision making, and action execution. By treating the human factors as stochastic variables that follow appropriate probability density functions, the effects of human factors on flight performance can be investigated through Monte Carlo (MC simulation. Kernel density estimation algorithm is selected to find and rank the influential human factors. Subsequently, human factors are quantified through identifying the boundary of the flight performance margin by the k-nearest neighbor (k-NN classifier. Simulation-based analysis shows that flight performance can be dramatically improved with the quantitative human factors.

  13. Human-computer interaction and management information systems

    CERN Document Server

    Galletta, Dennis F

    2014-01-01

    ""Human-Computer Interaction and Management Information Systems: Applications"" offers state-of-the-art research by a distinguished set of authors who span the MIS and HCI fields. The original chapters provide authoritative commentaries and in-depth descriptions of research programs that will guide 21st century scholars, graduate students, and industry professionals. Human-Computer Interaction (or Human Factors) in MIS is concerned with the ways humans interact with information, technologies, and tasks, especially in business, managerial, organizational, and cultural contexts. It is distinctiv

  14. Human factors and safe patient care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Beverley

    2009-03-01

    This paper aims to introduce the topic of human factors to nursing management and to identify areas where it can be applied to patient safety. Human factors is a discipline established in most safety critical industries and uses knowledge about human behaviour in the analysis and design of complex systems, yet it is relatively new to many in healthcare. Most safety critical industries have developed tools and techniques to apply human factors to system design, and these have been reviewed together with those resources already available for use in healthcare. Models of human behaviour such as the nature and patterns of human error, information processing, decision-making and team work have clear applications to healthcare. Human factors focus on a system view of safety, and propose that safety should, where possible, be 'designed in'. Other interventions such as building defences, mitigating hazards and education and training should only be used where design solutions cannot be found. Simple human factors principles such as: designing for standardization; the involvement of users and staff in designing services and procuring equipment; understanding how errors occur; and the workarounds that staff will inevitably take are vital considerations in improving patient safety. Opportunities for the application of human factors to healthcare and improved patient safety are discussed. Some existing tools and techniques for applying human factors in nursing management are also presented.

  15. Integrated application of human factors to a power plant control room information system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fish, H.C. Jr.; Gutierrez, R.

    1988-01-01

    The human factors plan was developed as a methodology to apply human factors from the conceptual design of the EPIC system to the functional verification conducted at the plant. An integral part of the Human Factors Plan was the Functional Verification Plan. Developed in parallel, this second plan and its resultant programs verified functional appropriateness of the SPDS display, NSSS displays, EOP displays, man-machine interfaces (MMI), and workstation designs. The functional verification process was performed at the hardware/software developer's factory and at the JAFNPP, following installation of the EPIC system. Because the EPIC system replaces existing control room equipment, it is important that human factors be applied in a systematic manner consistent with other control room displays and controls. To ensure that this goal was met, a human factors plan was developed

  16. Integrating Human Factors Engineering and Information Processing Approaches to Facilitate Evaluations in Criminal Justice Technology Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvemini, Anthony V; Piza, Eric L; Carter, Jeremy G; Grommon, Eric L; Merritt, Nancy

    2015-06-01

    Evaluations are routinely conducted by government agencies and research organizations to assess the effectiveness of technology in criminal justice. Interdisciplinary research methods are salient to this effort. Technology evaluations are faced with a number of challenges including (1) the need to facilitate effective communication between social science researchers, technology specialists, and practitioners, (2) the need to better understand procedural and contextual aspects of a given technology, and (3) the need to generate findings that can be readily used for decision making and policy recommendations. Process and outcome evaluations of technology can be enhanced by integrating concepts from human factors engineering and information processing. This systemic approach, which focuses on the interaction between humans, technology, and information, enables researchers to better assess how a given technology is used in practice. Examples are drawn from complex technologies currently deployed within the criminal justice system where traditional evaluations have primarily focused on outcome metrics. Although this evidence-based approach has significant value, it is vulnerable to fully account for human and structural complexities that compose technology operations. Guiding principles for technology evaluations are described for identifying and defining key study metrics, facilitating communication within an interdisciplinary research team, and for understanding the interaction between users, technology, and information. The approach posited here can also enable researchers to better assess factors that may facilitate or degrade the operational impact of the technology and answer fundamental questions concerning whether the technology works as intended, at what level, and cost. © The Author(s) 2015.

  17. Human factors engineering review for CRT screen design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yi, S. M.; Joo, C. Y.; Ra, J. C.

    1999-01-01

    The information interface between man and machine may be more important than hardware and workplace layout considerations. Transmitting and receiving data through this information interface can be characterized as a communication or interface problem. Management of man-machine interface is essential for the enhancement of the information processing and decision-making capability of computer users working in real time, demanding task. The design of human-computer interface is not a rigid and static procedure. The content and context of each interface varies according to the specific application. So, the purpose of this study is to review the human factor design process for interfaces, to make human factor guidelines for CRT screen and to apply these to CRT screen design. (author)

  18. A human factors needs assessment and planning study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Price, H.E.; Van Cott, H.P.

    1982-06-01

    A study was done to assess the need for human factors research, development, and regulatory action in the Atomic Energy Control Board. Further study or development in nine human factors areas is proposed. The urgency, schedule, and resources judged to be necessary for the proposed efforts are estimated. Special emphasis is placed on the need for task analysis information, for the evaluation of control room and maintenance human engineering, and for the development of an improved human error reporting system

  19. [Factors of success in the implementation of the technologies of the information and the communication in the health systems. The human factor].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roman-Viñas, Ramón

    2010-02-01

    In this work some of the fundamentals of change management techniques to ensure the introduction of information and communication technologies in health organizations are analized. Managing change is aimed at redirecting the impact of any transformation process in the organizations towards a positive attitude and enthusiasm of those involved. That is, this paper analyzes the most important of all factors that must be managed in any project for change: the human factor. If a proper change management is a critical success factor in implementing new processes and systems of information and communication technologies (ICT) in an organization, when we faced with the introduction of new processes and interoperability systems between different organizations, cooperation, leadership and motivation of individuals focused on a common goal is absolutely imperative. This is the case of the new ICT systems being introduced in the Catalan Health System. Indeed, by definition of the model itself, in Catalonia, continuity of care, increased efficiency and effectiveness and quality improvement of projects as the clinical history shared, electronic prescriptions, or scanning medical imaging, require necessarily the definition of processes in which a large number of different health organizations, different in their law status, and whose own interests should converge towards the ICT systems and processes of health care so that the contribution of all parties can make a whole. The success of these projects, a reality nowadays, is due largely to the management of the human factor conducted continuously since its inception. 2010 Elsevier España S.L. All rights reserved.

  20. Human Factors Predicting Failure and Success in Hospital Information System Implementations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verbeke, Frank; Karara, Gustave; Nyssen, Marc

    2015-01-01

    From 2007 through 2014, the authors participated in the implementation of open source hospital information systems (HIS) in 19 hospitals in Rwanda, Burundi, DR Congo, Congo-Brazzaville, Gabon, and Mali. Most of these implementations were successful, but some failed. At the end of a seven-year implementation effort, a number of risk factors, facilitators, and pragmatic approaches related to the deployment of HIS in Sub-Saharan health facilities have been identified. Many of the problems encountered during the HIS implementation process were not related to technical issues but human, cultural, and environmental factors. This study retrospectively evaluates the predictive value of 14 project failure factors and 15 success factors in HIS implementation in the Sub-Saharan region. Nine of the failure factors were strongly correlated with project failure, three were moderately correlated, and one weakly correlated. Regression analysis also confirms that eight factors were strongly correlated with project success, four moderately correlated, and two weakly correlated. The study results may help estimate the expedience of future HIS projects.

  1. Development of a Field Management Standard for Improving Human Factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, Young Su; Son, Il Moon; Son, Byung Chang; Kwak, Hyo Yean

    2009-07-01

    This project is to develop a management guideline for improving human performances as a part of the Human Factors Management System of Kori unit 1 which is managing all of human factors items such as man-machine system interfaces, work procedures, work environments, and human reliabilities in nuclear power plants. Human factors engineering includes an human factors suitability analysis and improvement of human works, an analysis of accidents by human error, an improvement of work environment, an establishment of human factors management rules and a development of human resources to manage and perform those things consistently. For assisting these human factors engineering tasks, we developed human factors management guidelines, checklists and work procedures to be used in staffing, qualification, training, and human information requirements and workload. We also provided a software tool for managing the above items. Additionally, contents and an item pool for a human factors qualifying examination and training programs were developed. A procedures improvement and a human factors V and V on the Kori unit 1 have been completed as a part of this project, too

  2. Human factor analysis and preventive countermeasures in nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Ye

    2010-01-01

    Based on the human error analysis theory and the characteristics of maintenance in a nuclear power plant, human factors of maintenance in NPP are divided into three different areas: human, technology, and organization. Which is defined as individual factors, including psychological factors, physiological characteristics, health status, level of knowledge and interpersonal skills; The technical factors including technology, equipment, tools, working order, etc.; The organizational factors including management, information exchange, education, working environment, team building and leadership management,etc The analysis found that organizational factors can directly or indirectly affect the behavior of staff and technical factors, is the most basic human error factor. Based on this nuclear power plant to reduce human error and measures the response. (authors)

  3. Human factors methods for nuclear control room design. Volume I. Human factors enhancement of existing nuclear control rooms. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Seidenstein, S.; Eckert, S.K.; Smith, D.L.

    1979-11-01

    Human factors engineering is an interdisciplinary specialty concerned with influencing the design of equipment systems, facilities, and operational environments to promote safe, efficient, and reliable operator performance. Human factors approaches were applied in the design of representative nuclear power plant control panels. First, methods for upgrading existing operational control panels were examined. Then, based on detailed human factors analyses of operator information and control requirements, designs of reactor, feedwater, and turbine-generator control panels were developed to improve the operator-control board interface, thereby reducing the potential for operator errors. In addition to examining present-generation concepts, human factors aspects of advanced systems and of hybrid combinations of advanced and conventional designs were investigated. Special attention was given to warning system designs. Also, a survey was conducted among control board designers to (1) develop an overview of design practices in the industry, and (2) establish appropriate measures leading to a more systematic concern for human factors in control board design

  4. A Human Factors Study on an Information Visualization System for Nuclear Power Plants Decommissioning Engineering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Chih Wei; Yang, Li Chen [Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Longtan (China)

    2014-08-15

    Most nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the world have an operating life of up to 40 years. The utility should prepare a comprehensive decommissioning plan with purpose to document and to display how decommissioning activities can be safely performed. In the past, most studies related to NPPs decommissioning planning put emphasis on technical issues, little attention have been given to human factors in decommissioning activities. In fact, human factors are a critical factor to successful NPPs decommissioning. NPPs decommissioning will face potential risks. These risks include not only dismantling and moving large equipment but also treating with the radioactive materials. Using information visualization system, such as virtual reality (VR) technology, for staff training can improve decommissioning work safety and economy. Therefore, this study presents a study using VR to solve real world problems in the nuclear plant decommissioning. Then appropriate cases for introducing VR systems are summarized and future prospects are given. This study assesses availability and performance of the work training system by using heuristic evaluation and actual experiment. In the result, block type of radiation visibility was found relatively better both in performance and person's preference than other types. The results presented in this paper illustrate the VR applications a NPP decommissioning perspective.

  5. A Human Factors Study on an Information Visualization System for Nuclear Power Plants Decommissioning Engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Chih Wei; Yang, Li Chen

    2014-01-01

    Most nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the world have an operating life of up to 40 years. The utility should prepare a comprehensive decommissioning plan with purpose to document and to display how decommissioning activities can be safely performed. In the past, most studies related to NPPs decommissioning planning put emphasis on technical issues, little attention have been given to human factors in decommissioning activities. In fact, human factors are a critical factor to successful NPPs decommissioning. NPPs decommissioning will face potential risks. These risks include not only dismantling and moving large equipment but also treating with the radioactive materials. Using information visualization system, such as virtual reality (VR) technology, for staff training can improve decommissioning work safety and economy. Therefore, this study presents a study using VR to solve real world problems in the nuclear plant decommissioning. Then appropriate cases for introducing VR systems are summarized and future prospects are given. This study assesses availability and performance of the work training system by using heuristic evaluation and actual experiment. In the result, block type of radiation visibility was found relatively better both in performance and person's preference than other types. The results presented in this paper illustrate the VR applications a NPP decommissioning perspective

  6. Discussing the Effective Factors on Maintenance of Human Resources

    OpenAIRE

    Bahare Shahriari

    2016-01-01

    In this research, the author has elaborated on detection of effective factors on maintenance and retention of human resources. Since human resources are the most resources for obtaining competitive advantage, it is essential to pay attention to different dimensions of human resources management. One of these dimensions is retention of human resources. Factors such as providing correct and valid information at the time of recruitment, assigning tasks based on competence, existence of a clear c...

  7. Human Factors Throughout the Life Cycle: Lessons Learned from the Shuttle Program. [Human Factors in Ground Processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanki, Barbara G.

    2011-01-01

    With the ending of the Space Shuttle Program, it is critical that we not forget the Human Factors lessons we have learned over the years. At every phase of the life cycle, from manufacturing, processing and integrating vehicle and payload, to launch, flight operations, mission control and landing, hundreds of teams have worked together to achieve mission success in one of the most complex, high-risk socio-technical enterprises ever designed. Just as there was great diversity in the types of operations performed at every stage, there was a myriad of human factors that could further complicate these human systems. A single mishap or close call could point to issues at the individual level (perceptual or workload limitations, training, fatigue, human error susceptibilities), the task level (design of tools, procedures and aspects of the workplace), as well as the organizational level (appropriate resources, safety policies, information access and communication channels). While we have often had to learn through human mistakes and technological failures, we have also begun to understand how to design human systems in which individuals can excel, where tasks and procedures are not only safe but efficient, and how organizations can foster a proactive approach to managing risk and supporting human enterprises. Panelists will talk about their experiences as they relate human factors to a particular phase of the shuttle life cycle. They will conclude with a framework for tying together human factors lessons-learned into system-level risk management strategies.

  8. The development of human factors experimental evaluation techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sim, Bong Shick; Oh, In Suk; Cha, Kyung Ho; Lee, Hyun Chul; Park, Geun Ok; Cheon, Se Woo; Suh, Sang Moon

    1997-07-01

    New human factors issues, such as evaluation of information navigation, the consideration of operator characteristics, and operator performance assessment, related to the HMI design based on VDUs are being risen. Thus, in order to solve these human factors issues, this project aims to establish the experimental technologies including the techniques for experimental design, experimental measurement, data collection and analysis, and to develop ITF (Integrated Test Facility) suitable for the experiment of HMI design evaluation. For the establish of the experimental data analysis and evaluation methodologies, we developed as the following: (1) a paradigm for human factors experimentation including experimental designs, procedures, and data analysis. (2) the methods for the assessment of operator`s mental workload (3) DAEXESS (data analysis and experiment evaluation supporting system). Also, we have established a experiment execution technologies through the preliminary experiments, such as the suitability evaluation of information display on a LSDP, the evaluation of information display on a LSDP, the evaluation of computerized operation procedure and an experiment of advanced alarm system (ADIOS). Finally, we developed the ITF including human machine simulator, telemetry system, an eye tracking system, an audio/video data measurement system, and three dimensional micro behaviour analysis system. (author). 81 refs., 68 tabs., 73 figs.

  9. Development of Human Factor Management Requirements and Human Error Classification for the Prevention of Railway Accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwak, Sang Log; Park, Chan Woo; Shin, Seung Ryoung

    2008-08-01

    Railway accident analysis results show that accidents cased by human factors are not decreasing, whereas H/W related accidents are steadily decreasing. For the efficient management of human factors, many expertise on design, conditions, safety culture and staffing are required. But current safety management activities on safety critical works are focused on training, due to the limited resource and information. In order to improve railway safety, human factors management requirements for safety critical worker and human error classification is proposed in this report. For this accident analysis, status of safety measure on human factor, safety management system on safety critical worker, current safety planning is analysis

  10. Human factors survey of advanced instrumentation and controls

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carter, R.J.

    1989-01-01

    A survey oriented towards identifying the human factors issues in regard to the use of advanced instrumentation and controls (I ampersand C) in the nuclear industry was conducted. A number of United States (US) and Canadian nuclear vendors and utilities were participants in the survey. Human factors items, subsumed under the categories of computer-generated displays (CGD), controls, organizational support, training, and related topics, were discussed. The survey found the industry to be concerned about the human factors issues related to the implementation of advanced I ampersand C. Fifteen potential human factors problems were identified. They include: the need for an advanced I ampersand C guideline equivalent to NUREG-0700; a role change in the control room from operator to supervisor; information overload; adequacy of existing training technology for advanced I ampersand C; and operator acceptance and trust. 11 refs., 1 tab

  11. Information and Knowledge Management in the Scope of the Information Security practices: the human factor within Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana Emirena Santos Carneiro

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The security of informational assets has always been a corporate requirement. These assets can be scaled in three main spheres, namely, people, organizational processes and technologies. The internet, the web, the broadcast of networks, and the growing presence of technology both in people's lives and in organizational contexts have caused profound transformations in the intrinsic processes that constitute personal and organizational routines. On the one hand, these changes provided by the technological progress have fostered competitiveness and decentralization; on the other hand, they require better management, control, security and protection for information and knowledge. This article presents the results of an investigation within information security realm, focusing on the human aspects of knowledge and information management related to security practices. Using a quality-quantitative approach, we identify behavioral actions and profiles of employees of a company in the field of healthcare, which reveal some connections with information security failures. We conclude that the human element is a relevant variable, even a critical one, for the management of information security in organizations.

  12. Qualitative and quantitative methods for human factor analysis and assessment in NPP. Investigations and results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hristova, R.; Kalchev, B.; Atanasov, D.

    2005-01-01

    We consider here two basic groups of methods for analysis and assessment of the human factor in the NPP area and give some results from performed analyses as well. The human factor is the human interaction with the design equipment, with the working environment and takes into account the human capabilities and limits. In the frame of the qualitative methods for analysis of the human factor are considered concepts and structural methods for classifying of the information, connected with the human factor. Emphasize is given to the HPES method for human factor analysis in NPP. Methods for quantitative assessment of the human reliability are considered. These methods allow assigning of probabilities to the elements of the already structured information about human performance. This part includes overview of classical methods for human reliability assessment (HRA, THERP), and methods taking into account specific information about human capabilities and limits and about the man-machine interface (CHR, HEART, ATHEANA). Quantitative and qualitative results concerning human factor influence in the initiating events occurrences in the Kozloduy NPP are presented. (authors)

  13. Human factors in training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dutton, J.W.; Brown, W.R.

    1981-01-01

    The Human Factors concept is a focused effort directed at those activities which require human involvement. Training is, by its nature, an activity totally dependent on the Human Factor. This paper identifies several concerns significant to training situations and discusses how Human Factor awareness can increase the quality of learning. Psychology in the training arena is applied Human Factors. Training is a method of communication represented by sender, medium, and receiver. Two-thirds of this communications model involves the human element directly

  14. UNC Nuclear Industries' human-factored approach to the operating or maintenance procedure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, A.A.; Clark, J.E.

    1982-01-01

    The development of Human Factors Engineering (HFE) and UNC Nuclear Industries' (UNC) commitment to minimizing the potential for human error in the performance of operating or maintenance procedures have lead to a procedure upgrade program. Human-factored procedures were developed using information from many sources including, but not limited to, operators, a human factors specialist, engineers and supervisors. This has resulted in the Job Performance Aid (JPA). This paper presents UNC's approach to providing human-factored operating and maintenance procedures

  15. Extraction of human factors issues caused by application of the advanced HSI technology and development of human factor issue management system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suh, Sang Moon; Lee, Jung Woon; Park, Jae Chang; Oh, In Seok [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea)

    1999-01-01

    A comprehensive literature survey was performed in this study to collect human performance issues related to the advanced HSI design features. The literature from not only nuclear industry but also other industries was collected and reviewed. The issues were categorized into the following advanced HSI design features: devices characteristics, levels of automation, information design and management, display management, computerized controls, alarm systems, computerized procedures, staffing and crew coordination, and operator support systems. The classified issues were described with the description framework. Then, the relationship of issues to HSI design process such as human factors analyses, human factors design, and human factors verification and validation was investigated. Finally, the issue management system of server-client environment was developed using Microsoft's Active Server Page technology and Access 97. (author). 18 refs., 6 figs.

  16. Human factors review of electric power dispatch control centers. Volume 4. Operator information needs. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, R.J.; Najaf-Zadeh, K.; Darlington, H.T.; McNair, H.D.; Seidenstein, S.; Williams, A.R.

    1982-10-01

    Human factors is a systems-oriented interdisciplinary specialty concerned with the design of systems, equipment, facilities and the operational environment. An important aspect leading to the design requirements is the determination of the information requirements for electric power dispatch control centers. There are significant differences between the system operator's actions during normal and degraded states of power system operation, and power system restoration. This project evaluated the information the operator requires for normal power system and control system operations and investigates the changes of information required by the operator as the power system and/or the control system degrades from a normal operating state. The Phase II study, published in two volumes, defines power system states and control system conditions to which operator information content can be related. This volume presents detailed data concerning operator information needs that identify the needs for and the uses of power system information by a system operator in conditions ranging from normal through degraded operation. The study defines power system states and control system conditions to which operator information content can be related, and it identifies the requisite information as consistent with current industry practice so as to aid control system designers. Training requirements are also included for planning entry-level and follow-on training for operators.

  17. The dependence of human reliability upon task information content

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hermanson, E.M.; Golay, M.W.

    1994-09-01

    The role of human error in safety mishaps is an important factor in system design. As systems become increasingly complex the capacity of the human to deal with the added complexity is diminished. It is therefore crucial to understand the relationship between system complexity and human reliability so that systems may be built in such a way as to minimize human error. One way of understanding this relationship is to quantify system complexity and then measure the human reaction in response to situations of varying complexity. The quantification of system complexity may be performed by determining the information content present in the tasks that the human must execute. The purpose of this work is therefore to build and perform a consistent experiment which will determine the extent to which human reliability depends upon task information content. Two main conclusions may be drawn from this work. The first is that human reliability depends upon task information content. Specifically, as the information content contained in a task increases, the capacity of a human to deal successfully with the task decreases monotonically. Here the definition of total success is the ability to complete the task at hand fully and correctly. Furthermore, there exists a value of information content below which a human can deal with the task successfully, but above which the success of an individual decreases monotonically with increasing information. These ideas should be generalizable to any model where system complexity can be clearly and consistently defined

  18. Human factor in the operation of the Dukovany nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kostiha, Frantisek; Pleskac, Frantisek

    2009-01-01

    The human factor, i.e. the action of man within complex technical systems, has been in the focus of the Dukovany NPP management constantly. The paper gives an overview of the plant strategy regarding human factor issues, such as training, human factor prevention methods and practices to improve the resistance of the system to human error, the use of information systems, and operational feedback from the role of the human factor and influence of the operators on the initiation, development and resulting level of severity of operational events. The method of monitoring and assessment of the quality of human performance at the Dukovany plant on an ongoing basis aimed at a constant improvement is highlighted. (orig.)

  19. The human factor in the nuclear industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colas, Armand

    1998-01-01

    After having evoked the progressive reduction and stabilization of significant incidents occurring every year in French nuclear power plants, and the challenges faced by nuclear energy (loss of public confidence, loss of competitiveness), and then outlined the importance of safety to overcome these challenges, the author comments EDF's approach to the human factor. He first highlights the importance of information and communication towards the population. He briefly discusses the meaning of human factors for the nuclear industry, sometimes perceived as the contribution people to the company's safety and performance. He comments the evolution observed in the perception of human error in different industrial or technical environments and situations, and outlines what is at stake to reduce the production of faults and organize a 'hunt for latent defects'

  20. Human factors review of electric power dispatch control centers. Volume 3. Operator information needs summary. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, R.J.; Najaf-Zadeh, K.; Darlington, H.T.; McNair, H.D.; Seidenstein, S.; Williams, A.R.

    1982-10-01

    Human factors is a systems-oriented interdisciplinary specialty concerned with the design of systems, equipment, facilities and the operational environment. An important aspect leading to the design requirements is the determination of the information requirements for electric power dispatch control centers. There are significant differences between the system operator's actions during normal and degraded states of power system operation, and power system restoration. This project evaluated the information the operator requires for normal power system and control system operations and investigates the changes of information required by the operator as the power system and/or the control system degrades from a normal operating state. The Phase II study, published in two volumes, defines power system states and control system conditions to which operator information content can be related. This volume presents a summary of operator information needs, identifying the needs for and the uses of power system information by a system operator in conditions ranging from normal through degraded operation. Training requirements are also included for planning entry-level and follow-on training for operators.

  1. Human factors and ergonomics in home care: Current concerns and future considerations for health information technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Or, Calvin K.L.; Valdez, Rupa S.; Casper, Gail R.; Carayon, Pascale; Burke, Laura J.; Brennan, Patricia Flatley; Karsh, Ben-Tzion

    2010-01-01

    Sicker patients with greater care needs are being discharged to their homes to assume responsibility for their own care with fewer nurses available to aid them. This situation brings with it a host of human factors and ergonomic (HFE) concerns, both for the home care nurse and the home dwelling patient, that can affect quality of care and patient safety. Many of these concerns are related to the critical home care tasks of information access, communication, and patient self-monitoring and self-management. Currently, a variety of health information technologies (HITs) are being promoted as possible solutions to those problems, but those same technologies bring with them a new set of HFE concerns. This paper reviews the HFE considerations for information access, communication, and patients self-monitoring and self-management, discusses how HIT can potentially mitigate current problems, and explains how the design and implementation of HIT itself requires careful HFE attention. PMID:19713630

  2. Human Factors Regulatory Research Program Plan, FY 1989--FY 1992

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coffman, F.; Persensky, J.; Ryan, T.; Ramey-Smith, A.; Goodman, C.; Serig, D.; Trager, E; Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC; Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC; Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC

    1989-10-01

    This report describes the currently ongoing (FY 1989) and planned (FY 1989-1992) Human Factors Regulatory Research Program in the NRC Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES). Examples of the influence of human factors on nuclear safety are presented, and the role of personnel is discussed. Current regulatory issues associated with human factors in the nuclear system and the purpose of the research plan are provided. The report describes the research process applied to the human factors research issues and the program activities: Personnel Performance Measurement, Personnel Subsystem, Human-System Interface. Organization and Management, and Reliability Assessment. The research being conducted within each activity is summarized along with the objectives, background information, and expected regulatory products. Budget and personnel forecasts are provided along with a summary of contractors performing some of the ongoing research. Appendices contain a chronology of human factors research at NRC, a description of the research approach, an update on human factors programs and initiatives in RES and other NRC offices, and the integration among these programs. 46 refs., 5 tabs

  3. An EDF perspective on human factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnino, A.

    1989-01-01

    The paper presents the main lines of the program undertaken by Electricite de France in the field of human factors as a result of the Three-Mile Island (TMI) accident. As it is important to be aware of some human characteristics to understand the difficulties and needs in the field, the following behaviour characteristics are described: man is not a component, man functions through a single channel, man has a continuous need of information, man biases risk estimation and man uses mental representations. The following actions taken after TMI to improve the man-machine interface, the operator training, the crew organisation, the operating experience analysis, the state approach development and the emergency planning, are all linked to human factors. The paper ends by presenting the new control room studies for the N4 project (a light water reactor) and some other actions aimed at improving plant operation. (author)

  4. Human errors and violations in computer and information security: the viewpoint of network administrators and security specialists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraemer, Sara; Carayon, Pascale

    2007-03-01

    This paper describes human errors and violations of end users and network administration in computer and information security. This information is summarized in a conceptual framework for examining the human and organizational factors contributing to computer and information security. This framework includes human error taxonomies to describe the work conditions that contribute adversely to computer and information security, i.e. to security vulnerabilities and breaches. The issue of human error and violation in computer and information security was explored through a series of 16 interviews with network administrators and security specialists. The interviews were audio taped, transcribed, and analyzed by coding specific themes in a node structure. The result is an expanded framework that classifies types of human error and identifies specific human and organizational factors that contribute to computer and information security. Network administrators tended to view errors created by end users as more intentional than unintentional, while errors created by network administrators as more unintentional than intentional. Organizational factors, such as communication, security culture, policy, and organizational structure, were the most frequently cited factors associated with computer and information security.

  5. Human-Robot Teams Informed by Human Performance Moderator Functions

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-29

    performance factors that affect the ability of a human to drive at night, which includes the eyesight of the driver, the fatigue level of the driver...where human factors are factors that affect the performance of an individual. 7 for human interaction. For instance, they explain the various human... affecting trust in human-robot interaction. Human Factors 53(5), 517-527 (2001) 35. Hart, S. G. and Staveland, L. E. Development of NASA-TLX (Task

  6. Turkish Preservice Science Teachers' Informal Reasoning Regarding Socioscientific Issues and the Factors Influencing Their Informal Reasoning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Topçu, Mustafa Sami; Yılmaz-Tüzün, Özgül; Sadler, Troy D.

    2011-06-01

    The purpose of the study is to explore Turkish preservice science teachers' informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues and the factors influencing their informal reasoning. The researchers engaged 39 preservice science teachers in informal reasoning interview and moral decision-making interview protocols. Of the seven socioscientific issues, three issues were related to gene therapy, another three were related to human cloning, and one was related to global warming. The data were analyzed using an interpretive qualitative research approach. The characteristic of informal reasoning was determined as multidimensional, and the patterns of informal reasoning emerged as rationalistic, emotive, and intuitive reasoning. The factors influencing informal reasoning were: personal experiences, social considerations, moral-ethical considerations, and technological concerns.

  7. Traditional Values, Socio-Cultural Factors and Human Resource ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... Values, Socio-Cultural Factors and Human Resource Management Practices in ... Ghanaian worker in general and the HR manager in particular is influenced ... face -to-face interview methods were used to obtain information for the study.

  8. On the use of risk-informed regulation including organizational factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gibelli, S.M.O.; Alvarenga, M.A.B.

    1998-01-01

    Risk-Informed Regulation (RIR) can be applied by using Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) as a basic tool. Traditionally, PSA methodology encompasses the calculation of failure probabilities of Structures, Systems and Components (SSCs) and direct associated human errors. However, there are indirect causes related to human failures, associated with Organizational Factors, which are normally not included in fault trees, that may influence plant risk evaluation. This paper discusses on possible applications of RIR and on Organizational Factors. It also presents a classification of Angra-1 NPP unresolved issues, aiming a future inclusion of these factors into a PSA calculation. (author)

  9. Human factors in resuscitation: Lessons learned from simulator studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hunziker S

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Medical algorithms, technical skills, and repeated training are the classical cornerstones for successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR. Increasing evidence suggests that human factors, including team interaction, communication, and leadership, also influence the performance of CPR. Guidelines, however, do not yet include these human factors, partly because of the difficulties of their measurement in real-life cardiac arrest. Recently, clinical studies of cardiac arrest scenarios with high-fidelity video-assisted simulations have provided opportunities to better delineate the influence of human factors on resuscitation team performance. This review focuses on evidence from simulator studies that focus on human factors and their influence on the performance of resuscitation teams. Similar to studies in real patients, simulated cardiac arrest scenarios revealed many unnecessary interruptions of CPR as well as significant delays in defibrillation. These studies also showed that human factors play a major role in these shortcomings and that the medical performance depends on the quality of leadership and team-structuring. Moreover, simulated video-taped medical emergencies revealed that a substantial part of information transfer during communication is erroneous. Understanding the impact of human factors on the performance of a complex medical intervention like resuscitation requires detailed, second-by-second, analysis of factors involving the patient, resuscitative equipment such as the defibrillator, and all team members. Thus, high-fidelity simulator studies provide an important research method in this challenging field.

  10. Human factors engineering in the design of colour-graphic displays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fenton, E.F.

    1985-01-01

    The operator interface for Ontario Hydro's Darlington Nuclear Generating Station will rely extensively on the use of coloured graphic display formats. These are used for the presentation of both control and monitoring information. The displays are organized in a hierarchical relationship and a simple interactive selection method using light pens has been implemented. The application of human factors engineering principles has been a major factor in all aspects of the design. This paper describes the system and the human factors engineering function

  11. Human factors issues in aircraft maintenance and inspection : "information exchange and communications".

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-11-01

    The Federal Aviation Administration sponsored a 2-day meeting in December 1989 as part of a continuing program to address issues of human factors and personnel performance in aviation maintenance and inspection. This meeting focused on issues of "inf...

  12. The development of human factors technologies -The development of human behaviour analysis techniques-

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Lee, Yong Heui; Park, Keun Ok; Chun, Se Woo; Suh, Sang Moon; Park, Jae Chang [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1995-07-01

    In order to contribute to human error reduction through the studies on human-machine interaction in nuclear power plants, this project has objectives to develop SACOM(Simulation Analyzer with a Cognitive Operator Model) and techniques for human error analysis and application. In this year, we studied the followings: (1) Site investigation of operator tasks, (2) Development of operator task micro structure and revision of micro structure, (3) Development of knowledge representation software and SACOM prototype, (4) Development of performance assessment methodologies in task simulation and analysis of the effects of performance shaping factors. human error analysis and application techniques> (1) Classification of error shaping factors(ESFs) and development of software for ESF evaluation, (2) Analysis of human error occurrences and revision of analysis procedure, (3) Experiment for human error data collection using a compact nuclear simulator, (4) Development of a prototype data base system of the analyzed information on trip cases. 55 figs, 23 tabs, 33 refs. (Author).

  13. Improving human performance: Industry factors influencing the ability to perform

    OpenAIRE

    Güera Massyn Romo

    2013-01-01

    Learning interventions and new technologies that aim to improve human performance must take cognisance of industry factors inhibiting human performance. The dynamic and fast pace nature of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the engineering industries do not lend themselves to proper skills planning and management. These industries experience real skills gaps, to some of which they contribute by themselves. This study reports on these performance-inhibiting factors such a...

  14. Sexual orientation and risk factors for Human Immunodeficiency ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The issue of homosexuality attracts global debate, given that this constitutes risk factor for sexually transmitted diseases. An exploration of socio-cultural, religious and sexual activities of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex sector would inform future Human Immunodeficiency Virus programming.

  15. [Human factors in medicine].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazarovici, M; Trentzsch, H; Prückner, S

    2017-01-01

    The concept of human factors is commonly used in the context of patient safety and medical errors, all too often ambiguously. In actual fact, the term comprises a wide range of meanings from human-machine interfaces through human performance and limitations up to the point of working process design; however, human factors prevail as a substantial cause of error in complex systems. This article presents the full range of the term human factors from the (emergency) medical perspective. Based on the so-called Swiss cheese model by Reason, we explain the different types of error, what promotes their emergence and on which level of the model error prevention can be initiated.

  16. The development of human factors technologies -The development of human behaviour analysis techniques-

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Lee, Yong Heui; Park, Keun Ok; Chun, Se Woo; Suh, Sang Moon; Park, Jae Chang

    1995-07-01

    In order to contribute to human error reduction through the studies on human-machine interaction in nuclear power plants, this project has objectives to develop SACOM(Simulation Analyzer with a Cognitive Operator Model) and techniques for human error analysis and application. In this year, we studied the followings: 1) Site investigation of operator tasks, 2) Development of operator task micro structure and revision of micro structure, 3) Development of knowledge representation software and SACOM prototype, 4) Development of performance assessment methodologies in task simulation and analysis of the effects of performance shaping factors. 1) Classification of error shaping factors(ESFs) and development of software for ESF evaluation, 2) Analysis of human error occurrences and revision of analysis procedure, 3) Experiment for human error data collection using a compact nuclear simulator, 4) Development of a prototype data base system of the analyzed information on trip cases. 55 figs, 23 tabs, 33 refs. (Author)

  17. Human factors in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bohr, E.; Hennig, J.; Preuss, W.; Thau, G.

    1977-01-01

    This report describes the results of a study on the functions of operating and maintenance personnel in nuclear power plants. Since an effective power plant design must take into systematic account the possibilities and limitations of the human element, the basic aim of the study was to identify what the human operators are required to do and how they achieve it. Information was acquired by direct observation and by interviews as well as by evaluation of written documents (e.g. incident reports, procedures manuals, work regulations) and of working conditions (e.g. equipment and workplace design). A literature search and evaluation carried out within the scope of this study has been published as a separate document. The main part of the report is devoted to discussions and conclusions on selected areas of potential improvements. The topics include control room design, factors of the physical environment including radiation, problems of maintainability, design of written documents, problems in communicating information, design and control of tasks, placement and training. A separate section deals with problems of recording human errors. (orig.) [de

  18. Factors explaining the level of voluntary human capital disclosure in the Brazilian capital market

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Batista Fontana

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This paper presents a study on factors explaining the level of voluntary human capital information in companies with shares in the Brazilian stock exchange. Assuming the existence of information asymmetry between managers and shareholders, agency theory states that disclosure might lead to a reduction in agency costs. The proprietary costs theory indicates that information disclosure might increase the company’s costs. According to these theories, the likelihood that the managers will voluntarily disclose information depends on certain factors that are characteristic of the company. Understanding the disclosure of information regarding intangible assets, specifically human capital, has strategic relevance for enterprises because these features, although not always recorded in accounting, represent a competitive business edge in the current economy.Design/methodology/approach: The study examined 145 annual reports, representing 29 companies in the period of 2005-2009. The level of voluntary disclosure was determined through content analysis of annual reports using representative indicators of human capital information.Findings: The statistical results indicate that factors such as size, debt, growth and time of registration with the brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission explain the level of voluntary human capital disclosure of the companies studied.Originality/value: An important contribution of this research is the formulation and non-repudiation of the time of registration with the CVM hypothesis as a factor that explains the level of human capital disclosure because none of the revised studies have tested this hypothesis.

  19. Human factors guides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Penington, J.

    1995-10-01

    This document presents human factors guides, which have been developed in order to provide licensees of the AECB with advice as to how to address human factors issues within the design and assessment process. This documents presents the results of a three part study undertaken to develop three guides which are enclosed in this document as Parts B, C and D. As part of the study human factors standards, guidelines, handbooks and other texts were researched, to define those which would be most useful to the users of the guides and for the production of the guides themselves. Detailed specifications were then produced to outline the proposed contents and format of the three guides. (author). 100 refs., 3 tabs., 11 figs

  20. Human factors guides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Penington, J [PHF Services Inc., (Canada)

    1995-10-01

    This document presents human factors guides, which have been developed in order to provide licensees of the AECB with advice as to how to address human factors issues within the design and assessment process. This documents presents the results of a three part study undertaken to develop three guides which are enclosed in this document as Parts B, C and D. As part of the study human factors standards, guidelines, handbooks and other texts were researched, to define those which would be most useful to the users of the guides and for the production of the guides themselves. Detailed specifications were then produced to outline the proposed contents and format of the three guides. (author). 100 refs., 3 tabs., 11 figs.

  1. Development of a Human Performance Evaluation Support System for Human Factors Validation of MCR MMI Design in APR-1400

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha, Jun Su; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2005-01-01

    As CRT-based display and advanced information technology were applied to advanced reactors such as APR-1400 (Advanced Power Reactor-1400), human operators' tasks became more cognitive works. As a results, Human Factors Engineering (HFE) became more important in designing the MCR (Main Control Room) MMI (Man-Machine Interface) of an advanced reactor. According to the Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model, human factors validation of MCR MMI design should be performed through performance-based tests to determine whether it acceptably supports safe operation of the plant. In order to support the evaluation of the performance, a HUman Performance Evaluation Support System (HUPESS) is in development

  2. Industrial-Organizational and Human Factors Graduate Program Admission: Information for Undergraduate Advisors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoenfelt, Elizabeth L.; Stone, Nancy J.; Kottke, Janet L.

    2015-01-01

    Many psychology departments do not have industrial-organizational (IO) or human factors (HF) faculty members. As such, potential IO and HF graduate students may miss career opportunities because faculty advisors are unfamiliar with the disciplines and their graduate programs. To assist advisors, this article highlights the content of IO and HF…

  3. IRSN-ANCCLI partnership. Organizational and human factors in nuclear safety - April 2014

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeffroy, Francois; Garron, Joel; Mercel, Philippe; Compagnat, Gilles; Gaucher, Eric; Gaillard, Pierre; Fanchini, Henri; Jacquemont, Vincent

    2013-06-01

    The contributions (Power Point presentations) of this seminar first address the history of the taking into account of organizational and human factors until the Fukushima accident (history of their taking into account in nuclear safety expertise in France, history of the development of policy of organizational and human factors by an operator). The next contributions discuss the main issues regarding these factors after Fukushima: report by a work-group, work performed by the the Comite d'Orientation sur les Facteurs Sociaux, Organisationnels et Humains (Committee of orientation on social, organizational and human factors). The third session addresses the implication of stakeholders in expertise on these factors: analysis of organizational and human factors by a local information commission or by a CHSCT (committee of hygiene, safety and working conditions)

  4. A HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING PROCESS TO SUPPORT HUMAN-SYSTEM INTERFACE DESIGN IN CONTROL ROOM MODERNIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kovesdi, C.; Joe, J.; Boring, R.

    2017-05-01

    The primary objective of the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program is to sustain operation of the existing commercial nuclear power plants (NPPs) through a multi-pathway approach in conducting research and development (R&D). The Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control (II&C) System Technologies pathway conducts targeted R&D to address aging and reliability concerns with legacy instrumentation and control (I&C) and other information systems in existing U.S. NPPs. Control room modernization is an important part following this pathway, and human factors experts at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have been involved in conducting R&D to support migration of new digital main control room (MCR) technologies from legacy analog and legacy digital I&C. This paper describes a human factors engineering (HFE) process that supports human-system interface (HSI) design in MCR modernization activities, particularly with migration of old digital to new digital I&C. The process described in this work is an expansion from the LWRS Report INL/EXT-16-38576, and is a requirements-driven approach that aligns with NUREG-0711 requirements. The work described builds upon the existing literature by adding more detail around key tasks and decisions to make when transitioning from HSI Design into Verification and Validation (V&V). The overall objective of this process is to inform HSI design and elicit specific, measurable, and achievable human factors criteria for new digital technologies. Upon following this process, utilities should have greater confidence with transitioning from HSI design into V&V.

  5. Improving human performance: Industry factors influencing the ability to perform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Güera Massyn Romo

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Learning interventions and new technologies that aim to improve human performance must take cognisance of industry factors inhibiting human performance. The dynamic and fast pace nature of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT and the engineering industries do not lend themselves to proper skills planning and management. These industries experience real skills gaps, to some of which they contribute by themselves. This study reports on these performance-inhibiting factors such as the underutilisation of available skills, tolerance for individual preferences, and dynamically, and informally refining a role objective while an employee is occupying a certain role. The important professional skills required by individuals to cope with these real life factors are also explored in the skills gaps management context. Moreover, these industries need a profile they refer to as Special Forces, which denotes a high calibre of worker that possesses well-developed professional skills whilst having advanced technical expertise and sufficient experience. This resource profile is required largely due to the poor management of human resource processes in practice and the current reported lack of adequate skills. Furthermore, this study refers to the recent lack of a working definition for these Special Forces leading to the omitted active development of these profiles in industry today, which appears to become a key human performance inhibiting factor.

  6. Human factor analysis and preventive countermeasures of maintenance in nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Li; Hu Chao

    2008-01-01

    Based on the human error analysis theory and the characteristics of maintenance in a nuclear power plant, human factors of maintenance in NPP are divided into three different areas: human, technology, and organization, in which human refers to the individual factors, mainly including psychological quality, physiological characteristic, state of health, knowledge, skill level, and interpersonal relationship. Technology includes the maintenance technology, maintenance strategy, maintenance tool, maintenance interface, maintenance regulation, and work environment. Organization includes task arrangement, information communication, training, personnel external environment, team construction, and leadership. The analysis also reveals that the organization factors, which can indirectly influence personnel performance, are the primary initiators of human error. Based on these, some countermeasures are brought forward in order to reduce human errors. (authors)

  7. Human Factors in Training: Space Medical Proficiency Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Byrne, Vicky E.; Barshi, I.; Arsintescu, L.; Connell, E.

    2010-01-01

    The early Constellation space missions are expected to have medical capabilities very similar to those currently on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station (ISS). For Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) missions to the ISS, medical equipment will be located on the ISS, and carried into CEV in the event of an emergency. Flight surgeons (FS) on the ground in Mission Control will be expected to direct the crew medical officer (CMO) during medical situations. If there is a loss of signal and the crew is unable to communicate with the ground, a CMO would be expected to carry out medical procedures without the aid of a FS. In these situations, performance support tools can be used to reduce errors and time to perform emergency medical tasks. The space medical training work is part of the Human Factors in Training Directed Research Project (DRP) of the Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Project under the Space Human Factors and Habitability (SHFH) Element of the Human Research Program (HRP). This is a joint project consisting of human factors team from the Ames Research Center (ARC) with Immanuel Barshi as Principal Investigator and the Johnson Space Center (JSC). Human factors researchers at JSC have recently investigated medical performance support tools for CMOs on-orbit, and FSs on the ground, and researchers at the Ames Research Center performed a literature review on medical errors. Work on medical training has been conducted in collaboration with the Medical Training Group at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and with Wyle Laboratories that provides medical training to crew members, biomedical engineers (BMEs), and to flight surgeons under the Bioastronautics contract. One area of research building on activities from FY08, involved the feasibility of just-in-time (JIT) training techniques and concepts for real-time medical procedures. A second area of research involves FS performance support tools. Information needed by the FS during the ISS mission

  8. Increasing Awareness of Insider Information Security Threats in Human Resource Department

    OpenAIRE

    Burcin Cetin Karabat; Cagatay Karabat

    2012-01-01

    An insider threat for companies is defined as a threat caused by malicious user who is an employee company. In recent years, there are number of work on insider threats in information security technologies. These works shows that companies should increasingly and seriously should take into account these threats. Human factors in companies constitute one of the weakest links in information security technology and its products used in human resource (HR) management departments. In the literatur...

  9. Kinetics of the Factor XIa catalyzed activation of human blood coagulation Factor IX

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walsh, P.N.; Bradford, H.; Sinha, D.; Piperno, J.R.; Tuszynski, G.P.

    1984-01-01

    The kinetics of activation of human Factor IX by human Factor XIa was studied by measuring the release of a trichloroacetic acid-soluble tritium-labeled activation peptide from Factor IX. Initial rates of trichloroacetic acid-soluble 3 H-release were linear over 10-30 min of incubation of Factor IX (88 nM) with CaCl 2 (5 mM) and with pure (greater than 98%) Factor XIa (0.06-1.3 nM), which was prepared by incubating human Factor XI with bovine Factor XIIa. Release of 3 H preceded the appearance of Factor IXa activity, and the percentage of 3 H released remained constant when the mole fraction of 3 H-labeled and unlabeled Factor IX was varied and the total Factor IX concentration remained constant. A linear correlation (r greater than 0.98, P less than 0.001) was observed between initial rates of 3 H-release and the concentration of Factor XIa, measured by chromogenic assay and by radioimmunoassay and added at a Factor IX:Factor XIa molar ratio of 70-5,600. Kinetic parameters, determined by Lineweaver-Burk analysis, include K/sub m/ (0.49 microM) of about five- to sixfold higher than the plasma Factor IX concentration, which could therefore regulate the reaction. The catalytic constant (k/sub cat/) (7.7/s) is approximately 20-50 times higher than that reported by Zur and Nemerson for Factor IX activation by Factor VIIa plus tissue factor. Therefore, depending on the relative amounts of Factor XIa and Factor VIIa generated in vivo and other factors which may influence reaction rates, these kinetic parameters provide part of the information required for assessing the relative contributions of the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways to Factor IX activation, and suggest that the Factor XIa catalyzed reaction is physiologically significant

  10. Human factors research in Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry creation of safety culture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horie, Yasuo

    2002-01-01

    To prevent accident of nuclear power plant, Human Factors Center was built in the Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry in July 1987. It developed an evaluation method of human error cases and an application method of human factors information. Now it continues analysis and application of human factors information, development of training/work support tools and research/experiment of human behavior. Japan-Human Performance Evaluation System (J-HPES) was developed as an analytical system for analysis and evaluation of human factors related to the trouble and for using the result as the common property by storage the analytical results. J-HPES has a standard procedure consisted of collecting and analyzing data and proposing the countermeasures. The analytical results are arranged by 4 kinds of charts by putting into the form of a diagram. Moreover, it tries to find the causes with indirect and potential causes. Two kinds of materials, Caution Report and Human Factors Precept by means of Illustrations, are published. People can gain access to HFC database by URL http://criepi.denken.or.jp/CRIEPI/HFC/DB. To prevent these accidents, creation of human factors culture has been required. Five kinds of teaching materials and the training method are developed. (S.Y.)

  11. Conformal displays: human factor analysis of innovative landing aids

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmerwitz, Sven; Lueken, Thomas; Doehler, Hans-Ullrich; Peinecke, Niklas; Ernst, Johannes M.; da Silva Rosa, David L.

    2017-05-01

    In the past couple of years, research on display content for helicopter operations headed in a new direction. The already reached goals could evolve into a paradigm change for information visualization. Technology advancements allow implementing three-dimensional and conformal content on a helmet-mounted see-through device. This superimposed imagery inherits the same optical flow as the environment. It is supposed to ease switching between display information and environmental cues. The concept is neither pathbreaking nor new, but it has not been successfully established in aviation yet. Nevertheless, there are certainly some advantages to expect-at least from perspective of a human-centered system design. Within the following pages, the next generation displays will be presented and discussed with a focus on human factors. Beginning with recalling some human factor related research facts, an experiment comparing the former two-dimensional research displays will be presented. Before introducing the DLR conformal symbol set and the three experiments about an innovative drift, indication related research activities toward conformal symbol sets will be addressed.

  12. Habitability and Human Factors Contributions to Human Space Flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumaya, Jennifer Boyer

    2011-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the work of the Habitability and Human Factors Branch in support of human space flight in two main areas: Applied support to major space programs, and Space research. The field of Human Factors applies knowledge of human characteristics for the design of safer, more effective, and more efficient systems. This work is in several areas of the human space program: (1) Human-System Integration (HSI), (2) Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, (3) Extravehicular Activity (EVA), (4) Lunar Surface Systems, (5) International Space Station (ISS), and (6) Human Research Program (HRP). After detailing the work done in these areas, the facilities that are available for human factors work are shown.

  13. Human Factors and Data Fusion as Part of Control Systems Resilience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David I. Gertman

    2009-05-01

    Human performance and human decision making is counted upon as a crucial aspect of overall system resilience. Advanced control systems have the potential to provide operators and asset owners a wide range of data, deployed at different levels that can be used to support operator situation awareness. However, the sheer amount of data available can make it challenging for operators to assimilate information and respond appropriately. This paper reviews some of the challenges and issues associated with providing operators with actionable state awareness and argues for the over arching importance of integrating human factors as part of intelligent control systems design and implementation. It is argued that system resilience is improved by implementing human factors in operations and maintenance. This paper also introduces issues associated with resilience and data fusion and highlights areas in which human factors including field studies hold promise.

  14. Research on the Multiple Factors Influencing Human Identification Based on Pyroelectric Infrared Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lou, Ping; Hu, Jianmin

    2018-01-01

    Analysis of the multiple factors affecting human identification ability based on pyroelectric infrared technology is a complex problem. First, we examine various sensed pyroelectric waveforms of the human body thermal infrared signal and reveal a mechanism for affecting human identification. Then, we find that the mechanism is decided by the distance, human target, pyroelectric infrared (PIR) sensor, the body type, human moving velocity, signal modulation mask, and Fresnel lens. The mapping relationship between the sensed waveform and multiple influencing factors is established, and a group of mathematical models are deduced which fuse the macro factors and micro factors. Finally, the experimental results show the macro-factors indirectly affect the recognition ability of human based on the pyroelectric technology. At the same time, the correctness and effectiveness of the mathematical models is also verified, which make it easier to obtain more pyroelectric infrared information about the human body for discriminating human targets. PMID:29462908

  15. Previous experience in manned space flight: A survey of human factors lessons learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandlee, George O.; Woolford, Barbara

    1993-01-01

    Previous experience in manned space flight programs can be used to compile a data base of human factors lessons learned for the purpose of developing aids in the future design of inhabited spacecraft. The objectives are to gather information available from relevant sources, to develop a taxonomy of human factors data, and to produce a data base that can be used in the future for those people involved in the design of manned spacecraft operations. A study is currently underway at the Johnson Space Center with the objective of compiling, classifying, and summarizing relevant human factors data bearing on the lessons learned from previous manned space flights. The research reported defines sources of data, methods for collection, and proposes a classification for human factors data that may be a model for other human factors disciplines.

  16. Human and Citizen Rights Guarantees While Providing Information Security

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serhii Yesimov

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available With the development of information and communication technologies, issues of providing information security are becoming more and more aggravated. These are crimes related to the use of electronic computers, systems and computer networks and telecommunication networks, the propaganda of separatism and extremism, etc. While providing information security in the digital environment, the role of technical and legal human rights guarantees, due to technical means of protection, is increasing. Relying on the developers of technical means of protection determines the difference between the aforesaid concepts and the traditional approach to ensuring the protection of human and citizen rights, in which responsibilities are put on information intermediaries, owners of confidential information. Technical guarantees of human rights are a necessary component of ensuring information security, but the effectiveness of the application is provided in conjunction with the legal guarantees of human rights, as evidenced by the tendency to recognize the principles of inviolability of privacy on the basis of design decisions in the law of the European Union as legal acts. Providing information security is a legitimate goal of establishing constraints of human rights, since it can be correlated with the norms of international law. The establishment of constraints of human rights is permissible in order to attain other objectives–ensuring state security, public order, health, rights and freedoms of the person in the information sphere. The legitimacy of this goal is determined by its compliance with the objectives envisaged by international agreements ratified in an established order. The article examines the impact of the use of technical means in the field of providing information security in the aspect of following the fundamental human and civil rights in Ukraine, taking into account the legislation of the European Union and the decision of the European Court

  17. Human Factors Review Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paramore, B.; Peterson, L.R.

    1985-12-01

    ''Human Factors'' is concerned with the incorporation of human user considerations into a system in order to maximize human reliability and reduce errors. This Review Plan is intended to assist in the assessment of human factors conditions in existing DOE facilities. In addition to specifying assessment methodologies, the plan describes techniques for improving conditions which are found to not adequately support reliable human performance. The following topics are addressed: (1) selection of areas for review describes techniques for needs assessment to assist in selecting and prioritizing areas for review; (2) human factors engineering review is concerned with optimizing the interfaces between people and equipment and people and their work environment; (3) procedures review evaluates completeness and accuracy of procedures, as well as their usability and management; (4) organizational interface review is concerned with communication and coordination between all levels of an organization; and (5) training review evaluates training program criteria such as those involving: trainee selection, qualification of training staff, content and conduct of training, requalification training, and program management

  18. Human Factors Review Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paramore, B.; Peterson, L.R. (eds.)

    1985-12-01

    ''Human Factors'' is concerned with the incorporation of human user considerations into a system in order to maximize human reliability and reduce errors. This Review Plan is intended to assist in the assessment of human factors conditions in existing DOE facilities. In addition to specifying assessment methodologies, the plan describes techniques for improving conditions which are found to not adequately support reliable human performance. The following topics are addressed: (1) selection of areas for review describes techniques for needs assessment to assist in selecting and prioritizing areas for review; (2) human factors engineering review is concerned with optimizing the interfaces between people and equipment and people and their work environment; (3) procedures review evaluates completeness and accuracy of procedures, as well as their usability and management; (4) organizational interface review is concerned with communication and coordination between all levels of an organization; and (5) training review evaluates training program criteria such as those involving: trainee selection, qualification of training staff, content and conduct of training, requalification training, and program management.

  19. Establishing a value chain for human factors in nuclear power plantcontrol room modernization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joe, Jeffrey Clark [Idaho National Laboratory; Thomas, Kenneth David [Idaho National Laboratory; Boring, Ronald Laurids [Idaho National Laboratory

    2015-07-01

    Commercial nuclear power plants in the United States (U.S.) have operated reliably and efficiently for decades. With the life extensions of plants now being planned for operation beyond their original operating licenses, there are opportunities to achieve even greater efficiencies, while maintaining high operational reliabilities, with strategic, risk- and economically-informed, upgrades to plant systems and infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program supports the commercial nuclear industry’s modernization efforts through research and development (R&D) activities across many areas to help establish the technical and economic bases for modernization activities. The Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies pathway is one R&D focus area for the LWRS program, and has researchers at Idaho National Laboratory working with select utility partners to use human factors and instrumentation and controls R&D to help modernize the plant’s main control room. However, some in the nuclear industry have not been as enthusiastic about using human factors R&D to inform life extension decision making. Part of the reason for this may stem from uncertainty decision-makers have regarding how human factors fits into the value chain for nuclear power plant control room modernization. This paper reviews past work that has attempted to demonstrate the value of human factors, and then describes the value chain concept, how it applies to control room modernization, and then makes a case for how and why human factors is an essential link in the modernization value chain.

  20. Development of a Pilot Program for Human Factors Management in Operating Nuclear Power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jung-Woon; Lee, Yong-Hee; Jang, Tong-Il; Kim, Dae-Ho

    2007-01-01

    The human factors of operating NPPs have been reviewed as a part of Periodic Safety Reviews (PSRs). This human factors PSR covers a wide range of human factors including control room man-machine interfaces (MMIs), procedures, working conditions, qualification, training, information requirements and workload. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has performed human factors PSRs from the first PSR for Kori 1. It was determined in 2005 that for a Continuous Operation of the Korean NPPs an enhanced PSR should be performed and issues raised from the PSRs should be resolved. From the results of the PSR for Kori 1, several safety enhancement issues related to human factors were raised. KAERI is working on a resolution of some of the human factors issues for the Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP). As a part of the resolution, we are developing a human factors management program (HFMP) for Kori 1. This paper introduces the status of our development of HFMP

  1. Human Factors in Marine Casualties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jelenko Švetak

    2002-05-01

    Full Text Available Human factors play an important role in the origin of accidents,and it is commonly claimed that between seventy andninety-five percent of industrial and transport accidents involvehuman factors, see Figure 1.Some authorities, however, claim that ultimately, all accidentsinvolve human factors.

  2. A framework to support human factors of automation in railway intelligent infrastructure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dadashi, Nastaran; Wilson, John R; Golightly, David; Sharples, Sarah

    2014-01-01

    Technological and organisational advances have increased the potential for remote access and proactive monitoring of the infrastructure in various domains and sectors - water and sewage, oil and gas and transport. Intelligent Infrastructure (II) is an architecture that potentially enables the generation of timely and relevant information about the state of any type of infrastructure asset, providing a basis for reliable decision-making. This paper reports an exploratory study to understand the concepts and human factors associated with II in the railway, largely drawing from structured interviews with key industry decision-makers and attachment to pilot projects. Outputs from the study include a data-processing framework defining the key human factors at different levels of the data structure within a railway II system and a system-level representation. The framework and other study findings will form a basis for human factors contributions to systems design elements such as information interfaces and role specifications.

  3. Human factors in nuclear safety oversight

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, K.

    1989-01-01

    The mission of the nuclear safety oversight function at the Savannah River Plant is to enhance the process and nuclear safety of site facilities. One of the major goals surrounding this mission is the reduction of human error. It is for this reason that several human factors engineers are assigned to the Operations assessment Group of the Facility Safety Evaluation Section (FSES). The initial task of the human factors contingent was the design and implementation of a site wide root cause analysis program. The intent of this system is to determine the most prevalent sources of human error in facility operations and to assist in determining where the limited human factors resources should be focused. In this paper the strategy used to educate the organization about the field of human factors is described. Creating an awareness of the importance of human factors engineering in all facets of design, operation, and maintenance is considered to be an important step in reducing the rate of human error

  4. The place of human-factors in the work of the Atomic Energy Control Board

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barkow, B.

    1982-01-01

    The AECB do not effectively regulate human factors in nuclear power plants since they have no staff trained to do so. Two new positions are recommended and their activities are outlined. Special problems are identified in the certification of personnel, management information control, and in accommodating human factors to AECB style

  5. Human factors in resuscitation teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Elizabeth M; Lockey, Andrew S

    2012-04-01

    There is an increasing interest in human factors within the healthcare environment reflecting the understanding of their impact on safety. The aim of this paper is to explore how human factors might be taught on resuscitation courses, and improve course outcomes in terms of improved mortality and morbidity for patients. The delivery of human factors training is important and this review explores the work that has been delivered already and areas for future research and teaching. Medline was searched using MESH terms Resuscitation as a Major concept and Patient or Leadership as core terms. The abstracts were read and 25 full length articles reviewed. Critical incident reporting has shown four recurring problems: lack of organisation at an arrest, lack of equipment, non functioning equipment, and obstructions preventing good care. Of these, the first relates directly to the concept of human factors. Team dynamics for both team membership and leadership, management of stress, conflict and the role of debriefing are highlighted. Possible strategies for teaching them are discussed. Four strategies for improving human factors training are discussed: team dynamics (including team membership and leadership behaviour), the influence of stress, debriefing, and conflict within teams. This review illustrates how human factor training might be integrated further into life support training without jeopardising the core content and lengthening the courses. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Development of human performance evaluation methods and systems for human factors validation in an advanced control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha, Jun Su

    2008-02-01

    Advanced control room (ACR) human-machine interface (HMI) design of advanced nuclear power plants (NPPs) such as APR (advanced power reactor)-1400 can be validated through performance-based tests to determine whether it acceptably supports safe operation of the plant. In this paper, plant performance, personnel task performance, situation awareness, workload, teamwork, and anthropometric/ physiological factor are considered as factors for the human performance evaluation. For development of measures in each of the factors, measures generally used in various industries and empirically proven to be useful are adopted as main measures with some modifications. In addition, helpful measures are developed as complementary measures in order to overcome some of the limitations associated with the main measures. The development of the measures is addressed based on the theoretical and empirical background and also based on the regulatory guidelines. A computerized system, which is called HUPESS (human performance evaluation support system), is developed based on the measures developed in this paper. The development of HUPESS is described with respect to the system configuration, the development process, and integrated measurement, evaluation, and analysis. HUPESS supports evaluators (or experimenters) to effectively measure, analyze, and evaluate the human performance for the HMI design validation in ACRs. Hence HUPESS is expected to be used as an effective tool for the human factors validation in the ACR of Shin Kori 3 and 4 NPPs (APR-1400 type) which are under construction in South-Korea. Also two measures of attentional-resource effectiveness based on cost-benefit analysis are developed. One of them is Fixation to Importance Ratio (FIR) which represents the attentional resources spent on an information source compared to the importance of the information source. The other measure is selective attention effectiveness (SAE) which incorporates the FIRs for all information

  7. Transferring aviation human factors technology to the nuclear power industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montemerlo, M.D.

    1981-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the availability of aviation safety technology and research on problems which are sufficiently similar to those faced by the nuclear power industry that an agressive effort to adapt and transfer that technology and research is warranted. Because of time and space constraints, the scope of this paper is reduced from a discussion of all of aviation safety technology to the human factors of air carrier safety. This area was selected not only because of similarities in the human factors challenges shared by both industries (e.g. selection, training, evaluation, certification, etc.) but because experience in aviation has clearly demonstrated that human error contributes to a substantially greater proportion of accidents and incidents than does equipment failure. The Congress of the United States has placed a great deal of emphasis on investigating and solving human factors problems in aviation. A number of recent examples of this interest and of the resulting actions are described. The opinions of prominent aviation organizations as to the human factors problems most in need of research are presented, along with indications of where technology transfer to the nuclear power industry may be viable. The areas covered include: fatigue, crew size, information transfer, resource management, safety data-bases, the role of automation, voice and data recording systems, crew distractions, the management of safety regulatory agencies, equipment recertification, team training, crew work-load, behavioural factors, human factors of equipment design, medical problems, toxicological factors, the use of simulators for training and certification, determining the causes of human errors, the politics of systems improvement, and importance of both safety and public perception of safety if the industry is to be viable. (author)

  8. An improvement of the applicability of human factors guidelines for coping with human factors issues in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Y. H.; Lee, J. Y.

    2003-01-01

    Human factors have been well known as one of the key factors to the system effectiveness as well as the efficiency and safety of nuclear power plants(NPPs). Human factors engineering(HFE) are included in periodic safety review(PSR) on the existing NPPs and the formal safety assessment for the new ones. However, HFE for NPPs is still neither popular in practice nor concrete in methodology. Especially, the human factors guidelines, which are the most frequent form of human factors engineering in practice, reveal the limitations in their applications. We discuss the limitations and their casual factors found in human factors guidelines in order to lesson the workload of HFE practitioners and to improve the applicability of human factors guidelines. According to the purposes and the phases of HFE for NPPs, more selective items and specified criteria should be prepared carefully in the human factors guidelines for the each HFE applications in practice. These finding on the human factors guidelines can be transferred to the other HFE application field, such as military, aviation, telecommunication, HCI, and product safety

  9. Human factors in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swain, A.D.

    1981-01-01

    This report describes some of the human factors problems in nuclear power plants and the technology that can be employed to reduce those problems. Many of the changes to improve the human factors in existing plants are inexpensive, and the expected gain in human reliability is substantial. The human factors technology is well-established and there are practitioners in most countries that have nuclear power plants. (orig.) [de

  10. National plan to enhance aviation safety through human factors improvements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foushee, Clay

    1990-01-01

    The purpose of this section of the plan is to establish a development and implementation strategy plan for improving safety and efficiency in the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. These improvements will be achieved through the proper applications of human factors considerations to the present and future systems. The program will have four basic goals: (1) prepare for the future system through proper hiring and training; (2) develop a controller work station team concept (managing human errors); (3) understand and address the human factors implications of negative system results; and (4) define the proper division of responsibilities and interactions between the human and the machine in ATC systems. This plan addresses six program elements which together address the overall purpose. The six program elements are: (1) determine principles of human-centered automation that will enhance aviation safety and the efficiency of the air traffic controller; (2) provide new and/or enhanced methods and techniques to measure, assess, and improve human performance in the ATC environment; (3) determine system needs and methods for information transfer between and within controller teams and between controller teams and the cockpit; (4) determine how new controller work station technology can optimally be applied and integrated to enhance safety and efficiency; (5) assess training needs and develop improved techniques and strategies for selection, training, and evaluation of controllers; and (6) develop standards, methods, and procedures for the certification and validation of human engineering in the design, testing, and implementation of any hardware or software system element which affects information flow to or from the human.

  11. Human factors in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pack, R.W.

    1978-01-01

    The Electric Power Research Institute has started research in human factors in nuclear power plants. One project, completed in March 1977, reviewed human factors problems in operating power plants and produced a report evaluating those problems. A second project developed computer programs for evaluating operator performance on training simulators. A third project is developing and evaluating control-room design approaches. A fourth project is reviewing human factors problems associated with power-plant maintainability and instrumentation and control technician activities. Human factors engineering is an interdisciplinary specialty concerned with influencing the design of equipment systems, facilities, and operational environments to promote safe, efficient, and reliable operator performance. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has undertaken four projects studying the application of human factors engineering principles to nuclear power plants. (author)

  12. INFORMATION SECURITY MANAGEMENT: FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ITS ADOPTION IN SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESSES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abner da Silva Netto

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available The objectives of this study were verify in what measure the small and medium companies accomplish the management security information and identify which factors influence the small and medium companies to adopt measures of management security information. The source research was exploratory-descriptive and the design used was the survey. The sample was compound of 43 metal production industries located in ABC region. According to management information security literature and Brazilian norm of information security were identified the tools or techniques of management security information and classified it into three layers: physic, logic and human. The study identified that the human layer is the one that presents the major shortage of cares in the companies followed by the logical one. The companies get used to have the antivirus as the main security tool/technique according to the researched companies to guarantee the safety of information. Besides that, the research showed that 59% of the companies have a safety satisfactory level and the main motivator factor to adopt the management security information is "to avoid possible financial loss”. On the other hand, all the inhibitors factors showed important to the researched companies like: lack of knowledge, investments value, organization culture and difficulty to measure cost/benefit.

  13. The recovery factors analysis of the human errors for research reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farcasiu, M.; Nitoi, M.; Apostol, M.; Turcu, I.; Florescu, Ghe.

    2006-01-01

    The results of many Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) studies show a very significant contribution of human errors to systems unavailability of the nuclear installations. The treatment of human interactions is considered one of the major limitations in the context of PSA. To identify those human actions that can have an effect on system reliability or availability applying the Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is necessary. The recovery factors analysis of the human action is an important step in HRA. This paper presents how can be reduced the human errors probabilities (HEP) using those elements that have the capacity to recovery human error. The recovery factors modeling is marked to identify error likelihood situations or situations that conduct at development of the accident. This analysis is realized by THERP method. The necessary information was obtained from the operating experience of the research reactor TRIGA of the INR Pitesti. The required data were obtained from generic databases. (authors)

  14. Specifications for human factors guiding documents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rhodes, W; Szlapetis, I; MacGregor, C [Rhodes and Associates Inc., Toronto, ON (Canada)

    1995-04-01

    This report specifies the content, function and appearance of three proposed human factors guiding documents to be used by the Atomic Energy Control board and its licensees. These three guiding documents, to be developed at a later date, are: (a) Human Factors Process Guide; (b) Human Factors Activities Guide; and (c) Human Factors Design Integration Guide. The specifications were developed by examining the best documents as identified in a previous contract with the AECB (Review of Human Factors Guidelines and Methods by W. Rhodes, I. Szlapetis et al. 1992), and a brief literature review. The best features and content were selected from existing documents and used to develop specifications for the guiding documents. The developer of the actual guides would use these specifications to produce comprehensive and consolidated documents at a later date. (author). 128 ref., 7 figs.

  15. Specifications for human factors guiding documents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rhodes, W.; Szlapetis, I.; MacGregor, C.

    1995-04-01

    This report specifies the content, function and appearance of three proposed human factors guiding documents to be used by the Atomic Energy Control board and its licensees. These three guiding documents, to be developed at a later date, are: (a) Human Factors Process Guide; (b) Human Factors Activities Guide; and (c) Human Factors Design Integration Guide. The specifications were developed by examining the best documents as identified in a previous contract with the AECB (Review of Human Factors Guidelines and Methods by W. Rhodes, I. Szlapetis et al. 1992), and a brief literature review. The best features and content were selected from existing documents and used to develop specifications for the guiding documents. The developer of the actual guides would use these specifications to produce comprehensive and consolidated documents at a later date. (author). 128 ref., 7 figs

  16. The contributions of human factors on human error in Malaysia aviation maintenance industries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padil, H.; Said, M. N.; Azizan, A.

    2018-05-01

    Aviation maintenance is a multitasking activity in which individuals perform varied tasks under constant pressure to meet deadlines as well as challenging work conditions. These situational characteristics combined with human factors can lead to various types of human related errors. The primary objective of this research is to develop a structural relationship model that incorporates human factors, organizational factors, and their impact on human errors in aviation maintenance. Towards that end, a questionnaire was developed which was administered to Malaysian aviation maintenance professionals. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was used in this study utilizing AMOS software. Results showed that there were a significant relationship of human factors on human errors and were tested in the model. Human factors had a partial effect on organizational factors while organizational factors had a direct and positive impact on human errors. It was also revealed that organizational factors contributed to human errors when coupled with human factors construct. This study has contributed to the advancement of knowledge on human factors effecting safety and has provided guidelines for improving human factors performance relating to aviation maintenance activities and could be used as a reference for improving safety performance in the Malaysian aviation maintenance companies.

  17. Factors explaining the level of voluntary human capital disclosure in the Brazilian capital market Factors explaining the level of voluntary human capital disclosure in the Brazilian capital market Factors explaining the level of voluntary human capital disclosure in the Brazilian capital market

    OpenAIRE

    Clea Beatriz Macagnan; Fernando Batista Fontana

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: This paper presents a study on factors explaining the level of voluntary human capital information in companies with shares in the Brazilian stock exchange. Assuming the existence of information asymmetry between managers and shareholders, agency theory states that disclosure might lead to a reduction in agency costs. The proprietary costs theory indicates that information disclosure might increase the company’s costs. According to these theories, the likelihood that the managers wil...

  18. Effectiveness of human factors simulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moragas, F.

    2015-01-01

    En 2011, ANAV started the exploitation of the Human Factors Simulator installed in TECNATOM Training Center located in L'Hospital de L'Infant Tarragona. AVAN's Strategic Plan includes the Action Plan for the improvement of human behavior. The plan includes improving the efficiency of the efficiency of the human factors simulator. It is proposed to improve the efficiency into two different terms: winning effectiveness in modeling behaviors, and interweaving the activities in the simulator with the actual strategy of promoting Safety culture and human behaviour. (Author)

  19. Human Factors Engineering: Current and Emerging Dual-Use Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandlee, G. O.; Goldsberry, B. S.

    1994-01-01

    Human Factors Engineering is a multidisciplinary endeavor in which information pertaining to human characteristics is used in the development of systems and machines. Six representatives considered to be experts from the public and private sectors were surveyed in an effort to identify the potential dual-use of human factors technology. Each individual was asked to provide a rating as to the dual-use of 85 identified NASA technologies. Results of the survey were as follows: nearly 75 percent of the technologies were identified at least once as high dual-use by one of the six survey respondents, and nearly 25 percent of the identified NASA technologies were identified as high dual-use technologies by a majority of the respondents. The perceived level of dual-use appeared to be independent of the technology category. Successful identification of dual-use technology requires expanded input from industry. As an adjunct, cost-benefit analysis should be conducted to identify the feasibility of the dual-use technology. Concurrent with this effort should be an examination of precedents established by other technologies in other industrial settings. Advances in human factors and systems engineering are critical to reduce risk in any workplace and to enhance industrial competitiveness.

  20. Analysis of Human Error Types and Performance Shaping Factors in the Next Generation Main Control Room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sin, Y. C.; Jung, Y. S.; Kim, K. H.; Kim, J. H.

    2008-04-01

    Main control room of nuclear power plants has been computerized and digitalized in new and modernized plants, as information and digital technologies make great progresses and become mature. Survey on human factors engineering issues in advanced MCRs: Model-based approach, Literature survey-based approach. Analysis of human error types and performance shaping factors is analysis of three human errors. The results of project can be used for task analysis, evaluation of human error probabilities, and analysis of performance shaping factors in the HRA analysis

  1. Human Health/Human Factors Considerations in Trans-Lunar Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, E. Cherice; Howard, Robert; Mendeck, Gavin

    2014-01-01

    The human factors insights of how they are incorporated into the vehicle are crucial towards designing and planning the internal designs necessary for future spacecraft and missions. The adjusted mission concept of supporting the Asteroid Redirect Crewed Mission will drive some human factors changes on how the Orion will be used and will be reassessed so as to best contribute to missions success. Recognizing what the human factors and health functional needs are early in the design process and how to integrate them will improve this and future generations of space vehicles to achieve mission success and continue to minimize risks.

  2. Research on Human Dynamics of Information Release of WeChat Users

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Juliang; Zhang, Shengtai; Duo, Fan; Wang, Feifei

    2017-01-01

    The information release behavior of WeChat users is influenced by many factors, and studying the rules of the behavior of users in WeChat can provide theoretical help for the dynamic research of mobile social network users. By crawling WeChat moments information of nine users within 5 years, we used the human behavioral dynamics system to analyze users' behavior. The results show that the information distribution behavior of WeChat users is consistent with the power-law distribution for a cer...

  3. Revolutions and shifting paradigms in human factors & ergonomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boff, Kenneth R

    2006-07-01

    The "Revolution in Information Technology" has spawned a series of transformational revolutions in the nature and practice of human factors and ergonomics (HFE). "Generation 1" HFE evolved with a focus on adapting equipment, workplace and tasks to human capabilities and limitations. Generation 2, focused on cognitive systems integration, arose in response to the need to manage automation and dynamic function allocation. Generation 3 is focused on symbiotic technologies that can amplify human physical and cognitive capabilities. Generation 4 is emergent and is focused on biological enhancement of physical or cognitive capabilities. The shift from HFE Generations 1 and 2 to Generations 3 and 4 profoundly alters accepted boundary constraints on the adaptability of humans in complex systems design. Furthermore, it has opened an ethical divide between those that see cognitive and physical enhancement as a great benefit to society and those who perceive this as tampering with the fundamentals of human nature.

  4. Human Factors, Habitability and Environmental Health and the Human Integration Design Handbook. Volume 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houbec, Keith; Tillman, Barry; Connolly, Janis

    2010-01-01

    For decades, Space Life Sciences and NASA as an Agency have considered NASA-STD-3000, Man-Systems Integration Standards, a significant contribution to human spaceflight programs and to human-systems integration in general. The document has been referenced in numerous design standards both within NASA and by organizations throughout the world. With research program and project results being realized, advances in technology and new information in a variety of topic areas now available, the time arrived to update this extensive suite of requirements and design information. During the past several years, a multi-NASA center effort has been underway to write the update to NASA-STD-3000 with standards and design guidance that would be applicable to all future human spaceflight programs. NASA-STD-3001 - Volumes 1 and 2 - and the Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH) were created. Volume 1, Crew Health, establishes NASA s spaceflight crew health standards for the pre-flight, in-flight, and post-flight phases of human spaceflight. Volume 2, Human Factors, Habitability and Environmental Health, focuses on the requirements of human-system integration and how the human crew interacts with other systems, and how the human and the system function together to accomplish the tasks for mission success. The HIDH is a compendium of human spaceflight history and knowledge, and provides useful background information and research findings. And as the HIDH is a stand-alone companion to the Standards, the maintenance of the document has been streamlined. This unique and flexible approach ensures that the content is current and addresses the fundamental advances of human performance and human capabilities and constraints research. Current work focuses on the development of new sections of Volume 2 and collecting updates to the HIDH. The new sections in development expand the scope of the standard and address mission operations and support operations. This effort is again collaboration

  5. Potential human factors research relating to modern technology in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ketchel, J.; Fink, R.; Hanes, L.; Williges, R.; Williges, B.

    1994-01-01

    This paper discusses proposed human factors research to address advanced human-machine interface technology in nuclear power plants. It relates to a current EPRI project to identify a prioritized list of specific research issues that could be assessed to improve control room and other user interface areas. The project seeks to bridge the gap between the functional requirements of advanced design initiatives and the human factors research needed to support them. It seeks to identify potential benefits to be expected, as well as potential problems that might be introduced by advanced technology. It provides an organized approach to identifying human factors research needs, information already available, and measures of performance and effectiveness that might be used to assess the value of potential improvements. Those parts of the proposed plan that are subsequently approved by EPRI management and by the utility advisory committee will provide a basis for recommending research priorities

  6. Human factors analysis and design methods for nuclear waste retrieval systems. Volume II. A compendium of human factors design data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casey, S.M.

    1980-04-01

    This document is a compilation of human factors engineering design recommendations and data, selected and organized to assist in the design of a nuclear waste retrieval system. Design guidelines from a variety of sources have been evaluated, edited, and expanded for inclusion in this document, and, where appropriate, portions of text from selected sources have been included in their entirety. A number of human factors engineering guidelines for equipment designers have been written over the past three decades, each tailored to the needs of the specific system being designed. In the case of this particular document, a review of the preliminary human operator functions involved in each phase of the retrieval process was performed, resulting in the identification of areas of design emphasis upon which this document should be based. Documents containing information and design data on each of these areas were acquired, and data and design guidelines related to the previously identified areas of emphasis were extracted and reorganized. For each system function, actions were first assigned to operator and/or machine, and the operator functions were then described. Separate lists of operator functions were developed for each of the areas of retrieval activities - survey and mapping, remining, floor flange emplacement, plug and canister overcoring, plug and canister removal and transport, and CWSRS activity. These functions and the associated man-machine interface were grouped into categories based on task similarity, and the principal topics of human factors design emphasis were extracted. These topic areas are reflected in the contents of the 12 sections of this document

  7. Human factors engineering program review model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-07-01

    The staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is performing nuclear power plant design certification reviews based on a design process plan that describes the human factors engineering (HFE) program elements that are necessary and sufficient to develop an acceptable detailed design specification and an acceptable implemented design. There are two principal reasons for this approach. First, the initial design certification applications submitted for staff review did not include detailed design information. Second, since human performance literature and industry experiences have shown that many significant human factors issues arise early in the design process, review of the design process activities and results is important to the evaluation of an overall design. However, current regulations and guidance documents do not address the criteria for design process review. Therefore, the HFE Program Review Model (HFE PRM) was developed as a basis for performing design certification reviews that include design process evaluations as well as review of the final design. A central tenet of the HFE PRM is that the HFE aspects of the plant should be developed, designed, and evaluated on the basis of a structured top-down system analysis using accepted HFE principles. The HFE PRM consists of ten component elements. Each element in divided into four sections: Background, Objective, Applicant Submittals, and Review Criteria. This report describes the development of the HFE PRM and gives a detailed description of each HFE review element

  8. Human Factors Laboratory

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — Purpose: The purpose of the Human Factors Laboratory is to further the understanding of highway user needs so that those needs can be incorporated in roadway design,...

  9. Human factors in nuclear power plant operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swain, A.D.

    1980-08-01

    This report describes some of the human factors problems in nuclear power plants and the technology that can be employed to reduce those problems. Many of the changes to improve the human factors in existing plants are inexpensive, and the expected gain in human reliability is substantial. The human factors technology is well-established and there are practitioners in most countries that have nuclear power plants

  10. Human factors methods in DOE nuclear facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bennett, C.T.; Banks, W.W.; Waters, R.J.

    1993-01-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) is in the process of developing a series of guidelines for the use of human factors standards, procedures, and methods to be used in nuclear facilities. This paper discusses the philosophy and process being used to develop a DOE human factors methods handbook to be used during the design cycle. The following sections will discuss: (1) basic justification for the project; (2) human factors design objectives and goals; and (3) role of human factors engineering (HFE) in the design cycle

  11. Integrating human factors into process hazard analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kariuki, S.G.; Loewe, K.

    2007-01-01

    A comprehensive process hazard analysis (PHA) needs to address human factors. This paper describes an approach that systematically identifies human error in process design and the human factors that influence its production and propagation. It is deductive in nature and therefore considers human error as a top event. The combinations of different factors that may lead to this top event are analysed. It is qualitative in nature and is used in combination with other PHA methods. The method has an advantage because it does not look at the operator error as the sole contributor to the human failure within a system but a combination of all underlying factors

  12. Draft revision of human factors guideline HF-010

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Hyun Chul; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Jung Woon; Cha, Woo Chang; Lee, Dhong Ha

    2003-05-01

    The Application of Human Factors to the design of Man-Machine Interfaces System(MMIS) in the nuclear power plant is essential to the safety and productivity of the nuclear power plants, human factors standards and guidelines as well as human factors analysis methods and experiments are weightily used to the design application. A Korean engineering company has developed a human factors engineering guideline, so-call HF-010, and has used it for human factors design, however the revision of HF-010 is necessary owing to lack of the contents related to the advanced MMI(Man-Machine Interfaces). As the results of the reviews of HF-010, it is found out that the revision of Section 9. Computer Displays of HF-010 is urgent, thus the revision was drafted on the basis of integrated human factors design guidelines for VDT, human factors design guidelines for PMAS SPADES display, human factors design guidelines for PMAS alarm display, and human factors design guidelines for electronic displays developed by the surveillance and operation support project of KOICS. The draft revision of HF-010 Section 9 proposed in this report can be utilized for the human factors design of the advanced MMI, and the high practical usability of the draft can be kept up through the continuous revision according to the advancement of digital technology

  13. Introduction to human factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Winters, J.M.

    1988-03-01

    Some background is given on the field of human factors. The nature of problems with current human/computer interfaces is discussed, some costs are identified, ideal attributes of graceful system interfaces are outlined, and some reasons are indicated why it's not easy to fix the problems

  14. An Overview of the Application of Human Factors Guidance to Control Room Design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yondola, Paul R.; Karlewicz, George T.

    2002-01-01

    A new power plant design has the goal of making major improvements in cost and ease of operation over previous designs. Improvements in the way information is organized and presented to control room operators based on established Human Factors Engineering (HFE) criteria is key to achieving these goals. An overview of the process and methods being employed in an ongoing design effort will be discussed, including the ways in which current Human Factors guidance is being applied in a unique operating environment

  15. NASA-ONERA Collaboration on Human Factors in Aviation Accidents and Incidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Ashok N.; Fabiani, Patrick

    2012-01-01

    This is the first annual report jointly prepared by NASA and ONERA on the work performed under the agreement to collaborate on a study of the human factors entailed in aviation accidents and incidents, particularly focused on the consequences of decreases in human performance associated with fatigue. The objective of this agreement is to generate reliable, automated procedures that improve understanding of the levels and characteristics of flight-crew fatigue factors whose confluence will likely result in unacceptable crew performance. This study entails the analyses of numerical and textual data collected during operational flights. NASA and ONERA are collaborating on the development and assessment of automated capabilities for extracting operationally significant information from very large, diverse (textual and numerical) databases; much larger than can be handled practically by human experts.

  16. Human factors in safety and business management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogt, Joachim; Leonhardt, Jorg; Koper, Birgit; Pennig, Stefan

    2010-02-01

    Human factors in safety is concerned with all those factors that influence people and their behaviour in safety-critical situations. In aviation these are, for example, environmental factors in the cockpit, organisational factors such as shift work, human characteristics such as ability and motivation of staff. Careful consideration of human factors is necessary to improve health and safety at work by optimising the interaction of humans with their technical and social (team, supervisor) work environment. This provides considerable benefits for business by increasing efficiency and by preventing incidents/accidents. The aim of this paper is to suggest management tools for this purpose. Management tools such as balanced scorecards (BSC) are widespread instruments and also well known in aviation organisations. Only a few aviation organisations utilise management tools for human factors although they are the most important conditions in the safety management systems of aviation organisations. One reason for this is that human factors are difficult to measure and therefore also difficult to manage. Studies in other domains, such as workplace health promotion, indicate that BSC-based tools are useful for human factor management. Their mission is to develop a set of indicators that are sensitive to organisational performance and help identify driving forces as well as bottlenecks. Another tool presented in this paper is the Human Resources Performance Model (HPM). HPM facilitates the integrative assessment of human factors programmes on the basis of a systematic performance analysis of the whole system. Cause-effect relationships between system elements are defined in process models in a first step and validated empirically in a second step. Thus, a specific representation of the performance processes is developed, which ranges from individual behaviour to system performance. HPM is more analytic than BSC-based tools because HPM also asks why a certain factor is

  17. Human factors in agile manufacturing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Forsythe, C.

    1995-03-01

    As industries position themselves for the competitive markets of today, and the increasingly competitive global markets of the 21st century, agility, or the ability to rapidly develop and produce new products, represents a common trend. Agility manifests itself in many different forms, with the agile manufacturing paradigm proposed by the Iacocca Institute offering a generally accepted, long-term vision. In its many forms, common elements of agility or agile manufacturing include: changes in business, engineering and production practices, seamless information flow from design through production, integration of computer and information technologies into all facets of the product development and production process, application of communications technologies to enable collaborative work between geographically dispersed product development team members and introduction of flexible automation of production processes. Industry has rarely experienced as dramatic an infusion of new technologies or as extensive a change in culture and work practices. Human factors will not only play a vital role in accomplishing the technical and social objectives of agile manufacturing. but has an opportunity to participate in shaping the evolution of industry paradigms for the 21st century.

  18. Human factor problem in nuclear power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshino, Kenji; Fujimoto, Junzo

    1999-01-01

    Since a nuclear power plant accident at Threemile Island in U.S.A. occurred in March, 1979, twenty years have passed. After the accident, the human factor problem became focussed in nuclear power, to succeed its research at present. For direct reason of human error, most of factors at individual level or work operation level are often listed at their center. Then, it is natural that studies on design of a machine or apparatus suitable for various human functions and abilities and on improvement of relationship between 'human being and machine' and 'human being and working environment' are important in future. Here was, as first, described on outlines of the human factor problem in a nuclear power plant developed at a chance of past important accident, and then was described on educational training for its countermeasure. At last, some concrete researching results obtained by human factor research were introduced. (G.K.)

  19. Research on disaster prevention by human factor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Bok Youn; Kang, Chang Hee; Kang, Sun Duck; Jo, Young Do [Korea Institute of Geology Mining and Materials, Taejon (Korea)

    1998-12-01

    Mining, by its very nature, requires workers and technology to function in an unpredictable environment that can not easily be engineered to accommodate human factors. Miners' physical and cognitive capabilities are sometimes stretched to the point that 'human error' in performance result. Mine safety researchers estimate that 50-85% of all mining injuries are due, in large part, to human error. Further research suggests that the primary causes of these errors in performance lie outside the individual and can be minimized by improvements in equipment design, work environments, work procedures and training. The human factors research is providing the science needed to determine which aspects of the mining environment can be made more worker-friendly and how miners can work more safely in environments that can not be improved. Underground mines have long been recognized as an innately hazardous and physically demanding work environment. Recently, mining is becoming a more complicated process as more sophisticated technologies are introduced. The more complicated or difficult the tasks to be performed, the more critical it is to have a systematic understanding of the humans, the technology, the environments, and how they interact. Human factors is a key component in solving most of today's mine safety and health problems. Human factors research primarily centered around solving problems in the following four areas: 1) How mining methods and equipment affect safety, 2) Evaluating the fit between miner's physical capabilities and the demands of their job, 3) Improving miner's ability to perceive and react to hazards, 4) Understanding how organizational and managerial variables influence safety. Human factor research was begun during the World war II. National Coal Board (British Coal) of Great Britain commenced ergonomics in 1969, and Bureau of Mine of United States started human factor researches in same year. Japan has very short history

  20. The science of human factors: separating fact from fiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russ, Alissa L; Fairbanks, Rollin J; Karsh, Ben-Tzion; Militello, Laura G; Saleem, Jason J; Wears, Robert L

    2013-10-01

    Interest in human factors has increased across healthcare communities and institutions as the value of human centred design in healthcare becomes increasingly clear. However, as human factors is becoming more prominent, there is growing evidence of confusion about human factors science, both anecdotally and in scientific literature. Some of the misconceptions about human factors may inadvertently create missed opportunities for healthcare improvement. The objective of this article is to describe the scientific discipline of human factors and provide common ground for partnerships between healthcare and human factors communities. The primary goal of human factors science is to promote efficiency, safety and effectiveness by improving the design of technologies, processes and work systems. As described in this article, human factors also provides insight on when training is likely (or unlikely) to be effective for improving patient safety. Finally, we outline human factors specialty areas that may be particularly relevant for improving healthcare delivery and provide examples to demonstrate their value. The human factors concepts presented in this article may foster interdisciplinary collaborations to yield new, sustainable solutions for healthcare quality and patient safety.

  1. Human factors in atomic power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawano, Ryutaro

    1997-01-01

    To ensure safety should have priority over all other things in atomic power plants. In Chernobyl accident, however, various human factors including the systems for bulb check after inspection and communication, troubles in the interface between hardwares such as warning speakers and instruments, and their operators, those in education and training for operators and those in the general management of the plant have been pointed out. Therefore, the principles and the practical measures from the aspect of human factors in atomic power plants were discussed here. The word, ''human factor'' was given a definition in terms of the direct cause and the intellectual system. An explanatory model for human factors, model SHEL constructed by The Tokyo Electric Power Co., Ltd., Inc. was presented; the four letter mean software(S), hardware(H), environment(E) and liveware(L). In the plants of the company, systemic measures for human error factors are taken now in all steps not only for design, operation and repairing but also the step for safety culture. Further, the level required for the safety against atomic power is higher in the company than those in other fields. Thus, the central principle in atomic power plants is changing from the previous views that technology is paid greater importance to a view regarding human as most importance. (M.N.)

  2. A data-informed PIF hierarchy for model-based Human Reliability Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groth, Katrina M.; Mosleh, Ali

    2012-01-01

    This paper addresses three problems associated with the use of Performance Shaping Factors in Human Reliability Analysis. (1) There are more than a dozen Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) methods that use Performance Influencing Factors (PIFs) or Performance Shaping Factors (PSFs) to model human performance, but there is not a standard set of PIFs used among the methods, nor is there a framework available to compare the PIFs used in various methods. (2) The PIFs currently in use are not defined specifically enough to ensure consistent interpretation of similar PIFs across methods. (3) There are few rules governing the creation, definition, and usage of PIF sets. This paper introduces a hierarchical set of PIFs that can be used for both qualitative and quantitative HRA. The proposed PIF set is arranged in a hierarchy that can be collapsed or expanded to meet multiple objectives. The PIF hierarchy has been developed with respect to a set fundamental principles necessary for PIF sets, which are also introduced in this paper. This paper includes definitions of the PIFs to allow analysts to map the proposed PIFs onto current and future HRA methods. The standardized PIF hierarchy will allow analysts to combine different types of data and will therefore make the best use of the limited data in HRA. The collapsible hierarchy provides the structure necessary to combine multiple types of information without reducing the quality of the information.

  3. Human factors issues for interstellar spacecraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Marc M.; Brody, Adam R.

    1991-01-01

    Developments in research on space human factors are reviewed in the context of a self-sustaining interstellar spacecraft based on the notion of traveling space settlements. Assumptions about interstellar travel are set forth addressing costs, mission durations, and the need for multigenerational space colonies. The model of human motivation by Maslow (1970) is examined and directly related to the design of space habitat architecture. Human-factors technology issues encompass the human-machine interface, crew selection and training, and the development of spaceship infrastructure during transtellar flight. A scenario for feasible instellar travel is based on a speed of 0.5c, a timeframe of about 100 yr, and an expandable multigenerational crew of about 100 members. Crew training is identified as a critical human-factors issue requiring the development of perceptual and cognitive aids such as expert systems and virtual reality.

  4. Human Factors in Accidents Involving Remotely Piloted Aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merlin, Peter William

    2013-01-01

    This presentation examines human factors that contribute to RPA mishaps and provides analysis of lessons learned. RPA accident data from U.S. military and government agencies were reviewed and analyzed to identify human factors issues. Common contributors to RPA mishaps fell into several major categories: cognitive factors (pilot workload), physiological factors (fatigue and stress), environmental factors (situational awareness), staffing factors (training and crew coordination), and design factors (human machine interface).

  5. Human and Organizational Factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eshiett, P.B.S.

    2016-01-01

    The Human and Organizational Factors Approach to Industrial Safety (HOFS) consists of identifying and putting in place conditions which encourage a positive contribution from operators (individually and in a team) with regards to industrial safety. The knowledge offered by the HOFS approach makes it possible better to understand what conditions human activity and to act on the design of occupational situations and the organization, in the aim of creating the conditions for safe work. Efforts made in this area can also lead to an improvement in results in terms of the quality of production or occupational safety (incidence and seriousness rates) (Daniellou, F., et al., 2011). Research on industrial accidents shows that they rarely happen as a result of a single event, but rather emerge from the accumulation of several, often seemingly trivial, malfunctions, misunderstandings, incorrect assumptions and other issues. The nuclear community has established rigorous international safety standards and concepts to ensure the protection of people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation (IAEA, 2014). A review of major human induced disasters in a number of countries and in different industries yields insights into several of the human and organizational factors involved in their occurrence. Some of these factors relate to failures in: • Design or technology; • Training; • Decision making; • Communication; • Preparation for the unexpected; • Understanding of organizational interdependencies

  6. Development of human factors design review guidelines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Oh, In Suk; Suh, Sang Moon; Lee, Hyun Chul [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea)

    1997-10-01

    The objective of this study is to develop human factors engineering program review guidelines and alarm system review guidelines in order to resolve the two major technical issues: 25. Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model and 26. Review Criteria for Human Factors Aspects of Advanced Controls and Instrumentation, which are related to the development of human factors safety regulation guides being performed by KINS. For the development of human factors program review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG-0711 and added our comments by considering Korean regulatory situation and reviewing the reference documents of NUREG-0711. We also computerized the Korean version of NUREG-0711, additional comments, and selected portion of the reference documents for the developer of safety regulation guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG/CR-6105, which was published by NRC in 1994 as a guideline document for the human factors review of alarm systems. Then we will update the guidelines by reviewing the literature related to alarm design published after 1994. (author). 12 refs., 5 figs., 2 tabs.

  7. Improving Safety through Human Factors Engineering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siewert, Bettina; Hochman, Mary G

    2015-10-01

    Human factors engineering (HFE) focuses on the design and analysis of interactive systems that involve people, technical equipment, and work environment. HFE is informed by knowledge of human characteristics. It complements existing patient safety efforts by specifically taking into consideration that, as humans, frontline staff will inevitably make mistakes. Therefore, the systems with which they interact should be designed for the anticipation and mitigation of human errors. The goal of HFE is to optimize the interaction of humans with their work environment and technical equipment to maximize safety and efficiency. Special safeguards include usability testing, standardization of processes, and use of checklists and forcing functions. However, the effectiveness of the safety program and resiliency of the organization depend on timely reporting of all safety events independent of patient harm, including perceived potential risks, bad outcomes that occur even when proper protocols have been followed, and episodes of "improvisation" when formal guidelines are found not to exist. Therefore, an institution must adopt a robust culture of safety, where the focus is shifted from blaming individuals for errors to preventing future errors, and where barriers to speaking up-including barriers introduced by steep authority gradients-are minimized. This requires creation of formal guidelines to address safety concerns, establishment of unified teams with open communication and shared responsibility for patient safety, and education of managers and senior physicians to perceive the reporting of safety concerns as a benefit rather than a threat. © RSNA, 2015.

  8. Human Factors in Space Exploration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Patricia M.; Fiedler, Edna

    2010-01-01

    The exploration of space is one of the most fascinating domains to study from a human factors perspective. Like other complex work domains such as aviation (Pritchett and Kim, 2008), air traffic management (Durso and Manning, 2008), health care (Morrow, North, and Wickens, 2006), homeland security (Cooke and Winner, 2008), and vehicle control (Lee, 2006), space exploration is a large-scale sociotechnical work domain characterized by complexity, dynamism, uncertainty, and risk in real-time operational contexts (Perrow, 1999; Woods et ai, 1994). Nearly the entire gamut of human factors issues - for example, human-automation interaction (Sheridan and Parasuraman, 2006), telerobotics, display and control design (Smith, Bennett, and Stone, 2006), usability, anthropometry (Chaffin, 2008), biomechanics (Marras and Radwin, 2006), safety engineering, emergency operations, maintenance human factors, situation awareness (Tenney and Pew, 2006), crew resource management (Salas et aI., 2006), methods for cognitive work analysis (Bisantz and Roth, 2008) and the like -- are applicable to astronauts, mission control, operational medicine, Space Shuttle manufacturing and assembly operations, and space suit designers as they are in other work domains (e.g., Bloomberg, 2003; Bos et al, 2006; Brooks and Ince, 1992; Casler and Cook, 1999; Jones, 1994; McCurdy et ai, 2006; Neerincx et aI., 2006; Olofinboba and Dorneich, 2005; Patterson, Watts-Perotti and Woods, 1999; Patterson and Woods, 2001; Seagull et ai, 2007; Sierhuis, Clancey and Sims, 2002). The human exploration of space also has unique challenges of particular interest to human factors research and practice. This chapter provides an overview of those issues and reports on sorne of the latest research results as well as the latest challenges still facing the field.

  9. Accidents and human factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishiwaki, Y.; Kawai, H.; Morishima, H.; Terano, T.; Sugeno, M.

    1984-01-01

    When the TMI accident occurred it was 4 a.m., an hour when the error potential of the operators would have been very high. The frequency of car and train accidents in Japan is also highest between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. The error potential may be classified into five phases corresponding to the electroencephalogramic pattern (EEG). At phase 0, when the delta wave appears, a person is unconscious and in deep sleep; at phase I, when the theta wave appears, he is very tired, sleepy and subnormal; at phase II, when the alpha wave appears, he is normal, relaxed and passive; at phase III, when the beta wave appears, he is normal, clear-minded and active; at phase IV, when the strong beta or epileptic wave appears, he is hypernormal, excited and incapable of normal judgement. Should an accident occur at phase II, the brain condition may jump to phase IV. At this phase the error or accident potential is maximum. The response of the human brain to different types of noises and signals may vary somewhat for different individuals and for different groups of people. Therefore, the possibility that such differences in brain functions may influence the mental structure would be worthy of consideration in human factors and in the design of man-machine systems. Human reliability and performance would be affected by many factors: medical, physiological and psychological, etc. The uncertainty involved in human factors may not necessarily be probabilistic, but fuzzy. Therefore, it would be important to develop a theory by which both non-probabilistic uncertainties, or fuzziness, of human factors and the probabilistic properties of machines can be treated consistently. From the mathematical point of view, probabilistic measure is considered a special case of fuzzy measure. Therefore, fuzzy set theory seems to be an effective tool for analysing man-machine systems. To minimize human error and the possibility of accidents, new safety systems should not only back up man and make up for his

  10. Human Modeling for Ground Processing Human Factors Engineering Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stambolian, Damon B.; Lawrence, Brad A.; Stelges, Katrine S.; Steady, Marie-Jeanne O.; Ridgwell, Lora C.; Mills, Robert E.; Henderson, Gena; Tran, Donald; Barth, Tim

    2011-01-01

    There have been many advancements and accomplishments over the last few years using human modeling for human factors engineering analysis for design of spacecraft. The key methods used for this are motion capture and computer generated human models. The focus of this paper is to explain the human modeling currently used at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and to explain the future plans for human modeling for future spacecraft designs

  11. Study of an investigation on factors influencing human resources productivity in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahra Ghasemi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Human resources development is one of the most important components of any organization and detecting important factors influencing human resources management plays an essential role in the success of the firms. In this study, we investigated different factors influencing human resources productivity of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences staff. Method: The present research was a cross-sectional study. Sample size was calculated 208 individuals. To access information about the human resource productivity, a valid and reliable questionnaire was used. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. Pearson correlation was used for statistical analysis of the data (p=0.05. Results:The results showed that there was a statistically significant relationship (p-value<0.001 between human resources productivity and factors affecting the productivity of human resources (motivational factors, leadership style, creativity and innovation, general and applied education, and competitive spirit. Motivational factors (r =0.89 and general education (r =0.65 had the most and the least effects on human resources productivity. Conclusion: Considering the fact that motivational factors were the most effective factors on human resource productivity, we recommend that managers should care more than before about this factor; also, in order to motivate the employees, they should consider the staff’s individual differences.

  12. Human Leptospirosis and risk factors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanelis Emilia Tabío Henry

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The human leptospirosis is a zoonosis of world distribution, were risk factors exist that have favored the wild and domestic animal propagation and so man. A descpitive investigation was made with the objective of determining the behavior of risk factors in outpatients by human leptospirosis in “Camilo Cienfuegos“ University General Hospital from Sncti Spíritus In the comprised time period betwen december 1 st and 3 st , 2008.The sample of this study was conformed by 54 risk persons that keep inclusion criteria. Some variables were used:age, sex, risk factors and number of ill persons, according to the month. Some patients of masculine sex prevailed (61,9%, group of ages between 15-29 and 45-59 years (27,7%, patients treated since october to december (53,7%, the direct and indirect contact with animals (46,2 %. The risk factors cassually associated to human leptospirosis turned to be: the masculine sex, the contac with animals, the occupational exposition and the inmersion on sources of sweet water.

  13. Human factors of safety: a few landmarks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mosneron Dupin, F.

    1992-06-01

    This paper discusses factors to be taken into account, and methods to be used. It concludes that more realistic and positive conceptions of Human Factors should be developed, and that Human Factors should be addressed at the very beginning of any technical project

  14. Human factors engineering applied to Control Centre Design of a research nuclear reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Farias, Larissa P. de; Santos, Isaac J.A. Luquetti dos; Carvalho, Paulo V.R., E-mail: larissapfarias@ymail.com [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (DENN/SEESC/IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Lab, de Usabilidade e Confiabilidade Humana; Monteiro, Beany G. [Universidade Federal do Rio Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Departamento de Desenho Industrial

    2017-07-01

    The Human Factors Engineering (HFE) program is an essential aspect for the design of nuclear installations. The overall aim of the HFE program is the improvement of the operational reliability and safety of plant operation. The HFE program main purpose is to ensure that human factor practices are incorporated into the plant design, emphasizing man-machine interface issues and design improvement of the nuclear reactor Control Centre. The Control Centre of nuclear reactor is a combination of control rooms, control suites and local control stations, which are functionally connected and located on the reactor site. The objective of this paper is to present a design approach for the Control Centre of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotopes and for nuclear research, including human factor issues. The design approach is based on participatory design principles, using human factor standards, ergonomic guidelines, and the participation of a multidisciplinary team during all design phases. Using the information gathered, an initial sketch 3D of the Control Centre was developed. (author)

  15. Human factors engineering applied to Control Centre Design of a research nuclear reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Farias, Larissa P. de; Santos, Isaac J.A. Luquetti dos; Carvalho, Paulo V.R.; Monteiro, Beany G.

    2017-01-01

    The Human Factors Engineering (HFE) program is an essential aspect for the design of nuclear installations. The overall aim of the HFE program is the improvement of the operational reliability and safety of plant operation. The HFE program main purpose is to ensure that human factor practices are incorporated into the plant design, emphasizing man-machine interface issues and design improvement of the nuclear reactor Control Centre. The Control Centre of nuclear reactor is a combination of control rooms, control suites and local control stations, which are functionally connected and located on the reactor site. The objective of this paper is to present a design approach for the Control Centre of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotopes and for nuclear research, including human factor issues. The design approach is based on participatory design principles, using human factor standards, ergonomic guidelines, and the participation of a multidisciplinary team during all design phases. Using the information gathered, an initial sketch 3D of the Control Centre was developed. (author)

  16. The human factor and organization to support nuclear power plant operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naumov, V.I.

    1993-01-01

    Analysis reveals three basic factors which affect the safety of nuclear power reactors: (1) Internal physical properties of the reactor which provide self protection under breakdown and accident conditions; (2) The reliability of technical systems which provide monitoring, control, accident prevention, heat release, and localization of hazardous products during accidents; (3) Reliability of the reactor control personnel. The last of these factors is usually called the human factor. From published data, this factor makes a large contribution to the downtime and accident statistics at nuclear power plants: from 30 to 80% in various countries. Today the importance of the human factor in operating a nuclear power units is rather well recognized. Current ideas on how to increase the reliability of a human operator are reflected in IAEA recommendations and domestic official documents. The concept of 'a culture of safety' is introduced. Basic types of actions to increase the reliability of personnel who control a nuclear reactor are discussed, including: (1) The qualifying and psychological selection and the training of candidates on the operator's obligations. (2) The automation of routine operations which do not require the operator's intellect. (3) Perfecting the work place, information input to the operator, and the organization of the controls

  17. ACSNI study group on human factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-01-01

    Organisational failures are now recognised as being as important as mechanical failures or individual human errors in causing major accidents such as the capsize of the Herald of Free Enterprise or the Pipa Alpha disaster. The Human Factors Study Group of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations was set up to look at the part played by human factors in nuclear risk and its reduction. The third report of the Study Group considers the role played by organisational factors and management in promoting nuclear safety. Actions to review and promote a safety culture are suggested. Three main conclusions are drawn and several recommendations made. (UK)

  18. External factors in hospital information system (HIS) adoption model: a case on Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Heng Wei; Ramayah, Thurasamy; Zakaria, Nasriah

    2012-08-01

    Studies related to healthcare ICT integration in Malaysia are relatively little, thus this paper provide a literature review of the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the healthcare sector in Malaysia through the hospital information system (HIS). Our study emphasized on secondary data to investigate the factors related to ICT integration in healthcare through HIS. Therefore this paper aimed to gather an in depth understanding of issues related to HIS adoption, and contributing in fostering HIS adoption in Malaysia and other countries. This paper provides a direction for future research to study the correlation of factors affecting HIS adoption. Finally a research model is proposed using current adoption theories and external factors from human, technology, and organization perspectives.

  19. Human Factor in Therapeutic Relationship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramazan Akdogan

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available herapeutic relationship is a professional relationship that has been structured based on theoretical props. This relationship is a complicated, wide and unique relationship which develops between two people, where both sides' personality and attitudes inevitably interfere. Therapist-client relationship experienced through transference and counter transference, especially in psychodynamic approaches, is accepted as the main aspect of therapeutic process. However, the approaches without dynamic/deterministic tendency also take therapist-client relationship into account seriously and stress uniqueness of interaction between two people. Being a person and a human naturally sometimes may negatively influence the relationship between the therapist and client and result in a relationship going out of the theoretical frame at times. As effective components of a therapeutic process, the factors that stem from being human include the unique personalities of the therapist and the client, their values and their attitude either made consciously or subconsciously. Literature has shown that the human-related factors are too effective to be denied in therapeutic relationship process. Ethical and theoretical knowledge can be inefficient to prevent the negative effects of these factors in therapeutic process at which point a deep insight and supervision would have a critical role in continuing an acceptable therapeutic relationship. This review is focused on the reflection of some therapeutic factors resulting from being human and development of counter transference onto the therapeutic process.

  20. Development of human factors design review guidelines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Oh, In Suk; Suh, Sang Moon; Lee, Hyun Chul

    1997-10-01

    The Objective of this study is to develop human factors engineering program review guidelines and alarm system review guidelines in order to resolve the two major technical issues: '25, Human factors engineering program review model' and '26, Review criteria for human actors aspects of advanced controls and instrumentation', which are related to the development of human factors safety regulation guides be ing performed by KINS. For the development of human factors program review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG-0711 and added our comments by considering Korean regulatory situation and reviewing the reference documents of NUREG-0711. We also computerized the Korean version of NUREG-0711, additional comments, and selected portion of the reference documents for the developer of safety regulation guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG/CR-6105, which was published by NRC in 1994 as a guideline document for the human factors review of alarm systems. Then we well update the guidelines by reviewing the literature related to alarm design published after 1994

  1. An assessment system for rating scientific journals in the field of ergonomics and human factors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J. Dul (Jan); W. Karwowski

    2003-01-01

    textabstractA method for selecting and rating scientific and professional journals representing the discipline of ergonomics and human factors is proposed. The method is based upon the journal list, impact factors and citations provided by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI), and the

  2. Using Human Factors Techniques to Design Text Message Reminders for Childhood Immunization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahlers-Schmidt, Carolyn R.; Hart, Traci; Chesser, Amy; Williams, Katherine S.; Yaghmai, Beryl; Shah-Haque, Sapna; Wittler, Robert R.

    2012-01-01

    This study engaged parents to develop concise, informative, and comprehensible text messages for an immunization reminder system using Human Factors techniques. Fifty parents completed a structured interview including demographics, technology questions, willingness to receive texts from their child's doctor, and health literacy. Each participant…

  3. Human Research Program: Space Human Factors and Habitability Element

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Dane M.

    2007-01-01

    The three project areas of the Space Human Factors and Habitability Element work together to achieve a working and living environment that will keep crews healthy, safe, and productive throughout all missions -- from Earth orbit to Mars expeditions. The Advanced Environmental Health (AEH) Project develops and evaluates advanced habitability systems and establishes requirements and health standards for exploration missions. The Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Project s goal is to ensure a safe and productive environment for humans in space. With missions using new technologies at an ever-increasing rate, it is imperative that these advances enhance crew performance without increasing stress or risk. The ultimate goal of Advanced Food Technology (AFT) Project is to develop and deliver technologies for human centered spacecraft that will support crews on missions to the moon, Mars, and beyond.

  4. Human factors engineering checklists for application in the SAR process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Overlin, T.K.; Romero, H.A.; Ryan, T.G.

    1995-03-01

    This technical report was produced to assist the preparers and reviewers of the human factors portions of the SAR in completing their assigned tasks regarding analysis and/or review of completed analyses. The checklists, which are the main body of the report, and the subsequent tables, were developed to assist analysts in generating the needed analysis data to complete the human engineering analysis for the SAR. The technical report provides a series of 19 human factors engineering (HFE) checklists which support the safety analyses of the US Department of Energy's (DOE) reactor and nonreactor facilities and activities. The results generated using these checklists and in the preparation of the concluding analyses provide the technical basis for preparing the human factors chapter, and subsequent inputs to other chapters, required by DOE as a part of the safety analysis reports (SARs). This document is divided into four main sections. The first part explains the origin of the checklists, the sources utilized, and other information pertaining to the purpose and scope of the report. The second part, subdivided into 19 sections, is the checklists themselves. The third section is the glossary which defines terms that could either be unfamiliar or have specific meanings within the context of these checklists. The final section is the subject index in which the glossary terms are referenced back to the specific checklist and page the term is encountered

  5. Human Factors in Nuclear Reactor Accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mustafa, M.E.

    2016-01-01

    While many people would blame nature for the disaster of the “Fukushima Daiichi” accident, experts considered this accident to be also a human-induced disaster. This confirmed the importance of human errors which have been getting a growing interest in the nuclear field after the Three Mile Island accident. Personnel play an important role in design, operation, maintenance, planning, and management. The interface between machine and man is known as a human factor. In the present work, the human factors that have to be considered were discussed. The effect of the control room configuration and equipment design effect on the human behavior was also discussed. Precise reviewing of person’s qualifications and experience was focused. Insufficient training has been a major cause of human error in the nuclear field. The effective training issues were introduced. Avoiding complicated operational processes and non responsive management systems was stressed. Distinguishing between the procedures for normal and emergency operations was emphasised. It was stated that human error during maintenance and testing activities could cause a serious accident. This is because safety systems do not cover much more risk probabilities in the maintenance and testing activities like they do in the normal operation. In nuclear industry, the need for a classification and identification of human errors has been well recognised. As a result of this, human reliability must be assessed. These errors are analyzed by a probabilistic safety assessment which deals with errors in reading, listening and implementing procedures but not with cognitive errors. Much efforts must be accomplished to consider cognitive errors in the probabilistic safety assessment. The ways of collecting human factor data were surveyed. The methods for identifying safe designs, helping decision makers to predict how proposed or current policies will affect safety, and comprehensive understanding of the relationship

  6. Human factoring administrative procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grider, D.A.; Sturdivant, M.H.

    1991-01-01

    In nonnuclear business, administrative procedures bring to mind such mundane topics as filing correspondence and scheduling vacation time. In the nuclear industry, on the other hand, administrative procedures play a vital role in assuring the safe operation of a facility. For some time now, industry focus has been on improving technical procedures. Significant efforts are under way to produce technical procedure requires that a validated technical, regulatory, and administrative basis be developed and that the technical process be established for each procedure. Producing usable technical procedures requires that procedure presentation be engineered to the same human factors principles used in control room design. The vital safety role of administrative procedures requires that they be just as sound, just a rigorously formulated, and documented as technical procedures. Procedure programs at the Tennessee Valley Authority and at Boston Edison's Pilgrim Station demonstrate that human factors engineering techniques can be applied effectively to technical procedures. With a few modifications, those same techniques can be used to produce more effective administrative procedures. Efforts are under way at the US Department of Energy Nuclear Weapons Complex and at some utilities (Boston Edison, for instance) to apply human factors engineering to administrative procedures: The techniques being adapted include the following

  7. Warranty claim analysis considering human factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Shaomin

    2011-01-01

    Warranty claims are not always due to product failures. They can also be caused by two types of human factors. On the one hand, consumers might claim warranty due to misuse and/or failures caused by various human factors. Such claims might account for more than 10% of all reported claims. On the other hand, consumers might not be bothered to claim warranty for failed items that are still under warranty, or they may claim warranty after they have experienced several intermittent failures. These two types of human factors can affect warranty claim costs. However, research in this area has received rather little attention. In this paper, we propose three models to estimate the expected warranty cost when the two types of human factors are included. We consider two types of failures: intermittent and fatal failures, which might result in different claim patterns. Consumers might report claims after a fatal failure has occurred, and upon intermittent failures they might report claims after a number of failures have occurred. Numerical examples are given to validate the results derived.

  8. Human factors in RBNK plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Demitrack, T.

    1995-01-01

    The Safety of RBMK nuclear power plants in the Russian Federation, The Ukraine and Lithuanian is a topic of concern to the European Union and other Western European countries. The European Commission, Sweden, Finland and Canada financed the project Safety Design Solutions and Operation of NPP with RBMK Reactors. The project examined nine issues and recommended safety improvements which will form the basis of future European Commission spending on these power plants. During its year of work, the project examined these issues: 1. Systems Engineering and progression of accidents 2. Protection System 3. Core Physics 4. External Events 5. Engineering Quality 6. Operating Experience 7. Human Factors 8. Regulatory Interface 9. Probabilistic Safety analysis Empresarios Agrupados, in collaboration with other western European firms, the Russian Federation and Lithuanian took part in two of these groups, Human Factors and Probabilistic Safety Analysis. This presentation gives a brief description of the most important aspects of human factors in RBMK plants, focusing on operations organization, training and education

  9. Human Factors Process Task Analysis: Liquid Oxygen Pump Acceptance Test Procedure at the Advanced Technology Development Center

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diorio, Kimberly A.; Voska, Ned (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    This viewgraph presentation provides information on Human Factors Process Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (HF PFMEA). HF PFMEA includes the following 10 steps: Describe mission; Define System; Identify human-machine; List human actions; Identify potential errors; Identify factors that effect error; Determine likelihood of error; Determine potential effects of errors; Evaluate risk; Generate solutions (manage error). The presentation also describes how this analysis was applied to a liquid oxygen pump acceptance test.

  10. Human factors with nonhumans - Factors that affect computer-task performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washburn, David A.

    1992-01-01

    There are two general strategies that may be employed for 'doing human factors research with nonhuman animals'. First, one may use the methods of traditional human factors investigations to examine the nonhuman animal-to-machine interface. Alternatively, one might use performance by nonhuman animals as a surrogate for or model of performance by a human operator. Each of these approaches is illustrated with data in the present review. Chronic ambient noise was found to have a significant but inconsequential effect on computer-task performance by rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). Additional data supported the generality of findings such as these to humans, showing that rhesus monkeys are appropriate models of human psychomotor performance. It is argued that ultimately the interface between comparative psychology and technology will depend on the coordinated use of both strategies of investigation.

  11. Applications of human factors engineering in the digital HMI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Bingjian

    2014-01-01

    In order to prevent and minimize human errors in the digital main control room, the principles of human factors engineering must be complied strictly in the design process of digital human-machine interface. This paper briefly describes the basic human factors engineering principles of designing main control room, introduces the main steps to implement the human factors engineering verification and validation of main control room, including HSI task support verification, human factors engineering design verification and integrated system validation. Meanwhile, according to the new digital human-machine interface characteristics, the development models of human error are analyzed. (author)

  12. Effectiveness of human factors simulator; Eficiencia del simulador de factores humanos

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moragas, F.

    2015-07-01

    En 2011, ANAV started the exploitation of the Human Factors Simulator installed in TECNATOM Training Center located in L'Hospital de L'Infant Tarragona. AVAN's Strategic Plan includes the Action Plan for the improvement of human behavior. The plan includes improving the efficiency of the efficiency of the human factors simulator. It is proposed to improve the efficiency into two different terms: winning effectiveness in modeling behaviors, and interweaving the activities in the simulator with the actual strategy of promoting Safety culture and human behaviour. (Author)

  13. A human-machine interface evaluation method: A difficulty evaluation method in information searching (DEMIS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha, Jun Su; Seong, Poong Hyun

    2009-01-01

    A human-machine interface (HMI) evaluation method, which is named 'difficulty evaluation method in information searching (DEMIS)', is proposed and demonstrated with an experimental study. The DEMIS is based on a human performance model and two measures of attentional-resource effectiveness in monitoring and detection tasks in nuclear power plants (NPPs). Operator competence and HMI design are modeled to be most significant factors to human performance. One of the two effectiveness measures is fixation-to-importance ratio (FIR) which represents attentional resource (eye fixations) spent on an information source compared to importance of the information source. The other measure is selective attention effectiveness (SAE) which incorporates FIRs for all information sources. The underlying principle of the measures is that the information source should be selectively attended to according to its informational importance. In this study, poor performance in information searching tasks is modeled to be coupled with difficulties caused by poor mental models of operators or/and poor HMI design. Human performance in information searching tasks is evaluated by analyzing the FIR and the SAE. Operator mental models are evaluated by a questionnaire-based method. Then difficulties caused by a poor HMI design are evaluated by a focused interview based on the FIR evaluation and then root causes leading to poor performance are identified in a systematic way.

  14. Human Reliability Analysis for Design: Using Reliability Methods for Human Factors Issues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronald Laurids Boring

    2010-11-01

    This paper reviews the application of human reliability analysis methods to human factors design issues. An application framework is sketched in which aspects of modeling typically found in human reliability analysis are used in a complementary fashion to the existing human factors phases of design and testing. The paper provides best achievable practices for design, testing, and modeling. Such best achievable practices may be used to evaluate and human system interface in the context of design safety certifications.

  15. Human Reliability Analysis for Design: Using Reliability Methods for Human Factors Issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boring, Ronald Laurids

    2010-01-01

    This paper reviews the application of human reliability analysis methods to human factors design issues. An application framework is sketched in which aspects of modeling typically found in human reliability analysis are used in a complementary fashion to the existing human factors phases of design and testing. The paper provides best achievable practices for design, testing, and modeling. Such best achievable practices may be used to evaluate and human system interface in the context of design safety certifications.

  16. US Nuclear Regulatory Commission human-factors program plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-08-01

    The purpose of the NRC Human Factors Program Plan is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design, operation, and maintenance of nuclear facilities. This initial plan addresses nuclear power plants (NPP) and describes (1) the technical assistance and research activities planned to provide the technical bases for the resolution of the remaining human factors related tasks described in NUREG-0660, The NRC Action Plan Developed as a Result of the TMI-2 Accident, and NUREG-0737, Clarification of TMI Action Plan Requirements, and (2) the additional human factors efforts identified during implementation of the Action Plan that should receive NRC attention. The plan represents a systematic and comprehensive approach for addressing human factors concerns important to NPP safety in the FY-83 through FY-85 time frame

  17. Human factors in aviation

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Salas, Eduardo; Maurino, Daniel E

    2010-01-01

    .... HFA offers a comprehensive overview of the topic, taking readers from the general to the specific, first covering broad issues, then the more specific topics of pilot performance, human factors...

  18. Human factors methods for nuclear control room design. Volume 2. Human factors survey of control room design practices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Parsons, S.O.

    1979-11-01

    An earlier review of the control rooms of operating nuclear power plants identified many design problems having potential for degrading operator performance. As a result, the formal application of human factors principles was found to be needed. This report demonstrates the use of human factors in the design of power plant control rooms. The approaches shown in the report can be applied to operating power plants, as well as to those in the design stage. This study documents human factors techniques required to provide a sustained concern for the man-machine interface from control room concept definition to system implementation

  19. The importance of residues 195-206 of human blood clotting factor VII in the interaction of factor VII with tissue factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wildgoose, P.; Kisiel, W.; Kazim, A.L.

    1990-01-01

    Previous studies indicated that human and bovine factor VII exhibit 71% amino acid sequence identity. In the present study, competition binding experiments revealed that the interaction of human factor VII with cell-surface human tissue factor was not inhibited by 100-fold molar excess of bovine factor VII. This finding indicated that bovine and human factor VII are not structurally homologous in the region(s) where human factor VII interacts with human tissue factor. On this premise, the authors synthesized three peptides corresponding to regions of human factor VII that exhibited marked structural dissimilarity to bovine factor VII; these regions of dissimilarity included residues 195-206, 263-274, and 314-326. Peptide 195-206 inhibited the interaction of factor VII with cell-surface tissue factor and the activation of factor X by a complex of factor VIIa and tissue factor half-maximally at concentrations of 1-2 mM. A structurally rearranged form of peptide 195-206 containing an aspartimide residue inhibited these reactions half-maximally at concentrations of 250-300 μM. In contrast, neither peptide 263-274 nor peptide 314-326, at 2 mM concentration, significantly affected either factor VIIa interaction with tissue factor or factor VIIa-mediated activation of factor X. The data provide presumptive evidence that residues 195-206 of human factor VII are involved in the interaction of human factor VII with the extracellular domain of human tissue factor apoprotein

  20. Meeting Human Reliability Requirements through Human Factors Design, Testing, and Modeling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    R. L. Boring

    2007-06-01

    In the design of novel systems, it is important for the human factors engineer to work in parallel with the human reliability analyst to arrive at the safest achievable design that meets design team safety goals and certification or regulatory requirements. This paper introduces the System Development Safety Triptych, a checklist of considerations for the interplay of human factors and human reliability through design, testing, and modeling in product development. This paper also explores three phases of safe system development, corresponding to the conception, design, and implementation of a system.

  1. Importance of human factors on nuclear installations safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caruso, G.J.

    1990-01-01

    Actually, installations safety and, in particular the nuclear installations infer a strong incidence in human factors related to the design and operation of such installations. In general, the experience aims to that the most important accidents have happened as result of the components' failures combination and human failures in the operation of safety systems. Human factors in the nuclear installations may be divided into two areas: economy and human reliability. Human factors treatments for the safety evaluation of the nuclear installations allow to diagnose the weak points of man-machine interaction. (Author) [es

  2. Human machine interaction: The special role for human unconscious emotional information processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Noort, M.W.M.L. van den; Hugdahl, K.; Bosch, M.P.C.

    2005-01-01

    The nature of (un)conscious human emotional information processing remains a great mystery. On the one hand, classical models view human conscious emotional information processing as computation among the brain’s neurons but fail to address its enigmatic features. On the other hand, quantum

  3. Human Factors Interface with Systems Engineering for NASA Human Spaceflights

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Douglas T.

    2009-01-01

    This paper summarizes the past and present successes of the Habitability and Human Factors Branch (HHFB) at NASA Johnson Space Center s Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) in including the Human-As-A-System (HAAS) model in many NASA programs and what steps to be taken to integrate the Human-Centered Design Philosophy (HCDP) into NASA s Systems Engineering (SE) process. The HAAS model stresses systems are ultimately designed for the humans; the humans should therefore be considered as a system within the systems. Therefore, the model places strong emphasis on human factors engineering. Since 1987, the HHFB has been engaging with many major NASA programs with much success. The HHFB helped create the NASA Standard 3000 (a human factors engineering practice guide) and the Human Systems Integration Requirements document. These efforts resulted in the HAAS model being included in many NASA programs. As an example, the HAAS model has been successfully introduced into the programmatic and systems engineering structures of the International Space Station Program (ISSP). Success in the ISSP caused other NASA programs to recognize the importance of the HAAS concept. Also due to this success, the HHFB helped update NASA s Systems Engineering Handbook in December 2007 to include HAAS as a recommended practice. Nonetheless, the HAAS model has yet to become an integral part of the NASA SE process. Besides continuing in integrating HAAS into current and future NASA programs, the HHFB will investigate incorporating the Human-Centered Design Philosophy (HCDP) into the NASA SE Handbook. The HCDP goes further than the HAAS model by emphasizing a holistic and iterative human-centered systems design concept.

  4. Approach-Induced Biases in Human Information Sampling.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurence T Hunt

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Information sampling is often biased towards seeking evidence that confirms one's prior beliefs. Despite such biases being a pervasive feature of human behavior, their underlying causes remain unclear. Many accounts of these biases appeal to limitations of human hypothesis testing and cognition, de facto evoking notions of bounded rationality, but neglect more basic aspects of behavioral control. Here, we investigated a potential role for Pavlovian approach in biasing which information humans will choose to sample. We collected a large novel dataset from 32,445 human subjects, making over 3 million decisions, who played a gambling task designed to measure the latent causes and extent of information-sampling biases. We identified three novel approach-related biases, formalized by comparing subject behavior to a dynamic programming model of optimal information gathering. These biases reflected the amount of information sampled ("positive evidence approach", the selection of which information to sample ("sampling the favorite", and the interaction between information sampling and subsequent choices ("rejecting unsampled options". The prevalence of all three biases was related to a Pavlovian approach-avoid parameter quantified within an entirely independent economic decision task. Our large dataset also revealed that individual differences in the amount of information gathered are a stable trait across multiple gameplays and can be related to demographic measures, including age and educational attainment. As well as revealing limitations in cognitive processing, our findings suggest information sampling biases reflect the expression of primitive, yet potentially ecologically adaptive, behavioral repertoires. One such behavior is sampling from options that will eventually be chosen, even when other sources of information are more pertinent for guiding future action.

  5. Human factors in the Canadian nuclear industry: future needs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrison, F.

    2008-01-01

    Currently the industry is facing refurbishment and new builds. At present most licensees in Canada do not have sufficient numbers of Human Factors staff. As a result, the activities of the CNSC are too often focused on providing guidance regarding the application of Human Factors, in addition to reviewing work submitted by the licensee. Greater efficiencies for both the licensee and the CNSC could be realized if licensee staff had greater Human Factors expertise. Strategies for developing Human Factors expertise should be explored through cooperative partnerships with universities, which could be encouraged to include Human Factors courses specific to nuclear. (author)

  6. Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics Analysis for the Canister Storage Building (CSB) Results and Findings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    GARVIN, L.J.

    1999-01-01

    The purpose for this supplemental report is to follow-up and update the information in SNF-3907, Human Factors Engineering (HFE) Analysis: Results and Findings. This supplemental report responds to applicable U.S. Department of Energy Safety Analysis Report review team comments and questions. This Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics (HFE/Erg) analysis was conducted from April 1999 to July 1999; SNF-3907 was based on analyses accomplished in October 1998. The HFE/Erg findings presented in this report and SNF-3907, along with the results of HNF-3553, Spent Nuclear Fuel Project, Final Safety Analysis Report. Annex A, ''Canister Storage Building Final Safety Analysis Report,'' Chapter A3.0, ''Hazards and Accidents Analyses,'' provide the technical basis for preparing or updating HNF-3553, Annex A, Chapter A13.0, ''Human Factors Engineering.'' The findings presented in this report allow the HNF-3553 Chapter 13.0, ''Human Factors,'' to respond fully to the HFE requirements established in DOE Order 5480.23, Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports

  7. Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics Analysis for the Canister Storage Building (CSB): Results and Findings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    GARVIN, L.J.

    1999-01-01

    The purpose for this supplemental report is to follow-up and update the information in SNF-3907, Human Factors Engineering (HFE) Analysis: Results and Findings. This supplemental report responds to applicable U.S. Department of Energy Safety Analysis Report review team comments and questions. This Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics (HFE/Erg) analysis was conducted from April 1999 to July 1999; SNF-3907 was based on analyses accomplished in October 1998. The HFE/Erg findings presented in this report and SNF-3907, along with the results of HNF-3553, Spent Nuclear Fuel Project, Final Safety Analysis Report, Annex A, ''Canister Storage Building Final Safety Analysis Report,'' Chapter A3.0, ''Hazards and Accidents Analyses,'' provide the technical basis for preparing or updating HNF-3553. Annex A, Chaptex A13.0, ''Human Factors Engineering.'' The findings presented in this report allow the HNF-3553 Chapter 13.0, ''Human Factors,'' to respond fully to the HFE requirements established in DOE Order 5480.23, Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports

  8. A framework for human factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Webb, R.D.G.

    As the complexity of industrial systems increases, the need for efficient integration of human beings into the systems that they design and operate grows more important. Human factors, or ergonomics, is concerned with the application of life science knowledge about human characteristics to maximise performance and well-being in any context. The most complex problem is to identify job demands in terms of different human dimensions and to apply established life science knowledge to determine optimum solutions. This requires the cooperation of many specialists

  9. Analysis of 'human element related trip case book in Korean NPPs' using organizational factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, S. Y.; Kim, Y. I.; Lee, Y. S.; Kim, C. S.; Jung, C. H.; Jung, W. D.

    2002-01-01

    There have been no studies appling organizational factors to data analysis in Korean NPPs. In this paper, data in 'human element related trip case book in Korean NPPs' are analyzed and categorized by the 20 organizational factors of NRC-BNL according to the cause of reactor trip. These inform us how organizational factors affected on the safety of Korean NPPs. Consequently important organizational factor are identified through which it is known that NPP organization would have a tendency

  10. Human factors engineering checklists for application in the SAR process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Overlin, T.K.; Romero, H.A.; Ryan, T.G.

    1995-03-01

    This technical report was produced to assist the preparers and reviewers of the human factors portions of the SAR in completing their assigned tasks regarding analysis and/or review of completed analyses. The checklists, which are the main body of the report, and the subsequent tables, were developed to assist analysts in generating the needed analysis data to complete the human engineering analysis for the SAR. The technical report provides a series of 19 human factors engineering (HFE) checklists which support the safety analyses of the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) reactor and nonreactor facilities and activities. The results generated using these checklists and in the preparation of the concluding analyses provide the technical basis for preparing the human factors chapter, and subsequent inputs to other chapters, required by DOE as a part of the safety analysis reports (SARs). This document is divided into four main sections. The first part explains the origin of the checklists, the sources utilized, and other information pertaining to the purpose and scope of the report. The second part, subdivided into 19 sections, is the checklists themselves. The third section is the glossary which defines terms that could either be unfamiliar or have specific meanings within the context of these checklists. The final section is the subject index in which the glossary terms are referenced back to the specific checklist and page the term is encountered.

  11. IMPORTANCE OF THE HUMAN FACTOR IN THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED SOCIETY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Angela BRETCU

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The paper approaches the paradigmatic changes of the current economic situation, in the context of post-modernism and its challenges, which reconsiders human society according to new criteria. One of the characteristics of post-modernism is the development of information and communication techniques, which allowed the occurrence of the „knowledge-based society” whose consequence is the effervescence of fast barrier-free knowledge, absolute freedom of debates, equality of opportunities before the virtual space, but also the relativisation of information, the increases of the danger of manipulation, misleading, or even falsification of the truth. New challenges occur thus in social life, and especially in the economic one, where the human factor becomes increasingly important for the evolution of society. In this context, education seems to play the decisive part, but an education focused on real values, where the truth and the ethics prevail before efficiency and performance.  

  12. Multimodal Information Presentation for High-Load Human Computer Interaction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cao, Y.

    2011-01-01

    This dissertation addresses multimodal information presentation in human computer interaction. Information presentation refers to the manner in which computer systems/interfaces present information to human users. More specifically, the focus of our work is not on which information to present, but

  13. Development of human factors design review guidelines(II)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Oh, In Suk; Suh, Sang Moon; Lee, Hyun Chul [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea)

    1998-06-01

    The objective of this study is to develop human factors engineering program review guidelines and alarm system review guidelines in order to resolve the two major technical issues: 25. Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model and 26. Review Criteria for Human Factors Aspects of Advanced Controls and Instrumentation, which are related to the development of human factors safety regulation guides being performed by KINS. For the development of human factors program review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG-0711 and added our comments by considering Korean regulatory situation and reviewing the reference documents of NUREG-0711. We also computerized the Korean version of NUREG-0711, additional comments, and selected portion of the reference documents for the developer of safety regulation guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG/CR-6105, which was published by NRC in 1994 as a guideline document for the human factors review of alarm systems. Then we will update the guidelines by reviewing the literature related to alarm design published after 1994. (author). 11 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.

  14. A human factor analysis of a radiotherapy accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thellier, S.

    2009-01-01

    Since September 2005, I.R.S.N. studies activities of radiotherapy treatment from the angle of the human and organizational factors to improve the reliability of treatment in radiotherapy. Experienced in nuclear industry incidents analysis, I.R.S.N. analysed and diffused in March 2008, for the first time in France, the detailed study of a radiotherapy accident from the angle of the human and organizational factors. The method used for analysis is based on interviews and documents kept by the hospital. This analysis aimed at identifying the causes of the difference recorded between the dose prescribed by the radiotherapist and the dose effectively received by the patient. Neither verbal nor written communication (intra-service meetings and protocols of treatment) allowed information to be transmitted correctly in order to permit radiographers to adjust the irradiation zones correctly. This analysis highlighted the fact that during the preparation and the carrying out of the treatment, various factors led planned controls to not be performed. Finally, this analysis highlighted the fact that unsolved areas persist in the report over this accident. This is due to a lack of traceability of a certain number of key actions. The article concluded that there must be improvement in three areas: cooperation between the practitioners, control of the actions and traceability of the actions. (author)

  15. Habitability and Human Factors: Lessons Learned in Long Duration Space Flight

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baggerman, Susan D.; Rando, Cynthia M.; Duvall, Laura E.

    2006-01-01

    This study documents the investigation of qualitative habitability and human factors feedback provided by scientists, engineers, and crewmembers on lessons learned from the ISS Program. A thorough review and understanding of this data is critical in charting NASA's future path in space exploration. NASA has been involved in ensuring that the needs of crewmembers to live and work safely and effectively in space have been met throughout the ISS Program. Human factors and habitability data has been collected from every U.S. crewmember that has resided on the ISS. The knowledge gained from both the developers and inhabitants of the ISS have provided a significant resource of information for NASA and will be used in future space exploration. The recurring issues have been tracked and documented; the top 5 most critical issues have been identified from this data. The top 5 identified problems were: excessive onsrbit stowage; environment; communication; procedures; and inadequate design of systems and equipment. Lessons learned from these issues will be used to aid in future improvements and developments to the space program. Full analysis of the habitability and human factors data has led to the following recommendations. It is critical for human factors to be involved early in the design of space vehicles and hardware. Human factors requirements need to be readdressed and redefined given the knowledge gained during previous ISS and long-duration space flight programs. These requirements must be integrated into vehicle and hardware technical documentation and consistently enforced. Lastly, space vehicles and hardware must be designed with primary focus on the user/operator to successfully complete missions and maintain a safe working environment. Implementation of these lessons learned will significantly improve NASA's likelihood of success in future space endeavors.

  16. Spatial factors as contextual qualifiers of information seeking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Savolainen

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. This paper investigates the ways in which spatial factors have been approached in information seeking studies. The main attention was focused on studies discussing information seeking on the level of source selection and use. Method. Conceptual analysis of about 100 articles and books thematizing spatial issues of information seeking. Due to research economy, the main attention was paid to studies on everyday life information seeking. Results. Three major viewpoints were identified with regard to the degree of objectivity of spatial factors. The objectifying approach conceives of spatial factors as external and entity-like qualifiers that primarly constrain information seeking. The realistic-pragmatic approach emphasizes the ways in which the availabilty of information sources in different places such as daily work environments orient information seeking. The perspectivist approach focuses on how people subjectively assess the significance of various sources by means of spatial constructs such as information horizons. Conclusion. Spatial factors are centrally important contextual qualifiers of information seeking. There is a need to further explore the potential of the above viewpoints by relating the spatial and temporal factors of information seeking.

  17. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Human Factors Program Plan. Revision 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-04-01

    This document is the Second Annual Revision to the NRC Human Factors Program Plan. The first edition was published in August 1983. Revision 1 was published in July of 1984. Purpose of the NRC Human Factors Program is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design and operation of nuclear power plants. This document describes the plans of the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation to address high priority human factors concerns of importance to reactor safety in FY 1986 and FY 1987. Revision 2 of the plan incorporates recent Commission decisions and policies bearing on the human factors aspects of reactor safety regulation. With a few exceptions, the principal changes from prior editions reflect a shift from developing new requirements to staff evaluation of industry progress in resolving human factors issues. The plan addresses seven major program elements: (1) Training, (2) Licensing Examinations, (3) Procedures, (4) Man-Machine Interface, (5) Staffing and Qualifications, (6) Management and Organization, and (7) Human Performance

  18. Human Factors Simulation in Construction Management Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaeger, M.; Adair, D.

    2010-01-01

    Successful construction management depends primarily on the representatives of the involved construction project parties. In addition to effective application of construction management tools and concepts, human factors impact significantly on the processes of any construction management endeavour. How can human factors in construction management…

  19. Human Factor on Gravelines Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duboc, Gerard

    1998-01-01

    In a first part, the documents describes the commitments by EDF nuclear power plan operations to demands made by the Safety Authority regarding actions in the field of human factors (concerns expressed by the Authority, in-depth analysis, positions on different points raised by the Authority). In a second part, it presents the various actions undertaken in the Gravelines nuclear power station regarding human factors: creation of an 'operator club' (mission and objectives, methods and means, first meetings, tracking file), development of risk analysis strategy, setting up of a human factor engineering mission and example of action in case of a significant event

  20. Overview of EPRI's human factors research program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Brien, J.F.; Parris, H.L.

    1981-01-01

    The human factors engineering program in the Nuclear Power Division, EPRI is dedicated to the resolution of man-machine interface problems specific to the nuclear power industry. Particularly emphasis is placed on the capabilities and limitations of the people who operate and maintain the system, the tasks they must perform, and what they need to accomplish those tasks. Six human factors R and D projects are being conducted at the present time. In addition, technical consultation is being furnished to a study area, operator aids, being funded by another program area outside the human factors program area. All of these activities are summarized

  1. Human factors considerations for the use of color in display systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demars, S. A.

    1975-01-01

    Identified and assessed are those human factor considerations impacting an operator's ability to perform when information is displayed in color as contrasted to monochrome (black and white only). The findings provide valuable guidelines for the assessment of the advantages (and disadvantages) of using a color display system. The use of color provides an additional sensory channel (color perception) which is not available with black and white. The degree to which one can exploit the use of this channel is highly dependent on available display technology, mission information display requirements, and acceptable operational modes.

  2. In-vehicle human factors for integrated multi-function systems: Making ITS user-friendly

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spelt, P.F.; Scott, S.

    1998-04-01

    As more and more Intelligent Transportation System in-vehicle equipment enters the general consumer market, the authors are about to find out how different design engineers are from ordinary drivers. Driver information systems are being developed and installed in vehicles at an ever-increasing rate. These systems provide information on diverse topics of concern and convenience to the driver, such as routing and navigation, emergency and collision warnings, and a variety of motorists services, or yellow pages functions. Most of these systems are being developed and installed in isolation from each other, with separate means of gathering the information and of displaying it to the driver. The current lack of coordination among on-board systems threatens to create a situation in which different messages on separate displays will be competing with each other for the drivers attention. Urgent messages may go unnoticed, and the number of messages may distract the driver from the most critical task of controlling the vehicle. Thus, without good human factors design and engineering for integrating multiple systems in the vehicle, consumers may find ITS systems confusing and frustrating to use. The current state of the art in human factors research and design for in-vehicle systems has a number of fundamental gaps. Some of these gaps were identified during the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative Human Factors Technology Workshop, sponsored by the US Department of Transportation, in Troy, Michigan, December 10--11, 1997. One task for workshop participants was to identify needed research areas or topics relating to in-vehicle human factors. The top ten unmet research needs from this workshop are presented. Many of these gaps in human factors research knowledge indicate the need for standardization in the functioning of interfaces for safety-related devices such as collision avoidance systems (CAS) and adaptive cruise controls (ACC). Such standards and guidelines will serve to make

  3. Company culture and human factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rerucha, F.

    1999-01-01

    Human beings constitute an important factor for smooth operation and fulfilment of special safety requirements in the workplace environment of a nuclear power station. It is therefore important to carry out investigations and continual checks in order to prevent routine complacency of the employees, not only for their respective tasks but also with regard to the structure of the plant. Frantisek Rerucha reports on the investigation of procedural approaches, the methods thereby involved and the results obtained in the nuclear power station Dukovany. The investigation came to the conclusion that communication and information problems exist in many areas. The company goals are communicated inadequately, especially on the lower and middle levels, with the result that employees do not always comply exactly with the directives. On the other hand, the employees are often overstressed with additional, often useless, information. However, willingness to communicate is mostly absent, and the employees have a feeling that personal relationships in general tend to be unsatisfactory in the nuclear power station. Management personnel is experienced as highly qualified experts without qualifications for leadership. But the study came to the conclusion that communication on the operative sector functions very well, by virtue of a well-established personal network. (orig.) [de

  4. Human Factors in Financial Trading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leaver, Meghan; Reader, Tom W.

    2016-01-01

    Objective This study tests the reliability of a system (FINANS) to collect and analyze incident reports in the financial trading domain and is guided by a human factors taxonomy used to describe error in the trading domain. Background Research indicates the utility of applying human factors theory to understand error in finance, yet empirical research is lacking. We report on the development of the first system for capturing and analyzing human factors–related issues in operational trading incidents. Method In the first study, 20 incidents are analyzed by an expert user group against a referent standard to establish the reliability of FINANS. In the second study, 750 incidents are analyzed using distribution, mean, pathway, and associative analysis to describe the data. Results Kappa scores indicate that categories within FINANS can be reliably used to identify and extract data on human factors–related problems underlying trading incidents. Approximately 1% of trades (n = 750) lead to an incident. Slip/lapse (61%), situation awareness (51%), and teamwork (40%) were found to be the most common problems underlying incidents. For the most serious incidents, problems in situation awareness and teamwork were most common. Conclusion We show that (a) experts in the trading domain can reliably and accurately code human factors in incidents, (b) 1% of trades incur error, and (c) poor teamwork skills and situation awareness underpin the most critical incidents. Application This research provides data crucial for ameliorating risk within financial trading organizations, with implications for regulation and policy. PMID:27142394

  5. Organizational root causes for human factor accidents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dougherty, D.T.

    1997-01-01

    Accident prevention techniques and technologies have evolved significantly throughout this century from the earliest establishment of standards and procedures to the safety engineering improvements the fruits of which we enjoy today. Most of the recent prevention efforts focused on humans and defining human factor causes of accidents. This paper builds upon the remarkable successes of the past by looking beyond the human's action in accident causation to the organizational factors that put the human in the position to cause the accident. This organizational approach crosses all functions and all career fields

  6. NASA Space Flight Human-System Standard Human Factors, Habitability, and Environmental Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holubec, Keith; Connolly, Janis

    2010-01-01

    This slide presentation reviews the history, and development of NASA-STD-3001, NASA Space Flight Human-System Standard Human Factors, Habitability, and Environmental Health, and the related Human Integration Design Handbook. Currently being developed from NASA-STD-3000, this project standard currently in review will be available in two volumes, (i.e., Volume 1 -- VCrew Health and Volume 2 -- Human Factors, Habitability, and Environmental Health) and the handbook will be both available as a pdf file and as a interactive website.

  7. Space operations and the human factor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brody, Adam R.

    1993-10-01

    Although space flight does not put the public at high risk, billions of dollars in hardware are destroyed and the space program halted when an accident occurs. Researchers are therefore applying human-factors techniques similar to those used in the aircraft industry, albeit at a greatly reduced level, to the spacecraft environment. The intent is to reduce the likelihood of catastrophic failure. To increase safety and efficiency, space human factors researchers have simulated spacecraft docking and extravehicular activity rescue. Engineers have also studied EVA suit mobility and aids. Other basic human-factors issues that have been applied to the space environment include antropometry, biomechanics, and ergonomics. Workstation design, workload, and task analysis currently receive much attention, as do habitability and other aspects of confined environments. Much work also focuses on individual payloads, as each presents its own complexities.

  8. HAMMLAB 2000 for human factor's studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kvalem, J.

    1999-01-01

    The simulator-based Halden Man-Machine Laboratory (HAMMLAB) has, since its establishment in 1983, been the main vehicle for the human-machine systems research at the OECD Halden Reactor Project. The human factors programme relies upon HAMMLAB for performing experimental studies, but the laboratory is also utilised when evaluating computerised operator support systems, and for experimentation with advanced control room prototypes. The increased focus on experimentation as part of the research programme at the Halden Project, has led to a discussion whether today's laboratory will meet the demands of the future. A pre-project concluded with the need for a new laboratory, with extended simulation capabilities. Based upon these considerations, the HAMMLAB 2000 project was initiated with the goal of making HAMMLAB a global centre of excellence for the study of human-technology interaction in the management and control of industrial processes. This paper will focus on human factors studies to be performed in the new laboratory, and which requirements this will bring upon the laboratory infrastructure and simulation capabilities. The aim of the human factors research at the Halden Project is to provide knowledge which can be used by member organisations to enhance safety and efficiency in the operation of nuclear power plants by utilising research about the capabilities and limitations of the human operator in a control room environment. (author)

  9. Human-Computer Interaction and Information Management Research Needs

    Data.gov (United States)

    Networking and Information Technology Research and Development, Executive Office of the President — In a visionary future, Human-Computer Interaction HCI and Information Management IM have the potential to enable humans to better manage their lives through the use...

  10. Development of human factors design review guidelines(III)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Oh, In Suk; Suh, Sang Moon; Lee, Hyun Chul [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1999-02-15

    The objective of this study is to develop human factors engineering program review guidelines and alarm system review guidelines in order to resolve the two major technical issues: '25, human factors engineering program review model' and '26, review criteria for human factors aspects of advanced controls and instrumentation', which are related to the development of human factors safety regulation guides being performed by KINS. For the development of human factors program review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG-0711 and added our comments by considering Korean regulatory situation and reviewing the reference documents NUREG--0711, additional comments, and selected portion of the reference documents for the developer of safety regulation guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG/CR-6105, which was published by NRC in 1994 as a guideline document for the human factors review of alarm system. Then we will update the guidelines by reviewing the literature related to alarm design published after 1994.

  11. Development of human factors design review guidelines(III)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Oh, In Suk; Suh, Sang Moon; Lee, Hyun Chul

    1999-02-01

    The objective of this study is to develop human factors engineering program review guidelines and alarm system review guidelines in order to resolve the two major technical issues: '25, human factors engineering program review model' and '26, review criteria for human factors aspects of advanced controls and instrumentation', which are related to the development of human factors safety regulation guides being performed by KINS. For the development of human factors program review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG-0711 and added our comments by considering Korean regulatory situation and reviewing the reference documents NUREG--0711, additional comments, and selected portion of the reference documents for the developer of safety regulation guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG/CR-6105, which was published by NRC in 1994 as a guideline document for the human factors review of alarm system. Then we will update the guidelines by reviewing the literature related to alarm design published after 1994

  12. Development of human factors design review guidelines(II)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Oh, In Suk; Suh, Sang Moon; Lee, Hyun Chul

    1998-06-01

    The objective of this study is to develop human factors engineering program review guidelines and alarm system review guidelines in order to resolve the two major technical issues: '25, human factors engineering program review model' and '26, review criteria for human factors aspects of advanced controls and instrumentation', which are related to the development of human factors safety regulation guides being performed by KINS. For the development of human factors program review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG-0711 and added our comments by considering Korean regulatory situation and reviewing the reference documents NUREG--0711, additional comments, and selected portion of the reference documents for the developer of safety regulation guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG/CR-6105, which was published by NRC in 1994 as a guideline document for the human factors review of alarm system. Then we will update the guidelines by reviewing the literature related to alarm design published after 1994

  13. Development of human factors design review guidelines(III)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Oh, In Suk; Suh, Sang Moon; Lee, Hyun Chul [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1999-02-15

    The objective of this study is to develop human factors engineering program review guidelines and alarm system review guidelines in order to resolve the two major technical issues: '25, human factors engineering program review model' and '26, review criteria for human factors aspects of advanced controls and instrumentation', which are related to the development of human factors safety regulation guides being performed by KINS. For the development of human factors program review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG-0711 and added our comments by considering Korean regulatory situation and reviewing the reference documents NUREG--0711, additional comments, and selected portion of the reference documents for the developer of safety regulation guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guides in KINS to see the contents comparatively at a glance and use them easily. For the development of alarm system review guidelines, we made a Korean version of NUREG/CR-6105, which was published by NRC in 1994 as a guideline document for the human factors review of alarm system. Then we will update the guidelines by reviewing the literature related to alarm design published after 1994.

  14. Human factors review of power plant maintainability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Parsons, S.O.; Schmidt, W.J.; Gonzalez, W.R.; Dove, L.E.

    1980-10-01

    Human factors engineering is an interdisciplinary science and technology concerned with shaping the design of machines, facilities, and operational environments to promote safe, efficient, and reliable performance on the part of operators and maintainers of equipment systems. The human factors aspects of five nuclear power plants and four fossil fuel plants were evaluated using such methods as a checklist guided observation system, structured interviews with maintenance personnel, direct observations of maintenance tasks, reviews of procedures, and analyses of maintenance errors or accidents by means of the critical incident technique. The study revealed a wide variety of human factors problem areas, most of which are extensively photodocumented. The study recommends that a more systematic and formal approach be adopted to ensure that future power plants are human engineered to the needs of maintenance personnel

  15. A Human Factors Approach to Bridging Systems and Introducing New Technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanki, Barbara G.

    2011-01-01

    The application of human factors in aviation has grown to cover a wide range of disciplines and methods capable of assessing human-systems integration at many levels. For example, at the individual level, pilot workload may be studied while at the team level, coordinated workload distribution may be the focal point. At the organizational level, the way in which individuals and teams are supported by training and standards, policies and procedures may introduce additional, relevant topics. A consideration of human factors at each level contributes to our understanding of successes and failures in pilot performance, but this system focused on the flight deck alone -- is only one part of the airspace system. In the FAA's NextGen plan to overhaul the National Airspace System (NAS), new capabilities will enhance flightdeck systems (pilots), flight operations centers (dispatchers) and air traffic control systems (controllers and air traffic managers). At a minimum, the current roles and responsibilities of these three systems are likely to change. Since increased automation will be central to many of the enhancements, the role of automation is also likely to change. Using NextGen examples, a human factors approach for bridging complex airspace systems will be the main focus of this presentation. It is still crucial to consider the human factors within each system, but the successful implementation of new technologies in the NAS requires an understanding of the collaborations that occur when these systems intersect. This human factors approach to studying collaborative systems begins with detailed task descriptions within each system to establish a baseline of the current operations. The collaborative content and context are delineated through the review of regulatory and advisory materials, letters of agreement, policies, procedures and documented practices. Field observations and interviews also help to fill out the picture. Key collaborative functions across systems

  16. Radioimmunoassay of human Hageman factor (factor XII)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saito, H.; Ratnoff, O.D.; Pensky, J.

    1976-01-01

    A specific, sensitive, and reproducible radioimmunoassay for human Hageman factor (HF, factor XII) has been developed with purified human HF and monospecific rabbit antibody. Precise measurements of HF antigen were possible for concentrations as low as 0.1 percent of that in normal pooled plasma. A good correlation (correlation coefficient = 0.82) existed between the titers of HF measured by clot-promoting assays and radioimmunoassays among 42 normal adults. Confirming earlier studies, HF antigen was absent in Hageman trait plasma, but other congenital deficient plasmas, including those of individuals with Fletcher trait and Fitzgerald trait, contained normal amounts of HF antigen. HF antigen was reduced in the plasmas of patients with disseminated intravascular coagulation or advanced liver cirrhosis, but it was normal in those of patients with chronic renal failure or patients under treatment with warfarin. HF antigen was detected by this assay in plasmas of primates, but not detectable in plasmas of 11 nonprimate mammalian and one avian species

  17. Information Systems and the Humanities: A Symbiotic Relationship?

    OpenAIRE

    Kroeze, JH

    2009-01-01

    The lecture explores the nature of the relationship between the study fields of Information Systems and the humanities. Although literature on Humanities Computing states in principle that there is a bi-directional, beneficial symbiotic relationship, most studies and reflections investigate only the application of information technology in the humanities. This suggests that the relation is commensalistic rather that mutualistic. However, studies do exist that implement theor...

  18. Investigation of evaluation methods for human factors education effectiveness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshimura, Seiichi; Fujimoto, Junzo; Sasou Kunihide; Hasegawa, Naoko

    2004-01-01

    Education effectiveness in accordance with investment is required in the steam of electric power regulation alleviation. Therefore, evaluation methods for human factors education effectiveness which can observe human factors culture pervading process were investigated through research activities on education effectiveness in universities and actual in house education in industry companies. As a result, the contents of evaluation were found to be the change of feeling for human factors and some improving proposals in work places when considering the purpose of human factors education. And, questionnaire is found to be suitable for the style of evaluation. In addition, the timing of evaluation is desirable for both just after education and after some period in work places. Hereafter, data will be collected using these two kinds of questionnaires in human factors education courses in CRIEPI and some education courses in utilities. Thus, education effectiveness evaluation method which is suitable for human factors will be established. (author)

  19. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission human factors program plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-04-01

    The purpose of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Human Factors Program Plan is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design and operation of nuclear facilities. This revised plan addresses human factors issues related to the operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The three issues of concern are (1) the activities planned to provide the technical bases to resolve the remaining tasks related to human factors as described in NUREG-0660, The NRC Action Plan Developed as a Result of the TMI-2 Accident, and NUREG-0737, Clarification of TMI Action Plan Requirements; (2) the need to address the additional human factors efforts that were identified during implementation of the Action Plan; and (3) the actual fulfillment of those developmental activities specified in Revision 1 of this plan. The plan represents a systematic approach for addressing high priority human factors concerns important to NPP safety in FY 1986 through 1987

  20. Tissue factor-dependent activation of tritium-labeled factor IX and factor X in human plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morrison, S.A.; Jesty, J.

    1984-01-01

    A comparism was made of the tissue factor-dependent activation of tritium-labeled factor IX and factor X in a human plasma system and a study was made of the role of proteases known to stimulate factor VII activity. Plasma was defibrinated by heating and depleted of its factors IX and X by passing it through antibody columns. Addition of human brain thromboplastin, Ca2+, and purified 3H-labeled factor X to the plasma resulted, after a short lag, in burst-like activation of the factor X, measured as the release of radiolabeled activation peptide. The progress of activation was slowed by both heparin and a specific inhibitor of factor Xa but factor X activation could not be completely abolished by such inhibitors. In the case of 3H-factor IX activation, the rate also increased for approximately 3 min after addition of thromboplastin, but was not subsequently curtailed. A survey of proteases implicated as activators of factor VII in other settings showed that both factor Xa and factor IXa could accelerate the activation of factor IX. However, factor Xa was unique in obliterating activation when present at concentrations greater than approximately 1 nM. Heparin inhibited the tissue factor-dependent activation of factor IX almost completely, apparently through the effect of antithrombin on the feedback reactions of factors Xa and IXa on factor VII. These results suggest that a very tight, biphasic control of factor VII activity exists in human plasma, which is modulated mainly by factor Xa. At saturation of factor VIIa/tissue factor, factor IX activation was significantly more rapid than was previously found in bovine plasma under similar conditions. The activation of factor X at saturation was slightly more rapid than in bovine plasma, despite the presence of heparin

  1. Validation of human factor engineering integrated system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Zhou

    2013-01-01

    Apart from hundreds of thousands of human-machine interface resources, the control room of a nuclear power plant is a complex system integrated with many factors such as procedures, operators, environment, organization and management. In the design stage, these factors are considered by different organizations separately. However, whether above factors could corporate with each other well in operation and whether they have good human factors engineering (HFE) design to avoid human error, should be answered in validation of the HFE integrated system before delivery of the plant. This paper addresses the research and implementation of the ISV technology based on case study. After introduction of the background, process and methodology of ISV, the results of the test are discussed. At last, lessons learned from this research are summarized. (authors)

  2. Human cost as a factor used in the cost-benefit analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karol RÁSTOČNÝ

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Cost-benefit analysis (CBA is a prescriptive technique that is performed for the purpose of informing policy makers about what they ought to do. The paper discusses the problem of assigning a monetary value to human life (lifesaving or quality of life as an important factor used in the CBA. Presented ideas come from the project SELCAT solved within the 6th Frame Program.

  3. Password Authentication from a Human Factors Perspective: Results of a Survey Among End-Users

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoonakker, Peter; Bornoe, Nis; Carayon, Pascale

    2009-01-01

    Considering that many organizations today are extremely dependent on information technology, computer and information security (CIS) has become a critical concern from a business viewpoint. CIS is concerned with protecting the confidentiality, integrity, accessible information, when using computer...... systems. Much research has been conducted on CIS in the past years. However, the attention has been primarily focused on technical problems and solutions. Only recently, the role of human factors in CIS has been recognized. End-user behavior can increase the vulnerability of computer and information...

  4. Human factors challenges for advanced process control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stubler, W.F.; O'Hara, J..M.

    1996-01-01

    New human-system interface technologies provide opportunities for improving operator and plant performance. However, if these technologies are not properly implemented, they may introduce new challenges to performance and safety. This paper reports the results from a survey of human factors considerations that arise in the implementation of advanced human-system interface technologies in process control and other complex systems. General trends were identified for several areas based on a review of technical literature and a combination of interviews and site visits with process control organizations. Human factors considerations are discussed for two of these areas, automation and controls

  5. A Distributed Simulation Facility to Support Human Factors Research in Advanced Air Transportation Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amonlirdviman, Keith; Farley, Todd C.; Hansman, R. John, Jr.; Ladik, John F.; Sherer, Dana Z.

    1998-01-01

    A distributed real-time simulation of the civil air traffic environment developed to support human factors research in advanced air transportation technology is presented. The distributed environment is based on a custom simulation architecture designed for simplicity and flexibility in human experiments. Standard Internet protocols are used to create the distributed environment, linking all advanced cockpit simulator, all Air Traffic Control simulator, and a pseudo-aircraft control and simulation management station. The pseudo-aircraft control station also functions as a scenario design tool for coordinating human factors experiments. This station incorporates a pseudo-pilot interface designed to reduce workload for human operators piloting multiple aircraft simultaneously in real time. The application of this distributed simulation facility to support a study of the effect of shared information (via air-ground datalink) on pilot/controller shared situation awareness and re-route negotiation is also presented.

  6. Advanced human-system interface design review guideline. Evaluation procedures and guidelines for human factors engineering reviews

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O`Hara, J.M.; Brown, W.S. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States); Baker, C.C.; Welch, D.L.; Granda, T.M.; Vingelis, P.J. [Carlow International Inc., Falls Church, VA (United States)

    1994-07-01

    Advanced control rooms will use advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator`s overall role in the system, the method of information presentation, and the ways in which operators interact with the system. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported to protect public health and safety. The principal guidance available to the NRC, however, was developed more than ten years ago, well before these technological changes. Accordingly, the human factors guidance needs to be updated to serve as the basis for NRC review of these advanced designs. The purpose of this project was to develop a general approach to advanced HSI review and the human factors guidelines to support. NRC safety reviews of advanced systems. This two-volume report provides the results of the project. Volume I describes the development of the Advanced HSI Design Review Guideline (DRG) including (1) its theoretical and technical foundation, (2) a general model for the review of advanced HSIs, (3) guideline development in both hard-copy and computer-based versions, and (4) the tests and evaluations performed to develop and validate the DRG. Volume I also includes a discussion of the gaps in available guidance and a methodology for addressing them. Volume 2 provides the guidelines to be used for advanced HSI review and the procedures for their use.

  7. Advanced human-system interface design review guideline. Evaluation procedures and guidelines for human factors engineering reviews

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hara, J.M.; Brown, W.S.; Baker, C.C.; Welch, D.L.; Granda, T.M.; Vingelis, P.J.

    1994-07-01

    Advanced control rooms will use advanced human-system interface (HSI) technologies that may have significant implications for plant safety in that they will affect the operator's overall role in the system, the method of information presentation, and the ways in which operators interact with the system. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviews the HSI aspects of control rooms to ensure that they are designed to good human factors engineering principles and that operator performance and reliability are appropriately supported to protect public health and safety. The principal guidance available to the NRC, however, was developed more than ten years ago, well before these technological changes. Accordingly, the human factors guidance needs to be updated to serve as the basis for NRC review of these advanced designs. The purpose of this project was to develop a general approach to advanced HSI review and the human factors guidelines to support. NRC safety reviews of advanced systems. This two-volume report provides the results of the project. Volume I describes the development of the Advanced HSI Design Review Guideline (DRG) including (1) its theoretical and technical foundation, (2) a general model for the review of advanced HSIs, (3) guideline development in both hard-copy and computer-based versions, and (4) the tests and evaluations performed to develop and validate the DRG. Volume I also includes a discussion of the gaps in available guidance and a methodology for addressing them. Volume 2 provides the guidelines to be used for advanced HSI review and the procedures for their use

  8. Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics Analysis for the Canister Storage Building (CSB) Results and Findings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    GARVIN, L.J.

    1999-09-20

    The purpose for this supplemental report is to follow-up and update the information in SNF-3907, Human Factors Engineering (HFE) Analysis: Results and Findings. This supplemental report responds to applicable U.S. Department of Energy Safety Analysis Report review team comments and questions. This Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics (HFE/Erg) analysis was conducted from April 1999 to July 1999; SNF-3907 was based on analyses accomplished in October 1998. The HFE/Erg findings presented in this report and SNF-3907, along with the results of HNF-3553, Spent Nuclear Fuel Project, Final Safety Analysis Report, Annex A, ''Canister Storage Building Final Safety Analysis Report,'' Chapter A3.0, ''Hazards and Accidents Analyses,'' provide the technical basis for preparing or updating HNF-3553. Annex A, Chaptex A13.0, ''Human Factors Engineering.'' The findings presented in this report allow the HNF-3553 Chapter 13.0, ''Human Factors,'' to respond fully to the HFE requirements established in DOE Order 5480.23, Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports.

  9. TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION IN HUMAN ACTIVITY OF THE INFORMATION AGE: HUMAN AND ICT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleksandr Yu. Burov

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In the article a brief overview of projects initiated by the U.S. National Science Foundation that related to new knowledge on integration and mutual development of social systems is proposed. The projects have a potential for transformation of science and researches, improvement of life quality and economy prosperity, as well as they should ensure outrunning development of information and communication technologies for all spheres of human activity: anthropocentric computerization, integration of information and informatics, robust intelligence, cyber-human systems, as well as two cross-technical areas - human and/or robots interaction, security and information protection.

  10. Human Factors for Situation Assessment in Grid Operations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guttromson, Ross T.; Schur, Anne; Greitzer, Frank L.; Paget, Mia L.

    2007-08-08

    Executive Summary Despite advances in technology, power system operators must assimilate overwhelming amounts of data to keep the grid operating. Analyses of recent blackouts have clearly demonstrated the need to enhance the operator’s situation awareness (SA). The long-term objective of this research is to integrate valuable technologies into the grid operator environment that support decision making under normal and abnormal operating conditions and remove non-technical barriers to enable the optimum use of these technologies by individuals working alone and as a team. More specifically, the research aims to identify methods and principles to increase SA of grid operators in the context of system conditions that are representative or common across many operating entities and develop operationally relevant experimental methods for studying technologies and operational practices which contribute to SA. With increasing complexity and interconnectivity of the grid, the scope and complexity of situation awareness have grown. New paradigms are needed to guide research and tool development aimed to enhance and improve operations. In reviewing related research, operating practices, systems, and tools, the present study established a taxonomy that provides a perspective on research and development surrounding power grid situation awareness and clarifies the field of human factors/SA for grid operations. Information sources that we used to identify critical factors underlying SA included interviews with experienced operational personnel, available historical summaries and transcripts of abnormal conditions and outages (e.g., the August 14, 2003 blackout), scientific literature, and operational policies/procedures and other documentation. Our analysis of August 2003 blackout transcripts and interviews adopted a different perspective than previous analyses of this material, and we complemented this analysis with additional interviews. Based on our analysis and a broad

  11. Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance. Phase 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    1991-11-01

    solution is war- more effe-ctive use of human resoUrecs , the neat step Ls to ane- uassol o efogte.S a hr sn tes te de. Af piot progfctram can...and Subtitle 5. Report Date November 1991 Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance - Phase One Progress Report 6. Perfarng Oon z’on Code i8. Perfo-rrng...Independence Avenue, SW 14. Sponsor,mg Agency Code Washington, DC 20591 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract "• This human factors research in aviation

  12. Human factors in waste management - potential and reality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thompson, J.S.

    1996-01-01

    There is enormous potential for human factors contributions in the realm of waste management. The reality, however, is very different from the potential. This is particularly true for low-level and low-level mixed-waste management. The hazards are less severe; therefore, health and safety requirements (including human factors) are not as rigorous as for high-level waste. High-level waste management presents its own unique challenges and opportunities. Waste management is strongly driven by regulatory compliance. When regulations are flexible and open to interpretation and the environment is driven so strongly by regulatory compliance, standard practice is to drop open-quotes nice to haveclose quotes features, like a human factors program, to save money for complying with other requirements. The challenge is to convince decision makers that human factors can help make operations efficient and cost-effective, as well as improving safety and complying with regulations. A human factors program should not be viewed as competing with compliance efforts; in fact, it should complement them and provide additional cost-effective means of achieving compliance with other regulations. Achieving this synergy of human factors with ongoing waste management operations requires educating program and facility managers and other technical specialists about human factors and demonstrating its value open-quotes through the back doorclose quotes on existing efforts. This paper describes ongoing projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in support of their waste management groups. It includes lessons learned from hazard and risk analyses, safety analysis reports, job and task analyses, operating procedure development, personnel qualification/certification program development, and facility- and job-specific training program and course development

  13. Review of human factors guidelines and methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rhodes, W.; Szlapetis, I.; Hay, T.; Weihrer, S.

    1995-04-01

    The review examines the use of human factors guidelines and methods in high technology applications, with emphasis on application to the nuclear industry. An extensive literature review was carried out identifying over 250 applicable documents, with 30 more documents identified during interviews with experts in human factors. Surveys were sent to 15 experts, of which 11 responded. The survey results indicated guidelines used and why these were favoured. Thirty-three of the most applicable guideline documents were described in detailed annotated bibliographies. A bibliographic list containing over 280 references was prepared. Thirty guideline documents were rated for their completeness, validity, applicability and practicality. The experts survey indicated the use of specific techniques. Ten human factors methods of analysis were described in general summaries, including procedures, applications, and specific techniques. Detailed descriptions of the techniques were prepared and each technique rated for applicability and practicality. Recommendations for further study of areas of importance to human factors in the nuclear field in Canada are given. (author). 8 tabs., 2 figs

  14. Review of human factors guidelines and methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rhodes, W; Szlapetis, I; Hay, T; Weihrer, S [Rhodes and Associates Inc., Toronto, ON (Canada)

    1995-04-01

    The review examines the use of human factors guidelines and methods in high technology applications, with emphasis on application to the nuclear industry. An extensive literature review was carried out identifying over 250 applicable documents, with 30 more documents identified during interviews with experts in human factors. Surveys were sent to 15 experts, of which 11 responded. The survey results indicated guidelines used and why these were favoured. Thirty-three of the most applicable guideline documents were described in detailed annotated bibliographies. A bibliographic list containing over 280 references was prepared. Thirty guideline documents were rated for their completeness, validity, applicability and practicality. The experts survey indicated the use of specific techniques. Ten human factors methods of analysis were described in general summaries, including procedures, applications, and specific techniques. Detailed descriptions of the techniques were prepared and each technique rated for applicability and practicality. Recommendations for further study of areas of importance to human factors in the nuclear field in Canada are given. (author). 8 tabs., 2 figs.

  15. Introduction to human factors engineering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Derfuss, Ch.

    2010-01-01

    Some of the main aspects of human factors engineering are discussed. The following topics are considered: Integration into the design process; Identification and application of human-centered design requirements; Design of error-tolerant systems; Iterative process consisting of evaluations and feedback loops; Participation of operators/users; Utilization of an interdisciplinary design/ evaluation team; Documentation of the complete HFE-process: traceability

  16. Conditional Tests of Factor Augmented Asset Pricing Models with Human Capital and Housing: Some New Results

    OpenAIRE

    Olga Klinkowska

    2009-01-01

    In this paper I develop the asset pricing model in which the wealth portfolio is enriched with human capital and housing capital. These two types of capital account for a significant portion of the total wealth. Additionally I introduce dynamics into the model and represent conditioning information by common factors estimated with dynamic factor methodology. In this way I can use more accurate representative of the unobservable information set of the investors. Obtained results prove that ind...

  17. Human and organizational factors in nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia, A.; Barrientos, M.; Gil, B.

    2015-01-01

    Nuclear installations are socio technical systems where human and organizational factors, in both utilities and regulators, have a significant impact on safety. Three Mile Island (TMI) accident, original of several initiatives in the human factors field, nevertheless became a lost opportunity to timely acquire lessons related to the upper tiers of the system. Nowadays, Spanish nuclear installations have integrated in their processes specialists and activities in human and organizational factors, promoted by the licensees After many years of hard work, Spanish installations have achieved a better position to face new challenges, such as those posed by Fukushima. With this experience, only technology-centered action plan would not be acceptable, turning this accident in yet another lost opportunity. (Author)

  18. Imaging shear stress distribution and evaluating the stress concentration factor of the human eye

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph Antony, S.

    2015-03-01

    Healthy eyes are vital for a better quality of human life. Historically, for man-made materials, scientists and engineers use stress concentration factors to characterise the effects of structural non-homogeneities on their mechanical strength. However, such information is scarce for the human eye. Here we present the shear stress distribution profiles of a healthy human cornea surface in vivo using photo-stress analysis tomography, which is a non-intrusive and non-X-ray based method. The corneal birefringent retardation measured here is comparable to that of previous studies. Using this, we derive eye stress concentration factors and the directional alignment of major principal stress on the surface of the cornea. Similar to thermometers being used for monitoring the general health in humans, this report provides a foundation to characterise the shear stress carrying capacity of the cornea, and a potential bench mark for validating theoretical modelling of stresses in the human eye in future.

  19. TcoF-DB v2: update of the database of human and mouse transcription co-factors and transcription factor interactions

    KAUST Repository

    Schmeier, Sebastian; Alam, Tanvir; Essack, Magbubah; Bajic, Vladimir B.

    2016-01-01

    Transcription factors (TFs) play a pivotal role in transcriptional regulation, making them crucial for cell survival and important biological functions. For the regulation of transcription, interactions of different regulatory proteins known as transcription co-factors (TcoFs) and TFs are essential in forming necessary protein complexes. Although TcoFs themselves do not bind DNA directly, their influence on transcriptional regulation and initiation, although indirect, has been shown to be significant, with the functionality of TFs strongly influenced by the presence of TcoFs. In the TcoF-DB v2 database, we collect information on TcoFs. In this article, we describe updates and improvements implemented in TcoF-DB v2. TcoF-DB v2 provides several new features that enables exploration of the roles of TcoFs. The content of the database has significantly expanded, and is enriched with information from Gene Ontology, biological pathways, diseases and molecular signatures. TcoF-DB v2 now includes many more TFs; has substantially increased the number of human TcoFs to 958, and now includes information on mouse (418 new TcoFs). TcoF-DB v2 enables the exploration of information on TcoFs and allows investigations into their influence on transcriptional regulation in humans and mice. TcoF-DB v2 can be accessed at http://tcofdb.org/.

  20. TcoF-DB v2: update of the database of human and mouse transcription co-factors and transcription factor interactions

    KAUST Repository

    Schmeier, Sebastian

    2016-10-17

    Transcription factors (TFs) play a pivotal role in transcriptional regulation, making them crucial for cell survival and important biological functions. For the regulation of transcription, interactions of different regulatory proteins known as transcription co-factors (TcoFs) and TFs are essential in forming necessary protein complexes. Although TcoFs themselves do not bind DNA directly, their influence on transcriptional regulation and initiation, although indirect, has been shown to be significant, with the functionality of TFs strongly influenced by the presence of TcoFs. In the TcoF-DB v2 database, we collect information on TcoFs. In this article, we describe updates and improvements implemented in TcoF-DB v2. TcoF-DB v2 provides several new features that enables exploration of the roles of TcoFs. The content of the database has significantly expanded, and is enriched with information from Gene Ontology, biological pathways, diseases and molecular signatures. TcoF-DB v2 now includes many more TFs; has substantially increased the number of human TcoFs to 958, and now includes information on mouse (418 new TcoFs). TcoF-DB v2 enables the exploration of information on TcoFs and allows investigations into their influence on transcriptional regulation in humans and mice. TcoF-DB v2 can be accessed at http://tcofdb.org/.

  1. Human-Assisted Machine Information Exploitation: a crowdsourced investigation of information-based problem solving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kase, Sue E.; Vanni, Michelle; Caylor, Justine; Hoye, Jeff

    2017-05-01

    The Human-Assisted Machine Information Exploitation (HAMIE) investigation utilizes large-scale online data collection for developing models of information-based problem solving (IBPS) behavior in a simulated time-critical operational environment. These types of environments are characteristic of intelligence workflow processes conducted during human-geo-political unrest situations when the ability to make the best decision at the right time ensures strategic overmatch. The project takes a systems approach to Human Information Interaction (HII) by harnessing the expertise of crowds to model the interaction of the information consumer and the information required to solve a problem at different levels of system restrictiveness and decisional guidance. The design variables derived from Decision Support Systems (DSS) research represent the experimental conditions in this online single-player against-the-clock game where the player, acting in the role of an intelligence analyst, is tasked with a Commander's Critical Information Requirement (CCIR) in an information overload scenario. The player performs a sequence of three information processing tasks (annotation, relation identification, and link diagram formation) with the assistance of `HAMIE the robot' who offers varying levels of information understanding dependent on question complexity. We provide preliminary results from a pilot study conducted with Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT) participants on the Volunteer Science scientific research platform.

  2. Status of human factors research program in Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kabetani, Tetsuji

    1989-01-01

    The Human Factors Research Center was established within CRIEPI on July 1, 1987 as its research efforts to reduce human error during operation and maintenance at Japanese nuclear power plants. The Research Program has seven subjects, composed of the original subjects that include the human behavior monitoring method, and the subjects requested by the Federation of Electric Power Companies that include the establishment of techniques of analysing and evaluating information on human error. Some results of the activity are applied in nuclear power plants. We plan to obtain good results to apply to plants, and to improve the results already obtained. (author)

  3. Factors constraining accessibility and usage of information among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Various factors may negatively impact on information acquisition and utilisation. To improve understanding of the determinants of information acquisition and utilisation, this study investigated the factors constraining accessibility and usage of poultry management information in three rural districts of Tanzania. The findings ...

  4. On Formal and Informal Factors: Enabling Learning for Safe Offshore Drilling Operations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trygve J. Steiro

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Traditional safety thinking has been concerned with investigating accident causations in order to learn from these. However, successful operations constitute the great majority of all the operations. It would thus be interesting to add a focus towards learning from operations that go well. The purpose of the current study is to identify factors that might contribute to successful operations in terms of safety. This purpose is approached by an empirical study consisting of 10 interviews with people who work on board a drilling rig currently operating in Norway. The informants who participated in the interviews hold different positions and come from different companies represented on board the rig. The findings in this study show that it can be difficult to characterize or define successful operations. The definition will be subjective; however, there are some common features of successful operations. Maintaining the life and health of people are the number one priority. A successful operation should also result in the intended product even though it might take some more time than planned. A successful operation is created by many factors and conditions. This study identified 27 factors that might contribute to successful operations in terms of safety. A lot of the theory explaining successful operations focuses on informal factors related to humans and their actions. However, the findings in this study implies that there must be both formal and informal factors present.

  5. 1st Workshop on Human Factors and Activity Recognition in Healthcare, Wellness and Assisted Living: Recognise2Interact

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Casale, P.; Houben, S.; Amft, O.D.

    2013-01-01

    Context-aware systems have the potential to revolutionize the way humans interact with information technology. The first workshop on Human Factors and Activity Recognition in Healthcare, Wellness and Assisted Living (Recognise2Interact) aims to enable researchers and practitioners from both,

  6. An investigation on factors influencing on human resources productivity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Masoumeh Seifi Divkolaii

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Human resources development is one of the most important components of any organization and detecting important factors influencing on human resources management plays essential role on the success of the firms. In this paper, we present an empirical investigation to determine different factors influencing productivity of human resources of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB in province of Mazandaran, Iran. The study uses analytical hierarchy process (AHP to rank 17 important factors and determines that personal characteristics were the most important factors followed by management related factors and environmental factors. In terms of personal characteristics, job satisfaction plays essential role on human resources development. In terms of managerial factors, paying attention on continuous job improvement by receiving appropriate training is the most important factor followed by welfare facilities for employees and using a system of reward/punishment in organization. Finally, in terms of environmental factors, occupational safety is number one priority followed by organizational rules and regulations.

  7. Human factors engineering design review acceptance criteria for the safety parameter display

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGevna, V.; Peterson, L.R.

    1981-01-01

    This report contains human factors engineering design review acceptance criteria developed by the Human Factors Engineering Branch (HFEB) of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to use in evaluating designs of the Safety Parameter Display System (SPDS). These criteria were developed in response to the functional design criteria for the SPDS defined in NUREG-0696, Functional Criteria for Emergency Response Facilities. The purpose of this report is to identify design review acceptance criteria for the SPDS installed in the control room of a nuclear power plant. Use of computer driven cathode ray tube (CRT) displays is anticipated. General acceptance criteria for displays of plant safety status information by the SPDS are developed. In addition, specific SPDS review criteria corresponding to the SPDS functional criteria specified in NUREG-0696 are established

  8. Revitalization of Space-Related Human Factors, Environmental and Habitability Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Dane; Pickett, Lynn K.; Tillman, Barry; Foley, Tico

    2007-01-01

    The NASA Chief Health and Medical Officer (CHMO) recently directed that the agency establish crew health standards to aid in the development of requirements for future vehicles and habitats. Response to this direction includes development of a new NASA habitability and human factors standard and an accompanying design handbook. The new standard contains high-level, over-arching principles to assure its applicability and usability across all NASA development programs. The handbook will provide detailed design requirements and suggestions that will meet the standards. The information contained in NASA-STD-3000 will be updated and included in the new design handbook. In this approach, each new program will derive detailed program-specific requirements from the new standard using the handbook as a design guide and resource. With the completion of the standard, the focus of this year s effort is the development of the new handbook: Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH). This is an opportunity for the space flight human factors and habitability community to consolidate up-to-date data for use by NASA programs and designers as well as outside researchers and policy makers looking for the next research focus. The goal of the handbook is to help NASA design and build human space flight systems which accommodate the capabilities and limitations of the crew so as to provide an environment where the crew can live and work effectively, safely, and comfortably. Handbook contents will address that primary goal, addressing unique aspects of space flight and habitation, including reduced gravity conditions, time lags, EVA systems and day/night cycles, not addressed in other standards or handbooks. The handbook will be divided into topics similar to NASA-STD-3000 (anthropometrics, architecture, workstations, etc.) and each topic area will contain elements for designers, human factors practitioners, program managers, operators, and researchers. The handbook will include the

  9. Human vision is determined based on information theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delgado-Bonal, Alfonso; Martín-Torres, Javier

    2016-11-01

    It is commonly accepted that the evolution of the human eye has been driven by the maximum intensity of the radiation emitted by the Sun. However, the interpretation of the surrounding environment is constrained not only by the amount of energy received but also by the information content of the radiation. Information is related to entropy rather than energy. The human brain follows Bayesian statistical inference for the interpretation of visual space. The maximization of information occurs in the process of maximizing the entropy. Here, we show that the photopic and scotopic vision absorption peaks in humans are determined not only by the intensity but also by the entropy of radiation. We suggest that through the course of evolution, the human eye has not adapted only to the maximum intensity or to the maximum information but to the optimal wavelength for obtaining information. On Earth, the optimal wavelengths for photopic and scotopic vision are 555 nm and 508 nm, respectively, as inferred experimentally. These optimal wavelengths are determined by the temperature of the star (in this case, the Sun) and by the atmospheric composition.

  10. Regulatory perspectives on human factors validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrison, F.; Staples, L.

    2001-01-01

    Validation is an important avenue for controlling the genesis of human error, and thus managing loss, in a human-machine system. Since there are many ways in which error may intrude upon system operation, it is necessary to consider the performance-shaping factors that could introduce error and compromise system effectiveness. Validation works to this end by examining, through objective testing and measurement, the newly developed system, procedure or staffing level, in order to identify and eliminate those factors which may negatively influence human performance. It is essential that validation be done in a high-fidelity setting, in an objective and systematic manner, using appropriate measures, if meaningful results are to be obtained, In addition, inclusion of validation work in any design process can be seen as contributing to a good safety culture, since such activity allows licensees to eliminate elements which may negatively impact on human behaviour. (author)

  11. Pilot Critical Incident Reports as a Means to Identify Human Factors of Remotely Piloted Aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobbs, Alan; Cardoza, Colleen; Null, Cynthia

    2016-01-01

    It has been estimated that aviation accidents are typically preceded by numerous minor incidents arising from the same causal factors that ultimately produced the accident. Accident databases provide in-depth information on a relatively small number of occurrences, however incident databases have the potential to provide insights into the human factors of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) operations based on a larger volume of less-detailed reports. Currently, there is a lack of incident data dealing with the human factors of unmanned aircraft systems. An exploratory study is being conducted to examine the feasibility of collecting voluntary critical incident reports from RPAS pilots. Twenty-three experienced RPAS pilots volunteered to participate in focus groups in which they described critical incidents from their own experience. Participants were asked to recall (1) incidents that revealed a system flaw, or (2) highlighted a case where the human operator contributed to system resilience or mission success. Participants were asked to only report incidents that could be included in a public document. During each focus group session, a note taker produced a de-identified written record of the incident narratives. At the end of the session, participants reviewed each written incident report, and made edits and corrections as necessary. The incidents were later analyzed to identify contributing factors, with a focus on design issues that either hindered or assisted the pilot during the events. A total of 90 incidents were reported. Human factor issues included the impact of reduced sensory cues, traffic separation in the absence of an out-the-window view, control latencies, vigilance during monotonous and ultra-long endurance flights, control station design considerations, transfer of control between control stations, the management of lost link procedures, and decision-making during emergencies. Pilots participated willingly and enthusiastically in the study

  12. Human factors in surgery: from Three Mile Island to the operating room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Addessi, Alessandro; Bongiovanni, Luca; Volpe, Andrea; Pinto, Francesco; Bassi, PierFrancesco

    2009-01-01

    Human factors is a definition that includes the science of understanding the properties of human capability, the application of this understanding to the design and development of systems and services, the art of ensuring their successful applications to a program. The field of human factors traces its origins to the Second World War, but Three Mile Island has been the best example of how groups of people react and make decisions under stress: this nuclear accident was exacerbated by wrong decisions made because the operators were overwhelmed with irrelevant, misleading or incorrect information. Errors and their nature are the same in all human activities. The predisposition for error is so intrinsic to human nature that scientifically it is best considered as inherently biologic. The causes of error in medical care may not be easily generalized. Surgery differs in important ways: most errors occur in the operating room and are technical in nature. Commonly, surgical error has been thought of as the consequence of lack of skill or ability, and is the result of thoughtless actions. Moreover the 'operating theatre' has a unique set of team dynamics: professionals from multiple disciplines are required to work in a closely coordinated fashion. This complex environment provides multiple opportunities for unclear communication, clashing motivations, errors arising not from technical incompetence but from poor interpersonal skills. Surgeons have to work closely with human factors specialists in future studies. By improving processes already in place in many operating rooms, safety will be enhanced and quality increased.

  13. Human factors design guidelines for maintainability of Department of Energy nuclear facilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bongarra, J.P. Jr.; VanCott, H.P.; Pain, R.F.; Peterson, L.R.; Wallace, R.I.

    1985-06-18

    Intent of these guidelines is to provide design and design review teams of DOE nuclear facilities with human factors principles to enhance the design and aid in the inspection of DOE nuclear facilities, systems, and equipment. These guidelines are concerned with design features of DOE nuclear facilities which can potentially affect preventive and corrective maintenance of systems within DOE nuclear facilities. Maintenance includes inspecting, checking, troubleshooting, adjusting, replacing, repairing, and servicing activities. Other factors which influence maintainability such as repair and maintenance suport facilities, maintenance information, and various aspects of the environment are also addressed.

  14. Human factors design guidelines for maintainability of Department of Energy nuclear facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bongarra, J.P. Jr.; VanCott, H.P.; Pain, R.F.; Peterson, L.R.; Wallace, R.I.

    1985-01-01

    Intent of these guidelines is to provide design and design review teams of DOE nuclear facilities with human factors principles to enhance the design and aid in the inspection of DOE nuclear facilities, systems, and equipment. These guidelines are concerned with design features of DOE nuclear facilities which can potentially affect preventive and corrective maintenance of systems within DOE nuclear facilities. Maintenance includes inspecting, checking, troubleshooting, adjusting, replacing, repairing, and servicing activities. Other factors which influence maintainability such as repair and maintenance suport facilities, maintenance information, and various aspects of the environment are also addressed

  15. Human factors programs for high-level radioactive waste handling systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pond, D.J.

    1992-04-01

    Human Factors is the discipline concerned with the acquisition of knowledge about human capabilities and limitations, and the application of such knowledge to the design of systems. This paper discusses the range of human factors issues relevant to high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) management systems and, based on examples from other organizations, presents mechanisms through which to assure application of such expertise in the safe, efficient, and effective management and disposal of high-level waste. Additionally, specific attention is directed toward consideration of who might be classified as a human factors specialist, why human factors expertise is critical to the success of the HLRW management system, and determining when human factors specialists should become involved in the design and development process

  16. Human factors programs for high-level radioactive waste handling systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pond, D.J.

    1992-01-01

    Human Factors is the discipline concerned with the acquisition of knowledge about human capabilities and limitations, and the application of such knowledge to the design of systems. This paper discusses the range of human factors issues relevant to high-level radioactive waste (HLRW) management systems and, based on examples form other organizations, presents mechanisms through which to assure application of such expertise in the safe, efficient, and effective management and disposal of high-level waste. Additionally, specific attention is directed toward consideration of who might be classified as a human factors specialist, why human factors expertise is critical to the success of the HLRW management system, and determining when human factors specialists should become involved in the design and development process

  17. Human factor engineering applied to nuclear power plant design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manrique, A.; Valdivia, J.C.

    2007-01-01

    Advantages of implementing adequate Human Factor Engineering techniques in the design of nuclear reactors have become not only a fact recognized by the majority of engineers and operators but also an explicit requirement regulated and mandatory for the new designs of the so called advanced reactors. The first step for this is preparing a plan to incorporate all the Human Factor Engineering principles and developing an integral design of the Instrumentation and Control and Man-machine interface systems. Such a plan should state: -) Activities to be performed, and -) Creation of a Human Factor Engineering team adequately qualified. The Human Factor Engineering team is an integral part of the design team and is strongly linked to the engineering organizations but simultaneously has independence to act and is free to evaluate designs and propose changes in order to enhance human behavior. TECNATOM S.A. (a Spanish company) has been a part of the Design and Human Factor Engineering Team and has collaborated in the design of an advanced Nuclear Power Plant, developing methodologies and further implementing those methodologies in the design of the plant systems through the development of the plant systems operational analysis and of the man-machine interface design. The methodologies developed are made up of the following plans: -) Human Factor Engineering implementation in the Man-Machine Interface design; -) Plant System Functional Requirement Analysis; -) Allocation of Functions to man/machine; -) Task Analysis; -) Human-System Interface design; -) Control Room Verification and -) Validation

  18. Research of human factor in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nopp, I.

    1983-01-01

    The question is discussed of the study of the human factor with regard to the reliability of nuclear power plant operation. The reliability of the human factor is the result of the functional fitness, motivation, working conditions and working regime of personnel. (J.B.)

  19. Use of human factors in the integration of a safety parameter display system (SPDS) and emergency response facility (ERF) capabilities for the James A. Fitzpatrick nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fish, H.C. Jr.; Gutierrez, R.

    1987-01-01

    In 1987, New York Power Authority's Emergency and Process Information Computer (EPIC) System will be operational. The EPIC system was designed to perform two distinct functions: to serve as an advanced replacement for the existing plant process computer and to assist in providing the JAFNPP operations staff with information during plant emergency conditions. Besides meeting the operational and regulatory goals of NYPA, EPIC was designed to meet NYPA human factors criteria. Using human factors literature, industry standards and guidelines, a Human Factors Criteria document was prepared for the EPIC project. This document served as the bases for all hardware, display, and documentation design applicable to EPIC. The major tasks of the EPIC human factors plan include integration of past and present applicable human factors information, establishment of a user definition using data gathered from control room observations (startup and shutdown of JAFNPP), survey of computer programs used by the operators, and obtaining input from licensed operators. These major tasks played a role in the design of the design of the control room configuration, the design and development of computer generated displays, and the format in which the displayed and hard copy information would be presented to the user. This paper presents an overview of the human factors work performed and the documents researched or developed in the design of EPIC displays, software, and hardware. The location and operation of this new computer based information system, like the displays was based on the systematic application of operations and human factors principles

  20. THE DEVELOPMENT OF DETAILED HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL CONTROL ROOM UPGRADES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    BROWN, W.; O'HARA, J.M.

    2004-01-01

    As part of the Department of Energy and Electric Power Research Institute's hybrid control room project, detailed human factors engineering guidance was developed for designing human-system interfaces that may be affected by introduction of additional digital technology during modernization of nuclear power plants. The guidance addresses several aspects of human-system interaction: information display, interface management, soft controls, alarms, computer-based procedures, computerized operator support systems, communications, and workstation/workplace design. In this paper, the ways in which digital upgrades might affect users' interaction with systems in each of these contexts are briefly described, and the contents of the guidance developed for each of the topics is also described

  1. A regulatory perspective on human factors in nuclear power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whitfield, D.

    1987-01-01

    This paper sets out the approaches being taken by the United Kingdom Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) to monitoring the application of human factors principles and practice in the UK industry. The role of NII is outlined, the development of human factors concerns is reviewed, the assessment of the Sizewell 'B' safety case is presented as a particular example, and pertinent future developments in the human factors discipline are proposed. (author)

  2. Incorporating twitter-based human activity information in spatial analysis of crashes in urban areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao, Jie; Liu, Pan; Yu, Hao; Xu, Chengcheng

    2017-09-01

    The primary objective of this study was to investigate how to incorporate human activity information in spatial analysis of crashes in urban areas using Twitter check-in data. This study used the data collected from the City of Los Angeles in the United States to illustrate the procedure. The following five types of data were collected: crash data, human activity data, traditional traffic exposure variables, road network attributes and social-demographic data. A web crawler by Python was developed to collect the venue type information from the Twitter check-in data automatically. The human activities were classified into seven categories by the obtained venue types. The collected data were aggregated into 896 Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZ). Geographically weighted regression (GWR) models were developed to establish a relationship between the crash counts reported in a TAZ and various contributing factors. Comparative analyses were conducted to compare the performance of GWR models which considered traditional traffic exposure variables only, Twitter-based human activity variables only, and both traditional traffic exposure and Twitter-based human activity variables. The model specification results suggested that human activity variables significantly affected the crash counts in a TAZ. The results of comparative analyses suggested that the models which considered both traditional traffic exposure and human activity variables had the best goodness-of-fit in terms of the highest R 2 and lowest AICc values. The finding seems to confirm the benefits of incorporating human activity information in spatial analysis of crashes using Twitter check-in data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Human Information Behaviour and Design, Development and Evaluation of Information Retrieval Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keshavarz, Hamid

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of human information behaviour and to explore the relationship between information behaviour of users and the existing approaches dominating design and evaluation of information retrieval (IR) systems and also to describe briefly new design and evaluation methods in which extensive…

  4. 76 FR 35130 - Pipeline Safety: Control Room Management/Human Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-16

    ...: Control Room Management/Human Factors AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration... the Control Room Management/Human Factors regulations in order to realize the safety benefits sooner... FR 5536). By this amendment to the Control Room Management/Human Factors (CRM) rule, an operator must...

  5. Human genetic factors in tuberculosis: an update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Tong, Hoang; Velavan, Thirumalaisamy P; Thye, Thorsten; Meyer, Christian G

    2017-09-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) is a major threat to human health, especially in many developing countries. Human genetic variability has been recognised to be of great relevance in host responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and in regulating both the establishment and the progression of the disease. An increasing number of candidate gene and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have focused on human genetic factors contributing to susceptibility or resistance to TB. To update previous reviews on human genetic factors in TB we searched the MEDLINE database and PubMed for articles from 1 January 2014 through 31 March 2017 and reviewed the role of human genetic variability in TB. Search terms applied in various combinations were 'tuberculosis', 'human genetics', 'candidate gene studies', 'genome-wide association studies' and 'Mycobacterium tuberculosis'. Articles in English retrieved and relevant references cited in these articles were reviewed. Abstracts and reports from meetings were also included. This review provides a recent summary of associations of polymorphisms of human genes with susceptibility/resistance to TB. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Human Factors and Medical Devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dick Sawyer

    1998-01-01

    Medical device hardware- and software-driven user interfaces should be designed to minimize the likelihood of use-related errors and their consequences. The role of design-induced errors in medical device incidents is attracting widespread attention. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is fully cognizant that human factors engineering is critical to the design of safe medical devices, and user interface design is receiving substantial attention by the agency. Companies are paying more attention to the impact of device design, including user instructions, upon the performance of those health professionals and lay users who operate medical devices. Concurrently, the FDA is monitoring human factors issues in its site inspections, premarket device approvals, and postmarket incident evaluations. Overall, the outlook for improved designs and safer device operation is bright

  7. Recent technology products from Space Human Factors research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkins, James P.

    1991-01-01

    The goals of the NASA Space Human Factors program and the research carried out concerning human factors are discussed with emphasis given to the development of human performance models, data, and tools. The major products from this program are described, which include the Laser Anthropometric Mapping System; a model of the human body for evaluating the kinematics and dynamics of human motion and strength in microgravity environment; an operational experience data base for verifying and validating the data repository of manned space flights; the Operational Experience Database Taxonomy; and a human-computer interaction laboratory whose products are the display softaware and requirements and the guideline documents and standards for applications on human-computer interaction. Special attention is given to the 'Convoltron', a prototype version of a signal processor for synthesizing the head-related transfer functions.

  8. Production and properties of monoclonal antibodies to human blood coagulation factor VII and factor VIIa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mann, P.; Nesbitt, J.A.; Ge, M.; Kisiel, W.

    1986-01-01

    Human factor VII is a trace vitamin K-dependent protein that circulates in blood as a single-chain precursor to a serine protease. Upon activation, two-chain factor VIIa activates factor x in the presence of tissue factor and calcium. Purified preparations of single-chain (SC) human factor VII and two-chain (TC) factor VIIa were utilized to immunize Balb/c mice. Spleen cells from these immunized mice were fused to a non-secreting NS-1 derivative of X63-Ag8 myeloma cells and grown in selective medium. Analysis of culture supernatants by EIA revealed several hybridomas that were secreting IgG specific for Sc-factor VII and TC-factor VIIa. In addition, several hybridomas secreted IgG that reacted equally well with factor VII and factor VIIa. One of the latter McAb (A-29) reacted with the heavy chain of factor VIIa and the intact factor VII molecule equally as judged by Western blotting. A-29 was produced in ascites fluid, purified and coupled to activated CH-Sepharose. Application of one liter of normal human plasma to 10 ml of this immunoadsorbent column, elution of factor VII and subsequent Western blot using 125 I-rabbit anti-human factor VII indicated a single species of factor VII(M/sub r/ = 50 KDa) in normal plasma. These specific factor VII/VIIa McAbs may prove useful in the analysis of these factors, and in the separation of SC-factor VII from TC-factor VIIa

  9. The mutualistic relationship between information systems and the humanities

    OpenAIRE

    Kroeze, Jan H

    2010-01-01

    The paper explores the nature of the relationship between the study fields of Information Systems and the humanities. Although literature on Humanities Computing states in principle that there is a bidirectional, beneficial symbiotic relationship, most studies and reflections investigate only the application of information technology in the humanities. This implies that the relation is commensalistic rather that multualistic. However, studies do exist that implement theoretical constructs bor...

  10. Applying human factors to the design of control centre and workstation of a nuclear reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, Isaac J.A. Luquetti dos; Carvalho, Paulo V.R.; Goncalves, Gabriel de L., E-mail: luquetti@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Souza, Tamara D.M.F.; Falcao, Mariana A. [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Dept. de Desenho Industrial

    2013-07-01

    Human factors is a body of scientific factors about human characteristics, covering biomedical, psychological and psychosocial considerations, including principles and applications in the personnel selection areas, training, job performance aid tools and human performance evaluation. Control Centre is a combination of control rooms, control suites and local control stations which are functionally related and all on the same site. Digital control room includes an arrangement of systems, equipment such as computers and communication terminals and workstations at which control and monitoring functions are conducted by operators. Inadequate integration between control room and operators reduces safety, increases the operation complexity, complicates operator training and increases the likelihood of human errors occurrence. The objective of this paper is to present a specific approach for the conceptual and basic design of the control centre and workstation of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope. The approach is based on human factors standards, guidelines and the participation of a multidisciplinary team in the conceptual and basic phases of the design. Using the information gathered from standards and from the multidisciplinary team, an initial sketch 3D of the control centre and workstation are being developed. (author)

  11. Applying human factors to the design of control centre and workstation of a nuclear reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Isaac J.A. Luquetti dos; Carvalho, Paulo V.R.; Goncalves, Gabriel de L.; Souza, Tamara D.M.F.; Falcao, Mariana A.

    2013-01-01

    Human factors is a body of scientific factors about human characteristics, covering biomedical, psychological and psychosocial considerations, including principles and applications in the personnel selection areas, training, job performance aid tools and human performance evaluation. Control Centre is a combination of control rooms, control suites and local control stations which are functionally related and all on the same site. Digital control room includes an arrangement of systems, equipment such as computers and communication terminals and workstations at which control and monitoring functions are conducted by operators. Inadequate integration between control room and operators reduces safety, increases the operation complexity, complicates operator training and increases the likelihood of human errors occurrence. The objective of this paper is to present a specific approach for the conceptual and basic design of the control centre and workstation of a nuclear reactor used to produce radioisotope. The approach is based on human factors standards, guidelines and the participation of a multidisciplinary team in the conceptual and basic phases of the design. Using the information gathered from standards and from the multidisciplinary team, an initial sketch 3D of the control centre and workstation are being developed. (author)

  12. Estimation of human emotions using thermal facial information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Hung; Kotani, Kazunori; Chen, Fan; Le, Bac

    2014-01-01

    In recent years, research on human emotion estimation using thermal infrared (IR) imagery has appealed to many researchers due to its invariance to visible illumination changes. Although infrared imagery is superior to visible imagery in its invariance to illumination changes and appearance differences, it has difficulties in handling transparent glasses in the thermal infrared spectrum. As a result, when using infrared imagery for the analysis of human facial information, the regions of eyeglasses are dark and eyes' thermal information is not given. We propose a temperature space method to correct eyeglasses' effect using the thermal facial information in the neighboring facial regions, and then use Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Eigen-space Method based on class-features (EMC), and PCA-EMC method to classify human emotions from the corrected thermal images. We collected the Kotani Thermal Facial Emotion (KTFE) database and performed the experiments, which show the improved accuracy rate in estimating human emotions.

  13. Specific factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potančok, Martin; Voříšek, Jiří

    2016-09-01

    Healthcare facilities use a number of information system/information and communication technologies. Each healthcare facility faces a need to choose sourcing strategies most suitable to ensure provision of information system/information and communication technology services, processes and resources. Currently, it is possible to observe an expansion of sourcing possibilities in healthcare informatics, which creates new requirements for sourcing strategies. Thus, the aim of this article is to identify factors influencing information system/information and communication technology sourcing strategies in healthcare facilities. The identification was based on qualitative research, namely, a case study. This study provides a set of internal and external factors with their impact levels. The findings also show that not enough attention is paid to these factors during decision-making. © The Author(s) 2015.

  14. Multiple human schemas and the communication-information sources use: An application of Q-methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mansour Shahvali

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This study was conducted with the aim of developing a communication and information model for greenhouse farmers in Yazd city using schema theory. Performing the Q methodology together with the factor analysis, as such, the different variables were loaded over the five schematic factors which included the human philosophical nature, ideological, economic, social, and environmental-conservation beliefs. Running AMOS,of course, it was also unveiled that the philosophical, ideological, social, economic and environmental schemas influence directly on the personal communication-information sources use. Furthermore, the environmental-conservation schema affects directly and indirectly the personal communication-information sources use. More importantly, this study indicated the important role of the indigenous sources which play in constructing, evaluating and retrieving the environmental knowledge in respondents. The research predisposes a suitable context for policymakers who seek to draw up much more effective and appropriate communication and information strategies to address the specific target groups’ needs.

  15. Human Factors and Robotics: Current Status and Future Prospects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsons, H. McIlvaine; Kearsley, Greg P.

    The principal human factors engineering issue in robotics is the division of labor between automation (robots) and human beings. This issue reflects a prime human factors engineering consideration in systems design--what equipment should do and what operators and maintainers should do. Understanding of capabilities and limitations of robots and…

  16. Relative effect of environmental factors, information literacy, course

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Computer literacy, as an aspect of information literacy refers to effectiveness in searching for ... study, that researchers in the sciences use ICT facilities in their information .... Human Kinetics and Health Education, Creative Arts, Chemical Engineering, ... Questions were asked to obtain information on the relative effect of.

  17. Time-related factors in the study of risks in animals and humans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gilbert, E.S.; Park, J.F.; Buschbom, R.L.

    1989-01-01

    Data from epidemiological studies of humans exposed to potentially harmful substances are usually analyzed using methods that account for the dependence of risks on time-related factors such as age and follow-up period. Recently developed statistical procedures allow modeling of the age-specific risks as a function of dose as well as factors such as age at exposure, time since exposure, exposure duration, and dose rate. These procedures potentially allow more rigorous inferences and clearer understanding of the patterns of risk observed in epidemiological studies than has been available in the past. Statistical procedures that consider time-related factors can also be applied to laboratory animal data, providing information that is useful for the problems involved in extrapolating from animal studies to humans. By applying such procedures to data on exposure to the same substance in different species (including humans) or to different substances in the same species, better understanding of the relationship of risks across species and across substances can be achieved. In addition, such statistical procedures allow appropriate treatment of exposure that is accumulated over time and lead to improved understanding of patterns of risk over time. The approach is illustrated using data from a lifespan study of beagle dogs exposed to inhaled Pu

  18. Human Factors Engineering Review Model for advanced nuclear power reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hara, J.; Higgins, J.; Goodman, C.; Galletti, G.: Eckenrode, R.

    1993-01-01

    One of the major issues to emerge from the initial design reviews under the certification process was that detailed human-systems interface (HSI) design information was not available for staff review. To address the lack of design detail issue. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is performing the design certification reviews based on a design process plan which describes the human factors engineering (HFE) program elements that are necessary and sufficient to develop an acceptable detailed design specification. Since the review of a design process is unprecedented in the nuclear industry. The criteria for review are not addressed by current regulations or guidance documents and. therefore, had to be developed. Thus, an HFE Program Review Model was developed. This paper will describe the model's rationale, scope, objectives, development, general characteristics. and application

  19. Humanism Factors and Islam Viewpoint from Motahri's Point of View

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yousefi, Zargham; Yousefy, Alireza; Keshtiaray, Narges

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this research is to criticize liberal humanism based on Islam viewpoint emphasizing Motahri's point of view. In this paper, the researchers tried to identify liberalism humanism factors with analytical look in order to present a new categorization called "main factor of liberal humanism". Then, each factor was studied and…

  20. A study on important factors influencing on the success of human resources management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mostafa Mahouti

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the effects of three factors of courtesy, generosity and responsibility on human resources development (HRM in one of Iranian auto industries based on Yoon method [Yoon, C. (2009. The effects of organizational citizenship behaviors on ERP system success. Computers in Human Behavior, 25(2, 421-428.]. The study considers whether having a good sense of responsibility improves the quality of information in HRM. It also investigates whether having good courtesy as well as excellence improve HRM and finally the study investigates the effect of excellence on improving innovation in the area of information technology. Using structural equation modeling, the study confirms all hypotheses of the survey and the implementation of Freedman test confirms that courtesy plays the most important effect followed by having a good generosity and responsibility.

  1. Dosimetry of hands and human factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harr, R.

    2008-12-01

    The human factor in facilities where open radioactive sources are managed it can be controlled through the use of the ring dosimetry, however, that these devices only provide qualitative information that is not extrapolated to legislative limits. lt is present the case analysis of hands dosimetry of female person with responsibility for professional standards and a very high profile with ratings that allow her to have a high level of knowledge of the basic standards, and because with an attitude and a culture rooted of radiation protection, among other qualities. Their records reveal a trend in which monthly doses are below the 7 mSv, and only occasionally are between 7 and 12 mSv per month and hand. The other case correspond to a technician, trained in radiological techniques, also with a high profile, with two courses for occupationally exposed personnel more than 10 annual retraining, and work experience of over 10 years as occupationally exposed personnel, in which knowledge of standards and because of the entrenched culture of radiation protection and their interest degree in the care of their exposure is still in a phase half, in this case also shows a trend in the monthly dose where found registers between 7 and 11 mSv per month and hand. The third case is of a second technician with less experience and most basic knowledge, his dose register not show a real trend, sometimes be found reads of irregular values as if the dosimeter is not used and some other times as if misused by exposing to purpose (was observed at least one reading above the monthly 30 mSv). By way of conclusion, it is noted that the hands dosimetry is a useful tool to monitor transactions through the data compilation susceptible to analysis with variations which can be placed in the context of the human factor. (Author)

  2. The Analysis of the Contribution of Human Factors to the In-Flight Loss of Control Accidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ancel, Ersin; Shih, Ann T.

    2012-01-01

    In-flight loss of control (LOC) is currently the leading cause of fatal accidents based on various commercial aircraft accident statistics. As the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) emerges, new contributing factors leading to LOC are anticipated. The NASA Aviation Safety Program (AvSP), along with other aviation agencies and communities are actively developing safety products to mitigate the LOC risk. This paper discusses the approach used to construct a generic integrated LOC accident framework (LOCAF) model based on a detailed review of LOC accidents over the past two decades. The LOCAF model is comprised of causal factors from the domain of human factors, aircraft system component failures, and atmospheric environment. The multiple interdependent causal factors are expressed in an Object-Oriented Bayesian belief network. In addition to predicting the likelihood of LOC accident occurrence, the system-level integrated LOCAF model is able to evaluate the impact of new safety technology products developed in AvSP. This provides valuable information to decision makers in strategizing NASA's aviation safety technology portfolio. The focus of this paper is on the analysis of human causal factors in the model, including the contributions from flight crew and maintenance workers. The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) taxonomy was used to develop human related causal factors. The preliminary results from the baseline LOCAF model are also presented.

  3. Taking account of human factors in control-room design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dien, Y.; Montmayeul, R.

    1995-07-01

    Since the Three Mile Island accident two ways for improving the Human-Machine Interface have mainly been followed: the development of computerized operator aids in existing control-rooms and the design of advanced control-rooms. Insufficient attention paid to human factors in the design of operator aids has generally led to these aids being neglected or unused by their potential users. While for the design of advanced control-rooms efforts have been made for dealing with human factors in more extensive way. Based upon this experience, a general method for taking account of human factors in a control-room design has been devised and is described in this paper. (author)

  4. The productivity from a human perspective: Dimensions and factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirza Marvel Cequea

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review the literature, for both theoretical foundations and empirical research, in order to establish relationships between the variables related to human factors and their impact on productivity.Design/methodology/approach: The strategy employed corresponds to a descriptive non-experimental design, which is the establishment of three criteria for the literature review, in order to narrow down the topic to research works relating productivity with the human factor. This was investigated in databases and journals dealing with related topics, in addition to consulting doctoral theses and published books concerning the influence of human factors on productivity. About 250 papers which were considered the most relevant for the research were selected.Findings:  As a result of this exploration the classification of the factors in two dimensions that are manifested in people when they act in organizations was highlighted: the psychological and the psychosocial dimension. Human factors included in these dimensions are: individual factors (motivation, skills, job satisfaction, identification, commitment and involvement with the organization, group factors (participation, cohesion and management conflict and organizational factors (organizational culture, organizational climate and leadership. All these factors have an impact on the productivity of the organization and are addressed in this research.Originality/value: The selected variables were used to formulate a model that incorporates the human factors identified and considers the phenomenon in a comprehensive manner. It will be addressed through multivariate analysis, with the possible application of structural equations in order to assess the causal relationships that may exist between factors and productivity.

  5. The Human Factors System of VGB. The body of measures implemented by the NPP operating companies for HF management and optimisation of the man-machine interface

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eisgruber, H.; Janssen, G.

    1999-01-01

    One way of ensuring high human reliability is to systematically record, analyse and optimise the identified human factors influencing the safety of operation of NPPs. There are two kinds of human factors to be considered: Those identified and characterised in their actual influence on the man-machine system after an event has happened, and the potential human factors, as far as they are known. The purpose of the paper presented is to: - explain the man-machine interface on the basis of the descriptions delivered by work science, as well as with the information model (acquisition, processing and application of information); - explain their influence on the human performance; - identify the organisational units/competences of a nuclear power plant with respect to responsibility for dealing with those factors influencing human performance; - describe suitable joint action of the responsible organisational units; - present results of HF system reviews and modifications. (orig./CB) [de

  6. The significance of human factors in nuclear activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weil, L.; Berg, H.P.

    1999-01-01

    Human factors is an aspect increasingly investigated in the last few years in efforts and programmes for enhancing the operational safety of nuclear systems. Methodology has been elaborated for analysis and evaluation of human reliability, or development of instruments supporting the decisions to be taken by the operators at the man-control room interface of nuclear installations, as well as initial approaches to introduce organisational factors which may influence the man-machine function allocation, and thus are an element of the safety culture concept. The significance of human factors in nuclear activities, as well as activities at the national and international level for optimisation of the man-machine interface and the man-organisation interface are discussed. (orig./CB) [de

  7. Status of human factors engineering system design in Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ives, G.

    1990-01-01

    A review of the European status of human factors engineering has been carried out covering a wide scope of activities which includes psychology, cognitive science, ergonomics, design, training, procedure writing, operating, artificial intelligence and expert systems. There is an increasing awareness of the part that human factors play in major nuclear power plant accidents. The emphasis of attention in human factors is changing. In some areas there are encouraging signs of progress and development, but in other areas there is still scope for improvement

  8. Low nucleosome occupancy is encoded around functional human transcription factor binding sites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daenen Floris

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Transcriptional regulation of genes in eukaryotes is achieved by the interactions of multiple transcription factors with arrays of transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs on DNA and with each other. Identification of these TFBSs is an essential step in our understanding of gene regulatory networks, but computational prediction of TFBSs with either consensus or commonly used stochastic models such as Position-Specific Scoring Matrices (PSSMs results in an unacceptably high number of hits consisting of a few true functional binding sites and numerous false non-functional binding sites. This is due to the inability of the models to incorporate higher order properties of sequences including sequences surrounding TFBSs and influencing the positioning of nucleosomes and/or the interactions that might occur between transcription factors. Results Significant improvement can be expected through the development of a new framework for the modeling and prediction of TFBSs that considers explicitly these higher order sequence properties. It would be particularly interesting to include in the new modeling framework the information present in the nucleosome positioning sequences (NPSs surrounding TFBSs, as it can be hypothesized that genomes use this information to encode the formation of stable nucleosomes over non-functional sites, while functional sites have a more open chromatin configuration. In this report we evaluate the usefulness of the latter feature by comparing the nucleosome occupancy probabilities around experimentally verified human TFBSs with the nucleosome occupancy probabilities around false positive TFBSs and in random sequences. Conclusion We present evidence that nucleosome occupancy is remarkably lower around true functional human TFBSs as compared to non-functional human TFBSs, which supports the use of this feature to improve current TFBS prediction approaches in higher eukaryotes.

  9. Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Human-system interfaces and procedures. Volume 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaye, R.D.; Henriksen, K.; Jones, R.; Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.I.

    1995-07-01

    A series of human factors evaluations was undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. The principal sources of radiation are a radioactive isotope, typically cobalt60 (Co-60), or a linear accelerator device capable of producing very high energy x-ray and electron beams. A team of human factors specialists conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. In addition, a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation technologists served as subject matter experts. A function and task analysis was initially performed to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of user-system interfaces, procedures, training and qualifications, and organizational policies and practices. The present report focuses on an evaluation of the human-system interfaces in relation to the treatment machines and supporting equipment (e.g., simulators, treatment planning computers, control consoles, patient charts) found in the teletherapy environment. The report also evaluates operating, maintenance and emergency procedures and practices involved in teletherapy. The evaluations are based on the function and task analysis and established human engineering guidelines, where applicable

  10. Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Human-system interfaces and procedures. Volume 3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaye, R.D.; Henriksen, K.; Jones, R. [Hughes Training, Inc., Falls Church, VA (United States); Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.I. [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Systems Technology

    1995-07-01

    A series of human factors evaluations was undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. The principal sources of radiation are a radioactive isotope, typically cobalt60 (Co-60), or a linear accelerator device capable of producing very high energy x-ray and electron beams. A team of human factors specialists conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. In addition, a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation technologists served as subject matter experts. A function and task analysis was initially performed to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of user-system interfaces, procedures, training and qualifications, and organizational policies and practices. The present report focuses on an evaluation of the human-system interfaces in relation to the treatment machines and supporting equipment (e.g., simulators, treatment planning computers, control consoles, patient charts) found in the teletherapy environment. The report also evaluates operating, maintenance and emergency procedures and practices involved in teletherapy. The evaluations are based on the function and task analysis and established human engineering guidelines, where applicable.

  11. A systems engineering perspective on the human-centered design of health information systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samaras, George M; Horst, Richard L

    2005-02-01

    The discipline of systems engineering, over the past five decades, has used a structured systematic approach to managing the "cradle to grave" development of products and processes. While elements of this approach are typically used to guide the development of information systems that instantiate a significant user interface, it appears to be rare for the entire process to be implemented. In fact, a number of authors have put forth development lifecycle models that are subsets of the classical systems engineering method, but fail to include steps such as incremental hazard analysis and post-deployment corrective and preventative actions. In that most health information systems have safety implications, we argue that the design and development of such systems would benefit by implementing this systems engineering approach in full. Particularly with regard to bringing a human-centered perspective to the formulation of system requirements and the configuration of effective user interfaces, this classical systems engineering method provides an excellent framework for incorporating human factors (ergonomics) knowledge and integrating ergonomists in the interdisciplinary development of health information systems.

  12. A Human-Robot Co-Manipulation Approach Based on Human Sensorimotor Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peternel, Luka; Tsagarakis, Nikos; Ajoudani, Arash

    2017-07-01

    This paper aims to improve the interaction and coordination between the human and the robot in cooperative execution of complex, powerful, and dynamic tasks. We propose a novel approach that integrates online information about the human motor function and manipulability properties into the hybrid controller of the assistive robot. Through this human-in-the-loop framework, the robot can adapt to the human motor behavior and provide the appropriate assistive response in different phases of the cooperative task. We experimentally evaluate the proposed approach in two human-robot co-manipulation tasks that require specific complementary behavior from the two agents. Results suggest that the proposed technique, which relies on a minimum degree of task-level pre-programming, can achieve an enhanced physical human-robot interaction performance and deliver appropriate level of assistance to the human operator.

  13. Human Factors Military Lexicon: Auditory Displays

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Letowski, Tomasz

    2001-01-01

    .... In addition to definitions specific to auditory displays, speech communication, and audio technology, the lexicon includes several terms unique to military operational environments and human factors...

  14. Human factors analysis and design methods for nuclear waste retrieval systems. Human factors design methodology and integration plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Casey, S.M.

    1980-06-01

    The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the recommended activities and methods to be employed by a team of human factors engineers during the development of a nuclear waste retrieval system. This system, as it is presently conceptualized, is intended to be used for the removal of storage canisters (each canister containing a spent fuel rod assembly) located in an underground salt bed depository. This document, and the others in this series, have been developed for the purpose of implementing human factors engineering principles during the design and construction of the retrieval system facilities and equipment. The methodology presented has been structured around a basic systems development effort involving preliminary development, equipment development, personnel subsystem development, and operational test and evaluation. Within each of these phases, the recommended activities of the human engineering team have been stated, along with descriptions of the human factors engineering design techniques applicable to the specific design issues. Explicit examples of how the techniques might be used in the analysis of human tasks and equipment required in the removal of spent fuel canisters have been provided. Only those techniques having possible relevance to the design of the waste retrieval system have been reviewed. This document is intended to provide the framework for integrating human engineering with the rest of the system development effort. The activities and methodologies reviewed in this document have been discussed in the general order in which they will occur, although the time frame (the total duration of the development program in years and months) in which they should be performed has not been discussed.

  15. Human factors analysis and design methods for nuclear waste retrieval systems. Human factors design methodology and integration plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Casey, S.M.

    1980-06-01

    The purpose of this document is to provide an overview of the recommended activities and methods to be employed by a team of human factors engineers during the development of a nuclear waste retrieval system. This system, as it is presently conceptualized, is intended to be used for the removal of storage canisters (each canister containing a spent fuel rod assembly) located in an underground salt bed depository. This document, and the others in this series, have been developed for the purpose of implementing human factors engineering principles during the design and construction of the retrieval system facilities and equipment. The methodology presented has been structured around a basic systems development effort involving preliminary development, equipment development, personnel subsystem development, and operational test and evaluation. Within each of these phases, the recommended activities of the human engineering team have been stated, along with descriptions of the human factors engineering design techniques applicable to the specific design issues. Explicit examples of how the techniques might be used in the analysis of human tasks and equipment required in the removal of spent fuel canisters have been provided. Only those techniques having possible relevance to the design of the waste retrieval system have been reviewed. This document is intended to provide the framework for integrating human engineering with the rest of the system development effort. The activities and methodologies reviewed in this document have been discussed in the general order in which they will occur, although the time frame (the total duration of the development program in years and months) in which they should be performed has not been discussed

  16. Human failure and industrial safety. The human factor in technology and organisation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Semmer, N.

    1999-01-01

    Human failure is not the opposite of successful human action gut follows the same principles. The manner in which humans acquire and process information is influenced by cognitive, social and motivational aspects. Further, human failure generally means a failure of the whole system man/technology/organisation. If serious consequences are to be avoided, the logic of failures must be analyzed in the context of this system, and human staff should be trained in managing failures and not just avoiding them [de

  17. Annotated bibliography of human factors applications literature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCafferty, D.B.

    1984-01-01

    This bibliography was prepared as part of the Human Factors Technology Project, FY 1984, sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Safety, US Department of Energy. The project was conducted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, with Essex Corporation as a subcontractor. The material presented here is a revision and expansion of the bibliographic material developed in FY 1982 as part of a previous Human Factors Technology Project. The previous bibliography was published September 30, 1982, as Attachment 1 to the FY 1982 Project Status Report

  18. Annotated bibliography of human factors applications literature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McCafferty, D.B.

    1984-09-30

    This bibliography was prepared as part of the Human Factors Technology Project, FY 1984, sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Safety, US Department of Energy. The project was conducted by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, with Essex Corporation as a subcontractor. The material presented here is a revision and expansion of the bibliographic material developed in FY 1982 as part of a previous Human Factors Technology Project. The previous bibliography was published September 30, 1982, as Attachment 1 to the FY 1982 Project Status Report.

  19. First Annual Report: NASA-ONERA Collaboration on Human Factors in Aviation Accidents and Incidents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Ashok; Fabiani, Patrick

    2012-01-01

    This is the first annual report jointly prepared by NASA and ONERA on the work performed under the agreement to collaborate on a study of the human factors entailed in aviation accidents and incidents particularly focused on consequences of decreases in human performance associated with fatigue. The objective of this Agreement is to generate reliable, automated procedures that improve understanding of the levels and characteristics of flight-crew fatigue factors whose confluence will likely result in unacceptable crew performance. This study entails the analyses of numerical and textual data collected during operational flights. NASA and ONERA are collaborating on the development and assessment of automated capabilities for extracting operationally significant information from very large, diverse (textual and numerical) databases much larger than can be handled practically by human experts. This report presents the approach that is currently expected to be used in processing and analyzing the data for identifying decrements in aircraft performance and examining their relationships to decrements in crewmember performance due to fatigue. The decisions on the approach were based on samples of both the numerical and textual data that will be collected during the four studies planned under the Human Factors Monitoring Program (HFMP). Results of preliminary analyses of these sample data are presented in this report.

  20. Anti-human tissue factor antibody ameliorated intestinal ischemia reperfusion-induced acute lung injury in human tissue factor knock-in mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaolin He

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Interaction between the coagulation and inflammation systems plays an important role in the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS. Anti-coagulation is an attractive option for ARDS treatment, and this has promoted development of new antibodies. However, preclinical trials for these antibodies are often limited by the high cost and availability of non-human primates. In the present study, we developed a novel alternative method to test the role of a humanized anti-tissue factor mAb in acute lung injury with transgenic mice. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Human tissue factor knock-in (hTF-KI transgenic mice and a novel humanized anti-human tissue factor mAb (anti-hTF mAb, CNTO859 were developed. The hTF-KI mice showed a normal and functional expression of hTF. The anti-hTF mAb specifically blocked the pro-coagulation activity of brain extracts from the hTF-KI mice and human, but not from wild type mice. An extrapulmonary ARDS model was used by intestinal ischemia-reperfusion. Significant lung tissue damage in hTF-KI mice was observed after 2 h reperfusion. Administration of CNTO859 (5 mg/kg, i.v. attenuated the severity of lung tissue injury, decreased the total cell counts and protein concentration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and reduced Evans blue leakage. In addition, the treatment significantly reduced alveolar fibrin deposition, and decreased tissue factor and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 activity in the serum. This treatment also down-regulated cytokine expression and reduced cell death in the lung. CONCLUSIONS: This novel anti-hTF antibody showed beneficial effects on intestinal ischemia-reperfusion induced acute lung injury, which merits further investigation for clinical usage. In addition, the use of knock-in transgenic mice to test the efficacy of antibodies against human-specific proteins is a novel strategy for preclinical studies.

  1. HUMAN PROSTATE CANCER RISK FACTORS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prostate cancer has the highest prevalence of any non-skin cancer in the human body, with similar likelihood of neoplastic foci found within the prostates of men around the world regardless of diet, occupation, lifestyle, or other factors. Essentially all men with circulating an...

  2. Retention factors in relation to organisational commitment in medical and information technology services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeannette van Dyk

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: Retaining staff with scarce and critical skills in the medical and information technology (IT industry has become a top priority because of skills shortages.Research purpose: The objectives of the study were to investigate empirically: (1 the relationship between employees’ satisfaction with organisational retention factors (measured by the Retention Factors Scale and their organisational commitment (measured by the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire and (2 whether gender, age, race and tenure groups differ significantly in terms of these variables.Motivation for the study: Medical and information technology professionals have specialised and hard to replace skills. They also have strong tendencies to leave their organisations and countries. Understanding the retention factors that will increase their organisational commitment may benefit the organisations who want to retain their valuable talent.Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a cross-sectional survey design to collect data from a purposive sample of 206 staff members who had scarce skills in a South African medical and information technology services company. Correlational and inferential statistics were computed to achieve the objectives.Main findings: The results showed that the participants’ satisfaction with retention factors has a significant relationship with their organisational commitment and that the biographical groups differ significantly in terms of the variables.Practical/managerial implications: The measured retention factors were all associated with human resource management practices that influence employees’ intentions to leave.Contribution/value-add: The results are important to managers who are interested in retaining staff who have scarce skills and provide valuable pointers for designing effective retention strategies.

  3. Human factors analysis of incident/accident report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuroda, Isao

    1992-01-01

    Human factors analysis of accident/incident has different kinds of difficulties in not only technical, but also psychosocial background. This report introduces some experiments of 'Variation diagram method' which is able to extend to operational and managemental factors. (author)

  4. An EDF perspective on human factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnino, A.

    1987-01-01

    Human factors are important in the reliability or unreliability of industrial processes. The study of how to improve human performers, and their working conditions to enable them to perform reliably is difficult. Some of the human characteristics of importance for understanding human behaviour in this context are described. These include such things as ''man is not a component, man functions through a single channel'', ''man biases risk estimation''. The Electricite de France programme for improving human reliability following the Three Mile Island accident is then discussed. This has many aspects, the man-machine interfaces, operator training, crew organization, operator experience analysis and emergency planning. The control room planned for a new plant, which is based on this program is described. The improvements are in communication, identification and labelling, stress, simulator tests and human performance data banks. (UK)

  5. US Nuclear Regulatory Commission Human Factors Program Plan. Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-09-01

    The purpose of the NRC Human Factors Program Plan (NUREG-0985) is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design, operation, and maintenance of nuclear facilities. This revised plan addresses nuclear power plants (NPPs) and describes (1) the technical assistance and research activities planned to provide the technical bases for the resolution of the remaining human factors related tasks described in NUREG-0660, THE NRC Action Plan developed as a result of the TMI-2 Accident, and NUREG-0737, Clarification of TMI Action Plan Requirements; (2) the additional human factors efforts identified during implementation of the Action Plan that should receive NRC attention; (3) conduct of developmental activities specified in NUREG-0985 during FY-83; and (4) the impact of Section 306 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, PL 97-425. The plan represents a systematic and comprehensive approach for addressing human factors concerns important to NPP safety in the FY-84 through FY-86 time frame

  6. Conceptual models of information processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, L. J.

    1983-01-01

    The conceptual information processing issues are examined. Human information processing is defined as an active cognitive process that is analogous to a system. It is the flow and transformation of information within a human. The human is viewed as an active information seeker who is constantly receiving, processing, and acting upon the surrounding environmental stimuli. Human information processing models are conceptual representations of cognitive behaviors. Models of information processing are useful in representing the different theoretical positions and in attempting to define the limits and capabilities of human memory. It is concluded that an understanding of conceptual human information processing models and their applications to systems design leads to a better human factors approach.

  7. Overview of NRC's human factors regulatory research program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coffman, F.D. Jr.

    1989-01-01

    The human factors research program is divided into distinct and interrelated program activities: (1) Personnel Performance measurement, (2) Personnel Subsystem, (3) Human-System Interface, (4) Organization and Management, and (5) a group of Reliability Assessment activities. The purpose of the Personnel Performance Measurement activity is to improve the Agency's understanding of the factors influencing personnel performance and the effects on the safety of nuclear operations and maintenance by developing improvements to methods for collecting and managing personnel performance data. Personnel Subsystem research will broaden the understanding of such factors as staffing, qualifications, and training that influence human performance in the nuclear system and will develop the technical basis for regulatory guidance to reduce any adverse impact of these influences on nuclear safety. Research in the Human-System Interface activity will provide the technical basis for ensuring that the interface between the system and the human user supports safe operations and maintenance. Organization and Management research will result in the development of tools for evaluating organization and management issues within the nuclear industry. And finally, the Reliability Assessment group of activities includes multidisciplinary research that will integrate human and hardware considerations for evaluating reliability and risk in NRC licensing, inspection, and regulatory decisions

  8. A report on human factors in nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-03-01

    Following the Three Mile Island incident of 1979, studies were undertaken by the Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB), in-house and through outside consultants, to address the role of human factors in the regulatory process. This report by the Advisory Committee on Nuclear Safety (ACNS) comments briefly on these studies and offers suggestions which would promote a more formal treatment of human factors by the AECB

  9. Analyzing and sense making of human factors in the Malaysian radiation and nuclear emergency planning framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamid, A. H. A.; Rozan, M. Z. A.; Deris, S.; Ibrahim, R.; Abdullah, W. S. W.; Rahman, A. A.; Yunus, M. N. M.

    2016-01-01

    The evolution of current Radiation and Nuclear Emergency Planning Framework (RANEPF) simulator emphasizes on the human factors to be analyzed and interpreted according to the stakeholder's tacit and explicit knowledge. These human factor criteria are analyzed and interpreted according to the "sense making theory" and Disaster Emergency Response Management Information System (DERMIS) design premises. These criteria are corroborated by the statistical criteria. In recent findings, there were no differences of distributions among the stakeholders according to gender and organizational expertise. These criteria are incrementally accepted and agreed the research elements indicated in the respective emergency planning frameworks and simulator (i.e. 78.18 to 84.32, p-value <0.05). This paper suggested these human factors criteria in the associated analyses and theoretical perspectives to be further acomodated in the future simulator development. This development is in conjunction with the proposed hypothesis building of the process factors and responses diagram. We proposed that future work which implies the additional functionality of the simulator, as strategized, condensed and concise, comprehensive public disaster preparedness and intervention guidelines, to be a useful and efficient computer simulation.

  10. Incorporating Human Factors into design change processes - a regulator's perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Staples, L.; McRobbie, H.

    2003-01-01

    Nuclear power plants in Canada must receive written approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) when making certain changes that are defined in their licenses. The CNSC expects the design change process to include a method for ensuring that the human-machine interface and workplace design support the safe and reliable performance of required tasks. When reviewing design changes for approval, the CNSC looks for evidence of analysis work, use of appropriate human factors design guide-lines, and verification and validation testing of the design. In addition to reviewing significant design changes, evaluations are conducted to ensure design change processes adequately address human performance. Findings from reviews and evaluations highlight the need to integrate human factors into the design change process, provide human factors training and support to engineering staff, establish processes to ensure coordination between the various groups with a vested interest in human factors, and develop more rigorous methods to validate changes to maintenance, field operations and testing interfaces. (author)

  11. Contextual Sensing: Integrating Contextual Information with Human and Technical Geo-Sensor Information for Smart Cities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagl, Günther; Resch, Bernd; Blaschke, Thomas

    2015-07-14

    In this article we critically discuss the challenge of integrating contextual information, in particular spatiotemporal contextual information, with human and technical sensor information, which we approach from a geospatial perspective. We start by highlighting the significance of context in general and spatiotemporal context in particular and introduce a smart city model of interactions between humans, the environment, and technology, with context at the common interface. We then focus on both the intentional and the unintentional sensing capabilities of today's technologies and discuss current technological trends that we consider have the ability to enrich human and technical geo-sensor information with contextual detail. The different types of sensors used to collect contextual information are analyzed and sorted into three groups on the basis of names considering frequently used related terms, and characteristic contextual parameters. These three groups, namely technical in situ sensors, technical remote sensors, and human sensors are analyzed and linked to three dimensions involved in sensing (data generation, geographic phenomena, and type of sensing). In contrast to other scientific publications, we found a large number of technologies and applications using in situ and mobile technical sensors within the context of smart cities, and surprisingly limited use of remote sensing approaches. In this article we further provide a critical discussion of possible impacts and influences of both technical and human sensing approaches on society, pointing out that a larger number of sensors, increased fusion of information, and the use of standardized data formats and interfaces will not necessarily result in any improvement in the quality of life of the citizens of a smart city. This article seeks to improve our understanding of technical and human geo-sensing capabilities, and to demonstrate that the use of such sensors can facilitate the integration of different

  12. Contextual Sensing: Integrating Contextual Information with Human and Technical Geo-Sensor Information for Smart Cities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagl, Günther; Resch, Bernd; Blaschke, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    In this article we critically discuss the challenge of integrating contextual information, in particular spatiotemporal contextual information, with human and technical sensor information, which we approach from a geospatial perspective. We start by highlighting the significance of context in general and spatiotemporal context in particular and introduce a smart city model of interactions between humans, the environment, and technology, with context at the common interface. We then focus on both the intentional and the unintentional sensing capabilities of today’s technologies and discuss current technological trends that we consider have the ability to enrich human and technical geo-sensor information with contextual detail. The different types of sensors used to collect contextual information are analyzed and sorted into three groups on the basis of names considering frequently used related terms, and characteristic contextual parameters. These three groups, namely technical in situ sensors, technical remote sensors, and human sensors are analyzed and linked to three dimensions involved in sensing (data generation, geographic phenomena, and type of sensing). In contrast to other scientific publications, we found a large number of technologies and applications using in situ and mobile technical sensors within the context of smart cities, and surprisingly limited use of remote sensing approaches. In this article we further provide a critical discussion of possible impacts and influences of both technical and human sensing approaches on society, pointing out that a larger number of sensors, increased fusion of information, and the use of standardized data formats and interfaces will not necessarily result in any improvement in the quality of life of the citizens of a smart city. This article seeks to improve our understanding of technical and human geo-sensing capabilities, and to demonstrate that the use of such sensors can facilitate the integration of different

  13. Cooperative research for human factors review of advanced control rooms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Park, Jae Chang; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Hyun Chul

    2000-12-01

    This project has been performed as cooperative research between KAERI and USNRC. Human factors issues related to soft controls, which is one of key features of advanced HSI, are identified in this project. The issues are analyzed for the evaluation approaches in either experimental or analytical ways. Also, issues requiring additional researches for the evaluation of advanced HSI are identified in the areas of advanced information systems design, computer-based procedure systems, soft controls, human systems interface and plant modernization process, and maintainability of digital systems. The issues are analyzed to discriminate the urgency of researches on it to high, medium, and low levels in consideration of advanced HSI development status in Korea, and some of the issues that can be handled by experimental researches are identified. Additionally, an experimental study is performed to compare operator's performance on human error detection in advanced control rooms vs. in conventional control rooms. It is found that advanced control rooms have several design characteristics hindering operator's error detection performance compared to conventional control rooms.

  14. Cooperative research for human factors review of advanced control rooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jung Woon; Park, Jae Chang; Lee, Yong Hee; Oh, In Seok; Lee, Hyun Chul

    2000-12-01

    This project has been performed as cooperative research between KAERI and USNRC. Human factors issues related to soft controls, which is one of key features of advanced HSI, are identified in this project. The issues are analyzed for the evaluation approaches in either experimental or analytical ways. Also, issues requiring additional researches for the evaluation of advanced HSI are identified in the areas of advanced information systems design, computer-based procedure systems, soft controls, human systems interface and plant modernization process, and maintainability of digital systems. The issues are analyzed to discriminate the urgency of researches on it to high, medium, and low levels in consideration of advanced HSI development status in Korea, and some of the issues that can be handled by experimental researches are identified. Additionally, an experimental study is performed to compare operator's performance on human error detection in advanced control rooms vs. in conventional control rooms. It is found that advanced control rooms have several design characteristics hindering operator's error detection performance compared to conventional control rooms

  15. The information infrastructure that supports evidence-based veterinary medicine: a comparison with human medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toews, Lorraine

    2011-01-01

    In human medicine, the information infrastructure that supports the knowledge translation processes of exchange, synthesis, dissemination, and application of the best clinical intervention research has developed significantly in the past 15 years, facilitating the uptake of research evidence by clinicians as well as the practice of evidence-based medicine. Seven of the key elements of this improved information infrastructure are clinical trial registries, research reporting standards, systematic reviews, organizations that support the production of systematic reviews, the indexing of clinical intervention research in MEDLINE, clinical search filters for MEDLINE, and point-of-care decision support information resources. The objective of this paper is to describe why these elements are important for evidence-based medicine, the key developments and issues related to these seven information infrastructure elements in human medicine, how these 7 elements compare with the corresponding infrastructure elements in veterinary medicine, and how all of these factors affect the translation of clinical intervention research into clinical practice. A focused search of the Ovid MEDLINE database was conducted for English language journal literature published between 2000 and 2010. Two bibliographies were consulted and selected national and international Web sites were searched using Google. The literature reviewed indicates that the information infrastructure supporting evidence-based veterinary medicine practice in all of the 7 elements reviewed is significantly underdeveloped in relation to the corresponding information infrastructure in human medicine. This lack of development creates barriers to the timely translation of veterinary medicine research into clinical practice and also to the conduct of both primary clinical intervention research and synthesis research.

  16. A methodology to incorporate organizational factors into human reliability analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Pengcheng; Chen Guohua; Zhang Li; Xiao Dongsheng

    2010-01-01

    A new holistic methodology for Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is proposed to model the effects of the organizational factors on the human reliability. Firstly, a conceptual framework is built, which is used to analyze the causal relationships between the organizational factors and human reliability. Then, the inference model for Human Reliability Analysis is built by combining the conceptual framework with Bayesian networks, which is used to execute the causal inference and diagnostic inference of human reliability. Finally, a case example is presented to demonstrate the specific application of the proposed methodology. The results show that the proposed methodology of combining the conceptual model with Bayesian Networks can not only easily model the causal relationship between organizational factors and human reliability, but in a given context, people can quantitatively measure the human operational reliability, and identify the most likely root causes or the prioritization of root causes caused human error. (authors)

  17. Human Factors Evaluation Mentor, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — To obtain valid and reliable data, Human Factors Engineering (HFE) evaluations are currently conducted by people with specialized training and experience in HF. HFE...

  18. HUMAN FACTORS GUIDANCE FOR CONTROL ROOM EVALUATION

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    OHARA, J.; BROWN, W.; STUBLER, W.; HIGGINS, J.; WACHTEL, J.; PERSENSKY, J.J.

    2000-01-01

    The Human-System Interface Design Review Guideline (NUREG-0700, Revision 1) was developed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to provide human factors guidance as a basis for the review of advanced human-system interface technologies. The guidance consists of three components: design review procedures, human factors engineering guidelines, and a software application to provide design review support called the ''Design Review Guideline.'' Since it was published in June 1996, Rev. 1 to NUREG-0700 has been used successfully by NRC staff, contractors and nuclear industry organizations, as well as by interested organizations outside the nuclear industry. The NRC has committed to the periodic update and improvement of the guidance to ensure that it remains a state-of-the-art design evaluation tool in the face of emerging and rapidly changing technology. This paper addresses the current research to update of NUREG-0700 based on the substantial work that has taken place since the publication of Revision 1

  19. Structure design of human factor data management system for Daya Bay NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Li; Zhang Ning; Guo Jianbing; Huang Weigang; Zhu Minhong; Wang Jin

    2000-01-01

    Collection, analysis and quantification of human factor data are important compositions of human reliability analysis (HRA) and probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). Various human factor databases have been set up, but there are comparatively little human factor data management systems which can be uses for collection, classification, analysis, calculation and predication of the human factor data. Therefore, the human factor data management system for Daya Bay NPP is developed, with the following three modules and four databases: original data module, computing module, introduced data module, and basic database, other data source of the plant, external database and introduced database. The foundational problems about human factor data and the systemic structure and function are described. The data structure in the database is also discussed, because it is of the most importance in the system

  20. Development of human factors evaluation techniques for nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, I.S.; Lee, Y.H.; Lee, J.W.; Sim, B.S.

    1999-01-01

    This paper describes development of an operator task simulation analyzer and human factors evaluation techniques performed recently at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. The first is the SACOM (Simulation Analyzer with a Cognitive Operator Model) for the assessment of task performance by simulating control room operation. The latter has two objectives: to establish a human factors experiment facility, the Integrated Test Facility (ITF), and to establish techniques for human factors experiments. (author)

  1. Infrastructural and Human Factors Affecting Safety Outcomes of Cyclists

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Useche

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The increasing number of registered road crashes involving cyclists during the last decade and the high proportion of road crashes resulting in severe injuries and fatalities among cyclists constitutes a global issue for community health, urban development and sustainability. Nowadays, the incidence of many risk factors for road crashes of cyclists remains largely unexplained. Given the importance of this issue, the present study has been conducted with the aim of determining relationships between infrastructural, human factors and safety outcomes of cyclists. Objectives: This study aimed, first, to examine the relationship between key infrastructural and human factors present in cycling, bicycle-user characteristics and their self-reported experience with road crashes. And second, to determine whether a set of key infrastructural and human factors may predict their self-reported road crashes. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, a total of 1064 cyclists (38.8% women, 61.2% men; M = 32.8 years of age from 20 different countries across Europe, South America and North America, participated in an online survey composed of four sections: demographic data and cycling-related factors, human factors, perceptions on infrastructural factors and road crashes suffered. Results: The results of this study showed significant associations between human factors, infrastructural conditions and self-reported road crashes. Also, a logistic regression model found that self-reported road crashes of cyclists could be predicted through variables such as age, riding intensity, risky behaviours and problematic user/infrastructure interactions. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that self-reported road crashes of cyclists are influenced by features related to the user and their interaction with infrastructural characteristics of the road.

  2. Pengalokasian Tenaga Kerja dengan Human Factor Engineering di PT. Pelindo I

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusnawati Yusnawati

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Indonesia Port Corporation I (PT Pelabuhan Indonesia I (Persero or PT. Pelindo I is one of the Indonesian state-owned enterprises which manages port services in western Indonesia. Shipyard unit (Unit Galangan Kapal (UGK is a branch of PT. Pelindo I. At present, a problem arises if more than 2 ships are being repaired at once in the unit, UGK scheduling overlaps the repairing activities. In order to solve the problem, study of human factor is important. Human factor is the study of the limitations, capabilities, and human behavior, as well as its interaction with the product, environment, equipment and the establishment of tasks and activities. One part of the human factor is the human factor in system design. In order to improve the effectiveness of the system, the human factor must be involved in each phase of the design process in the system design. This includes a number of activities to obtain input specification work, therefore the working methods and the optimal amount of labor can be determined. Human factors engineering is the application of science that utilizes research on the human factor and use the basic knowledge to design, to repair and to install the system. This research method is causal, searching for the causes which led to delays in the completion of ship repairing. Through human factor engineering approach to the allocation of labor increased by 12.23 per cent of the actual conditions, so that the delay of ship repair were not found during normal conditions.

  3. Retention factors in relation to organisational commitment in medical and information technology services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeannette van Dyk

    2012-07-01

    Research purpose: The objectives of the study were to investigate empirically: (1 the relationship between employees’ satisfaction with organisational retention factors (measured by the Retention Factors Scale and their organisational commitment (measured by the Organisational Commitment Questionnaire and (2 whether gender, age, race and tenure groups differ significantly in terms of these variables. Motivation for the study: Medical and information technology professionals have specialised and hard to replace skills. They also have strong tendencies to leave their organisations and countries. Understanding the retention factors that will increase their organisational commitment may benefit the organisations who want to retain their valuable talent. Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a cross-sectional survey design to collect data from a purposive sample of 206 staff members who had scarce skills in a South African medical and information technology services company. Correlational and inferential statistics were computed to achieve the objectives. Main findings: The results showed that the participants’ satisfaction with retention factors has a significant relationship with their organisational commitment and that the biographical groups differ significantly in terms of the variables. Practical/managerial implications: The measured retention factors were all associated with human resource management practices that influence employees’ intentions to leave. Contribution/value-add: The results are important to managers who are interested in retaining staff who have scarce skills and provide valuable pointers for designing effective retention strategies.

  4. An Auditing Approach for ERP Systems Examining Human Factors that Influence ERP User Satisfaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Theodoros MITAKOS

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper tries to connect the successful implementation and operation of the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning information systems with people and their characteristics through a pilot survey. It examines the human factors that influence ERP user satisfaction. The presented survey tests 14 hypotheses and is based on the model developed by Zviran, Pliskin & Levin [21]. An additional factor has been added to the specified model, the self-efficacy factor analyzed by Bandura [1]. The results are based on 250 ERP users that responded to the survey. The key findings that were revealed by data analysis were that none of the human socio-demographic characteristics do influence ERP user satisfaction. Additionally it was found that perceived usefulness and self-efficacy are the key directors of the ERP user satisfaction. Moreover suggestions are given about how the companies should handle ERP usage in order to develop the prerequisites for increasing user satisfaction and productivity accordingly.

  5. Europe Chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Meeting

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    de

    2002-01-01

    The Final Proceedings for Europe Chapter of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Meeting, 7 November 2001 - 9 November 2001 This is an interdisciplinary conference in human factors and ergonomics...

  6. Role of human factors in system safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brooks, D. M.; Robert, C.; Graham, T.

    2008-01-01

    What happens when technology goes wrong? Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, numerous airplane crashes, and other notable and newsworthy as well as many more incidents that are not reported on the news, have all been attributed to human error. Millions of dollars in fines are levied against industry under the General Duty clause for ergonomic violations, all avoidable. These incidents and situations indicate a lack of consideration for the humans in the system during the design phase. As a consequence, all of these organizations had to retrofit, had to redesign and had to pay countless dollars for medical costs, Worker's Compensation, OSHA fines and in some instances had irrecoverable damage to their public image. Human Factors, otherwise known as Engineering Psychology or Ergonomics, found its origins in loss, loss of life, loss of confidence, loss of technology, loss of property. Without loss, there would be no need for human factors. No one really 'attends' to discomfort...nor are errors attended to that have little consequence. Often it is ultimately the compilation and cumulative effects of these smaller and often ignored occurrences that lead to the bigger and more tragic incidents that make the evening news. When an incident or accident occurs, they are frequently attributed to accomplished, credible, experienced people. In reality however, the crisis was inevitable when a series of events happen such that a human is caught in the whirlwind of accident sequence. The world as known is becoming smaller and more complex. Highly technical societies have been hard at work for several centuries rebuilding the world out of cold steel that is very far removed from ancient instincts and traditions and is becoming more remote to human users. The growth of technology is more than exponential, and is virtually beyond comprehension for many people. Humans, feeling comfortable with the familiar, fulfill their propensity to implement new

  7. Human factors review of power plant maintainability. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Parsons, S.O.

    1981-02-01

    Human factors engineering is an interdisciplinary science and technology concerned with shaping the design of machines, facilities, and operational environments to promote safe, efficient, and reliable performance on the part of operators and maintainers of equipment systems. The human factors aspects of five nuclear power plants and four fossil fuel plants were evaluated using such methods as a check list guided observation system, structured interviews with maintenance personnel, direct observation of maintenance tasks, reviews of procedures, and analyses of maintenance errors or accidents by means of the critical incident technique. The study revealed a wide variety of human factors problem areas, most of which are extensively photodocumented. The study recommends that a more systematic and formal approach to ensure that future power plants are human engineered to the needs of maintenance personnel

  8. Human Identification at a Distance Using Body Shape Information

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rashid, N K A M; Yahya, M F; Shafie, A A

    2013-01-01

    Shape of human body is unique from one person to another. This paper presents an intelligent system approach for human identification at a distance using human body shape information. The body features used are the head, shoulder, and trunk. Image processing techniques for detection of these body features were developed in this work. Then, the features are recognized using fuzzy logic approach and used as inputs to a recognition system based on a multilayer neural network. The developed system is only applicable for recognizing a person from its frontal view and specifically constrained to male gender to simplify the algorithm. In this research, the accuracy for human identification using the proposed method is 77.5%. Thus, it is proved that human can be identified at a distance using body shape information

  9. Human factors guidelines for nuclear power plant applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ketchel, J.

    1993-01-01

    In 1989, Waters et al. reported to the Human Factors Society on developing human factors criteria for a new reactor plant. They correctly indicated that much of the guidance documentation in human factors engineering has derived from MIL-STD-1472 and its antecedents. Guidelines for human-computer interface have sprung primarily from the Smith and Mosier compendium and its source documents. NUREG-0700, which is currently being updated, was developed by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) as a general evaluation guide for inspecting control rooms. In addition, the Electric Power Research Institute, Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, US Department of Energy, the NRC, and others have published a number of specialized documents on a range of subjects. The number of guidelines and standards has grown in the past few years to an impressive number, including those published by international organizations and professional societies. This paper provides an update on current efforts to provide appropriate guidance for the power industry and, perhaps more importantly, offers a perspective on how users should think about using the available materials and what else is needed. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) continues to be one of the principal participants in providing guidance to the utilities. Human factors guidelines is indeed a timely topic, currently of great interest to EPRI's constituents and to designers of new and upgraded nuclear power plants (NPMs) in the Advanced Light Water Reactor and the Instrumentation and Control Upgrade Initiative programs

  10. Enhancing the Human Factors Engineering Role in an Austere Fiscal Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stokes, Jack W.

    2003-01-01

    An austere fiscal environment in the aerospace community creates pressures to reduce program costs, often minimizing or sometimes even deleting the human interface requirements from the design process. With an assumption that the flight crew can recover real time from a poorly human factored space vehicle design, the classical crew interface requirements have been either not included in the design or not properly funded, though carried as requirements. Cost cuts have also affected quality of retained human factors engineering personnel. In response to this concern, planning is ongoing to correct the acting issues. Herein are techniques for ensuring that human interface requirements are integrated into a flight design, from proposal through verification and launch activation. This includes human factors requirements refinement and consolidation across flight programs; keyword phrases in the proposals; closer ties with systems engineering and other classical disciplines; early planning for crew-interface verification; and an Agency integrated human factors verification program, under the One NASA theme. Importance is given to communication within the aerospace human factors discipline, and utilizing the strengths of all government, industry, and academic human factors organizations in an unified research and engineering approach. A list of recommendations and concerns are provided in closing.

  11. Human Factors evaluation of LCS 254 and 255

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goffe, L.; Held, J.E.

    1993-01-01

    This report includes the results of the Human Factors evaluation of the local control stations (LCS) 254 and 255 performed by Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC) Human Factors. Recommendations are included in order that the panel designs will be upgraded to comply with human engineering design guidelines. Figures 1 and 2 are included as examples of recommended changes. Also, consideration was given to including the proposed engineering changes which are currently on-going for LCS 255. Appendix A identifies the human engineering requirements from NUREG-0700 which were used in the evaluation process, and the areas of the design which do not comply with the guidelines. Those areas of the panel design which fail to comply with the human engineering guidelines are label location, label content, location aids, panel layout, and control display integration. Each of these design deficiencies and proposed corrections are described in this report

  12. Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Literature review. Volume 5

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henriksen, K.; Kaye, R.D.; Jones, R. [Hughes Training, Inc., Falls Church, VA (United States); Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.L. [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Systems Technology

    1995-07-01

    A series of human factors evaluations were undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. A team of human factors specialists, assisted by a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation therapists, conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. A function and task analysis was performed initially to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of workplace environment, system-user interfaces, procedures, training, and organizational practices. To further acquire an in-depth and up-to-date understanding of the practice of teletherapy in support of these evaluations, a systematic literature review was conducted. Factors that have a potential impact on the accuracy of treatment delivery were of primary concern. The present volume is the literature review. The volume starts with an overview of the multiphased nature of teletherapy, and then examines the requirement for precision, the increasing role of quality assurance, current conceptualizations of human error, and the role of system factors such as the workplace environment, user-system interfaces, procedures, training, and organizational practices.

  13. Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Literature review. Volume 5

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henriksen, K.; Kaye, R.D.; Jones, R.; Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.L.

    1995-07-01

    A series of human factors evaluations were undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. A team of human factors specialists, assisted by a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation therapists, conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. A function and task analysis was performed initially to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of workplace environment, system-user interfaces, procedures, training, and organizational practices. To further acquire an in-depth and up-to-date understanding of the practice of teletherapy in support of these evaluations, a systematic literature review was conducted. Factors that have a potential impact on the accuracy of treatment delivery were of primary concern. The present volume is the literature review. The volume starts with an overview of the multiphased nature of teletherapy, and then examines the requirement for precision, the increasing role of quality assurance, current conceptualizations of human error, and the role of system factors such as the workplace environment, user-system interfaces, procedures, training, and organizational practices

  14. Meningococcal factor H-binding protein vaccines with decreased binding to human complement factor H have enhanced immunogenicity in human factor H transgenic mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossi, Raffaella; Granoff, Dan M; Beernink, Peter T

    2013-11-04

    Factor H-binding protein (fHbp) is a component of a meningococcal vaccine recently licensed in Europe for prevention of serogroup B disease, and a second vaccine in clinical development. The protein specifically binds human factor H (fH), which down-regulates complement activation and enhances resistance to bactericidal activity. There are conflicting data from studies in human fH transgenic mice on whether binding of human fH to fHbp vaccines decreases immunogenicity, and whether mutant fHbp vaccines with decreased fH binding have enhanced immunogenicity. fHbp can be classified into two sub-families based on sequence divergence and immunologic cross-reactivity. Previous studies of mutant fHbp vaccines with low fH binding were from sub-family B, which account for approximately 60% of serogroup B case isolates. In the present study, we evaluated the immunogenicity of two mutant sub-family A fHbp vaccines containing single substitutions, T221A or D211A, which resulted in 15- or 30-fold lower affinity for human fH, respectively, than the corresponding control wild-type fHbp vaccine. In transgenic mice with high serum concentrations of human fH, both mutant vaccines elicited significantly higher IgG titers and higher serum bactericidal antibody responses than the control fHbp vaccine that bound human fH. Thus, mutations introduced into a sub-family A fHbp antigen to decrease fH binding can increase protective antibody responses in human fH transgenic mice. Collectively the data suggest that mutant fHbp antigens with decreased fH binding will result in superior vaccines in humans. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Multi-task learning with group information for human action recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qian, Li; Wu, Song; Pu, Nan; Xu, Shulin; Xiao, Guoqiang

    2018-04-01

    Human action recognition is an important and challenging task in computer vision research, due to the variations in human motion performance, interpersonal differences and recording settings. In this paper, we propose a novel multi-task learning framework with group information (MTL-GI) for accurate and efficient human action recognition. Specifically, we firstly obtain group information through calculating the mutual information according to the latent relationship between Gaussian components and action categories, and clustering similar action categories into the same group by affinity propagation clustering. Additionally, in order to explore the relationships of related tasks, we incorporate group information into multi-task learning. Experimental results evaluated on two popular benchmarks (UCF50 and HMDB51 datasets) demonstrate the superiority of our proposed MTL-GI framework.

  16. Human factors in software development: On its underlying theories and the value of learning from related disciplines. A guest editorial introduction to the special issue

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Amrit, C.; Daneva, Maia; Damian, D.

    2014-01-01

    Human factors play a very important role in Software Development [1]. According to Avison et al. [2] ‘‘Failure to include human factors may explain some of the dissatisfaction with conventional information systems development methodologies; they do not address real organizations’’ (p95 [2]).

  17. Impact of familiarity on information complexity in human-computer interfaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bakaev Maxim

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available A quantitative measure of information complexity remains very much desirable in HCI field, since it may aid in optimization of user interfaces, especially in human-computer systems for controlling complex objects. Our paper is dedicated to exploration of subjective (subject-depended aspect of the complexity, conceptualized as information familiarity. Although research of familiarity in human cognition and behaviour is done in several fields, the accepted models in HCI, such as Human Processor or Hick-Hyman’s law do not generally consider this issue. In our experimental study the subjects performed search and selection of digits and letters, whose familiarity was conceptualized as frequency of occurrence in numbers and texts. The analysis showed significant effect of information familiarity on selection time and throughput in regression models, although the R2 values were somehow low. Still, we hope that our results might aid in quantification of information complexity and its further application for optimizing interaction in human-machine systems.

  18. Risk management with regard to the effect of human factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. A. Kiseleva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the most important components in today's market is a party decision-making under risk and uncertainty. The first step in making such decisions - to adequately process the information for estimating the future value of assets and the interests of investors probabilities of each particular scenario. The next step is to choose the alternative that has the greatest utility for the investor. Each of these steps is associated with numerous difficulties, the roots of which stem from the specificity of human psychology. The article notes that an integral part of professional risk management is to identify the nature of the object of management in the sphere of economy. Since the domestic theory of risk management is being formed-tion, the problem of a clear comprehensive definition of “risk” becomes now particularly relevant-ness. The article deals with along with economic forecasts of the risks and the human factor in decision-tions solutions. Along with economic forecasts, the report focuses on psychological problems and attempts to take into account the human factor in decision-making at the forecast of risks arising in the company. The important parameters are the status and position of the person in the society, as well as its social well-being. Analysis Meto-ing risk assessment concluded that the need to develop new models and methods of risk management, taking into account the four-lovecheskogo factor. Economic psychology and its applications have developed into a special branch of economic knowledge - the so-called behavioral economics, which surely develops a wide range of economic issues - from the actual theory of individual behavior to the problems of public choice and the financial economy. The most interesting item is the fact that the concept of “risk” is considered from different points of view - as the economist-mathematician with the position, and a psychologist.

  19. Turn-Taking Based on Information Flow for Fluent Human-Robot Interaction

    OpenAIRE

    Thomaz, Andrea L.; Chao, Crystal

    2011-01-01

    Turn-taking is a fundamental part of human communication. Our goal is to devise a turn-taking framework for human-robot interaction that, like the human skill, represents something fundamental about interaction, generic to context or domain. We propose a model of turn-taking, and conduct an experiment with human subjects to inform this model. Our findings from this study suggest that information flow is an integral part of human floor-passing behavior. Following this, we implement autonomous ...

  20. Human factors in design modifications: panel alternative stop in Almaraz

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roman, Y.; Bote, J.

    2015-01-01

    Human Factors Engineering has acquired a crucial role in the development of any design modification (DM), where every aspect relative to any interaction with the human user has to be taken into account at any stage thereof. Considering this, during the last years, Almaraz Nuclear Powe Plants has developed a program of Human Factors Engineering in order to reach the internationally recognized standards or systematic collected on NUREG 0711 Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model (NRC). One of the most important projects of this program at Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant has been the implementation of the Alternative Stop Panel and their corresponding Transfer Panels. (Author)

  1. The Peculiarities of Human Resource Information Management Problems and Solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gražina Kalibataitė

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available The current article explores one of the traditional management functional areas of enterprises—human resources management and its multi-component information environments, components. The traditional enterprises, usually manufacturing-oriented enterprises, controlled according to the functions of the activity, when many operating divisions is specialized in carrying out some certain tasks, functions (i.e. every department or unit is focused on the specific information technology applications which are not integrated. But quick changes in the modern activity environment fosters enterprises to switch from the classical functional management approaches (i.e. non-effective databases that are of marginal use, duplicative of one another, and operational systems that cannot adequately provide important information for enterprise control towards more adaptive, contemporary information processing models, knowledge-based enterprises, process management (i.e. a computer-aided knowledge bases, automatic information exchange, structured and metadata-oriented way. As mentioned above, are the databases now really becoming increasingly unmanageable, non-effective? Slow information processing not only costs money, but also endangers competitiveness and makes users unhappy. However, it should be noted that every functional area, group of users of the enterprise, have their specific, purpose, subjects and management structure, otherwise they have different information needs, requirements. Therefore, organizational information systems need be constantly maintained and applied to their surroundings. This article presents and critically analyzes the theoretical, practical aspects of the human resources or employee and information management, i.e. the first introduces 1 the major problems of information management (e.g., data integration and interoperability of systems, why business users often don’t have direct access to the important business data; 2 the process

  2. The Peculiarities of Human Resource Information Management Problems and Solutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gražina Kalibataitė

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The current article explores one of the traditional management functional areas of enterprises—human resources management and its multi-component information environments, components. The traditional enterprises, usually manufacturing-oriented enterprises, controlled according to the functions of the activity, when many operating divisions is specialized in carrying out some certain tasks, functions (i.e. every department or unit is focused on the specific information technology applications which are not integrated. But quick changes in the modern activity environment fosters enterprises to switch from the classical functional management approaches (i.e. non-effective databases that are of marginal use, duplicative of one another, and operational systems that cannot adequately provide important information for enterprise control towards more adaptive, contemporary information processing models, knowledge-based enterprises, process management (i.e. a computer-aided knowledge bases, automatic information exchange, structured and metadata-oriented way. As mentioned above, are the databases now really becoming increasingly unmanageable, non-effective? Slow information processing not only costs money, but also endangers competitiveness and makes users unhappy. However, it should be noted that every functional area, group of users of the enterprise, have their specific, purpose, subjects and management structure, otherwise they have different information needs, requirements. Therefore, organizational information systems need be constantly maintained and applied to their surroundings.This article presents and critically analyzes the theoretical, practical aspects of the human resources or employee and information management, i.e. the first introduces 1 the major problems of information management (e.g., data integration and interoperability of systems, why business users often don’t have direct access to the important business data; 2 the process

  3. Human Factors and Habitability Challenges for Mars Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitmore, Mihriban

    2015-01-01

    As NASA is planning to send humans deeper into space than ever before, adequate crew health and performance will be critical for mission success. Within the NASA Human Research Program (HRP), the Space Human Factors and Habitability (SHFH) team is responsible for characterizing the risks associated with human capabilities and limitations with respect to long-duration spaceflight, and for providing mitigations (e.g., guidelines, technologies, and tools) to promote safe, reliable and productive missions. SHFH research includes three domains: Advanced Environmental Health (AEH), Advanced Food Technology (AFT), and Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE). The AEH portfolio focuses on understanding the risk of microbial contamination of the spacecraft and on the development of standards for exposure to potential toxins such as chemicals, bacteria, fungus, and lunar/Martian dust. The two risks that the environmental health project focuses on are adverse health effects due to changes in host-microbe interactions, and risks associated with exposure to dust in planetary surface habitats. This portfolio also proposes countermeasures to these risks by making recommendations that relate to requirements for environmental quality, foods, and crew health on spacecraft and space missions. The AFT portfolio focuses on reducing the mass, volume, and waste of the entire integrated food system to be used in exploration missions, and investigating processing methods to extend the shelf life of food items up to five years, while assuring that exploration crews will have nutritious and palatable foods. The portfolio also delivers improvements in both the food itself and the technologies for storing and preparing it. SHFE sponsors research to establish human factors and habitability standards and guidelines in five risk areas, and provides improved design concepts for advanced crew interfaces and habitability systems. These risk areas include: Incompatible vehicle/habitat design

  4. The contribution of human factors to accidents in the offshore oil industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gordon, Rachael P.E.

    1998-01-01

    Accidents such as the Piper Alpha disaster illustrate that the performance of a highly complex socio-technical system, is dependent upon the interaction of technical, human, social, organisational, managerial and environmental factors and that these factors can be important co-contributors that could potentially lead to a catastrophic event. The purpose of this article is to give readers an overview of how human factors contribute to accidents in the offshore oil industry. An introduction to human errors and how they relate to human factors in general terms is given. From here the article discusses some of the human factors which were found to influence safety in other industries and describes the human factors codes used in accident reporting forms in the aviation, nuclear and marine industries. Analysis of 25 accident reporting forms from offshore oil companies in the UK sector of the North Sea was undertaken in relation to the human factors. Suggestions on how these accident reporting forms could be improved are given. Finally, this article describes the methods by which accidents can be reduced by focusing on the human factors, such as feedback from accident reporting in the oil industry, auditing of unsafe acts and auditing of latent failures

  5. Quality management in the nuclear industry: the human factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    In the nuclear industry it is vital to understand the 'human factor' with regard to plant performance and plant safety. A proper management system ensures that personnel perform their duties correctly. 'Quality Management in the Nuclear Industry: the Human Factor', was a conference organized by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in October 1990. The conference covered a wide range of topics on an international level including: standards, licensing and regulatory procedures; selection assessment and training of personnel; feedback from experience of good practice and of deviations; management and support of personnel performance; modelling and evaluation of human factors. The papers presented at the conference are contained in this volume. All twenty papers are indexed separately. (author)

  6. Human genome and genetic sequencing research and informed consent

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iwakawa, Mayumi

    2003-01-01

    On March 29, 2001, the Ethical Guidelines for Human Genome and Genetic Sequencing Research were established. They have intended to serve as ethical guidelines for all human genome and genetic sequencing research practice, for the purpose of upholding respect for human dignity and rights and enforcing use of proper methods in the pursuit of human genome and genetic sequencing research, with the understanding and cooperation of the public. The RadGenomics Project has prepared a research protocol and informed consent document that follow these ethical guidelines. We have endeavored to protect the privacy of individual information, and have established a procedure for examination of research practices by an ethics committee. Here we report our procedure in order to offer this concept to the patients. (authors)

  7. The contribution of human factors to risks from radioactive material transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blenkin, J.J.; Ridsdale, E.; Wilkinson, H.L.

    1998-01-01

    The use of probabilistic risk assessment to assess the safety of radioactive material transport operations is well accepted. However, quantitative risk assessment of radioactive material transport operations have generally not explicitly considered human factors in estimating risks. Given the high profile of human factors as the root cause of many serious transport incidents omission of an explicit consideration of human factors in a risk assessment could lead to assessments losing credibility. In addition, scrutiny of radioactive material transport incident databases reveals a large number of operational incidents and minor accidents that would have been avoided if more attention had been paid to human factors aspects, and provides examples of instances where improvements have been achieved. This paper examines the areas of radioactive material transport risk assessments (both qualitative and quantitative) which could be strengthened by further examination of the impact of human errors. It is concluded that a more complete and detailed understanding of the effects of human factors on the risks from radioactive material transport operations has been obtained. Quality assurance has a key part to play in ensuring that packages are correctly manufactured and prepared for transport. Risk assessments of radioactive material transport operations can be strengthened by concentrating on the key human factors effects. (authors)

  8. Verification and validation of human factors issues in control room design and upgrades

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Green, M.; Collier, S. [Inst. for Energiteknikk, Halden (Norway). OECD Halden Reactor Project

    1999-12-01

    Systems, facilities and equipment are periodically updated during a power plant's lifetime. This has human factors implications, especially if the central control room is involved. Human factors work may therefore be required. There is an extensive literature on human factors itself, but not so much on how it is verified and validated. Therefore, HRP and the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate commissioned a study. The objective was to review the literature and establish a knowledge base on verification and validation (V and V) of human factors issues. The report first discusses verification and validation as applied to human factors work. It describes a design process and the typical human factors topics involved. It then presents a generic method for V and V of human factors. This is built on a review of standards, guidelines and other references given in an annotated bibliography. The method is illustrated by application to some human factors topics.

  9. Verification and validation of human factors issues in control room design and upgrades

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, M.; Collier, S.

    1999-12-01

    Systems, facilities and equipment are periodically updated during a power plant's lifetime. This has human factors implications, especially if the central control room is involved. Human factors work may therefore be required. There is an extensive literature on human factors itself, but not so much on how it is verified and validated. Therefore, HRP and the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate commissioned a study. The objective was to review the literature and establish a knowledge base on verification and validation (V and V) of human factors issues. The report first discusses verification and validation as applied to human factors work. It describes a design process and the typical human factors topics involved. It then presents a generic method for V and V of human factors. This is built on a review of standards, guidelines and other references given in an annotated bibliography. The method is illustrated by application to some human factors topics

  10. Human factors questionnaire as a tool for risk assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Isaac J.A.L.; Grecco, Claudio H.S.; Carvalho, Paulo V.R.; Mol, Antonio C.A.; Oliveira, Mauro V.; Augusto, Silas C.

    2009-01-01

    The human factors engineering (HFE) as a discipline, and as a process, seeks to discover and to apply knowledge about human capabilities and limitations to system and equipment design, ensuring that the system design, human tasks and work environment are compatible with the sensory, perceptual, cognitive and physical attributes of the personnel who operates systems and equipment. Risk significance considers the magnitude of the consequences (loss of life, material damage, environmental degradation) and the frequency of occurrence of a particular adverse event. The questionnaire design was based on the following definitions: the score and the classification of the nuclear safety risk. The principal benefit of applying an approach based on the risk significance in the development of the questionnaire is to ensure the identification and evaluation of the features of the projects, related to human factors, which affect the nuclear safety risk, the human actions and the safety of the nuclear plant systems. The human factors questionnaire developed in this study will provide valuable support for risk assessment, making possible the identification of design problems that can influence the evaluation of the nuclear safety risk. (author)

  11. Human Resource Managements as a part of the Human Factors Management Program(HFMP) for Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, DaeHo; Lee, YongHee; Lee, JungWoon; Kim, Younggab

    2007-01-01

    Programs for the effective implementation and management of human factor issues in nuclear power plants (NPPs) should contain technical criteria, an establishment of a job process, and activities for job improvements and be a system through which human factors can be managed in an integrated way. Human factors to be managed should include those related to an operation of plants as well as those related to a plant design as mentioned in NUREG-0800(2004), NUREG- 0711(2004), and NUREG-0700(2002). Human factor items to be managed for an operation of plants are listed in the PSR (Periodic Safety Review) items defined in the Enforcement of Regulation of the Atomic Energy Act. They are procedures, a work management system including a shift work management, a qualification management of plant personnel, training, a work amount assessment, a MMI (Man Machine Interface), and the use of experience. Among these factors, factors related to a human resource management include work management systems and the status of a work management including shift work, a qualification management ensuring qualified workers on duty at all times, and the systems for and the status of training and education. This paper addresses the scope of a human resource management, guidelines and procedures to be developed for a human resource management, and considerations critical in the development of guidelines and procedures

  12. Hemoglobin is a co-factor of human trypanosome lytic factor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Widener, Justin; Nielsen, Marianne Jensby; Shiflett, April

    2007-01-01

    Trypanosome lytic factor (TLF) is a high-density lipoprotein (HDL) subclass providing innate protection to humans against infection by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma brucei brucei. Two primate-specific plasma proteins, haptoglobin-related protein (Hpr) and apolipoprotein L-1 (ApoL-1), have be...

  13. Analyzing and sense making of human factors in the Malaysian radiation and nuclear emergency planning framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamid, A. H. A.; Rozan, M. Z. A.; Ibrahim, R.; Deris, S.; Abdullah, W. S. W.; Yunus, M. N. M.; Rahman, A. A.

    2016-01-01

    The evolution of current Radiation and Nuclear Emergency Planning Framework (RANEPF) simulator emphasizes on the human factors to be analyzed and interpreted according to the stakeholder’s tacit and explicit knowledge. These human factor criteria are analyzed and interpreted according to the “sense making theory” and Disaster Emergency Response Management Information System (DERMIS) design premises. These criteria are corroborated by the statistical criteria. In recent findings, there were no differences of distributions among the stakeholders according to gender and organizational expertise. These criteria are incrementally accepted and agreed the research elements indicated in the respective emergency planning frameworks and simulator (i.e. 78.18 to 84.32, p-value <0.05). This paper suggested these human factors criteria in the associated analyses and theoretical perspectives to be further acomodated in the future simulator development. This development is in conjunction with the proposed hypothesis building of the process factors and responses diagram. We proposed that future work which implies the additional functionality of the simulator, as strategized, condensed and concise, comprehensive public disaster preparedness and intervention guidelines, to be a useful and efficient computer simulation

  14. Analyzing and sense making of human factors in the Malaysian radiation and nuclear emergency planning framework

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hamid, A. H. A., E-mail: amyhamijah@gmail.com, E-mail: amyhamijah@nm.gov.my [Faculty of Computing, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Pengkalan Chepa, 16100 Kota Bharu, Kelantan (Malaysia); Rozan, M. Z. A., E-mail: drmohdzaidi@gmail.com; Ibrahim, R. [Faculty of Computing, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Skudai, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor (Malaysia); Deris, S. [Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Pengkalan Chepa, 16100 Kota Bharu, Kelantan (Malaysia); Abdullah, W. S. W.; Yunus, M. N. M. [Malaysian Nuclear Agency (NM), Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia); Rahman, A. A. [Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang, Selangor (Malaysia)

    2016-01-22

    The evolution of current Radiation and Nuclear Emergency Planning Framework (RANEPF) simulator emphasizes on the human factors to be analyzed and interpreted according to the stakeholder’s tacit and explicit knowledge. These human factor criteria are analyzed and interpreted according to the “sense making theory” and Disaster Emergency Response Management Information System (DERMIS) design premises. These criteria are corroborated by the statistical criteria. In recent findings, there were no differences of distributions among the stakeholders according to gender and organizational expertise. These criteria are incrementally accepted and agreed the research elements indicated in the respective emergency planning frameworks and simulator (i.e. 78.18 to 84.32, p-value <0.05). This paper suggested these human factors criteria in the associated analyses and theoretical perspectives to be further acomodated in the future simulator development. This development is in conjunction with the proposed hypothesis building of the process factors and responses diagram. We proposed that future work which implies the additional functionality of the simulator, as strategized, condensed and concise, comprehensive public disaster preparedness and intervention guidelines, to be a useful and efficient computer simulation.

  15. Trefoil factors in human milk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vestergaard, Else Marie; Nexø, Ebba; Wendt, A

    2008-01-01

    We measured concentrations of the gastrointestinal protective peptides Trefoil factors in human milk. By the use of in-house ELISA we detected high amounts of TFF3, less TFF1 and virtually no TFF2 in human breast milk obtained from 46 mothers with infants born extremely preterm (24-27 wk gestation......), preterm (28-37 wk gestation), and full term (38-42 wk gestation). Samples were collected during the first, second, third to fourth weeks and more than 4 wks postpartum. Median (range) TFF1 [TFF3] concentrations in human milk were 320 (30-34000) [1500 (150-27,000)] pmol/L in wk 1, 120 (30-720) [310 (50......-7100)] pmol/L in wk 2, 70 (20-670) [120 (20-650)] pmol/L in wks 3 to 4, and 60 (30-2500) [80 (20-540)] pmol/L in > 4 wks after delivery. The lowest concentrations of TFF1 and TFF3 were found later than 2 wks after birth. In conclusion, TFF was present in term and preterm human milk with rapidly declining...

  16. A development of the Human Factors Assessment Guide for the Study of Erroneous Human Behaviors in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oh, Yeon Ju; Lee, Yong Hee; Jang, Tong Il; Kim, Sa Kil

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to describe a human factors assessment guide for the study of the erroneous characteristic of operators in nuclear power plants (NPPs). We think there are still remaining the human factors issues such as an uneasy emotion, fatigue and stress, varying mental workload situation by digital environment, and various new type of unsafe response to digital interface for better decisions, although introducing an advanced main control room. These human factors issues may not be resolved through the current human reliability assessment which evaluates the total probability of a human error occurring throughout the completion of a specific task. This paper provides an assessment guide for the human factors issues a set of experimental methodology, and presents an assessment case of measurement and analysis especially from neuro physiology approach. It would be the most objective psycho-physiological research technique on human performance for a qualitative analysis considering the safety aspects. This paper can be trial to experimental assessment of erroneous behaviors and their influencing factors, and it can be used as an index for recognition and a method to apply human factors engineering V and V, which is required as a mandatory element of human factor engineering program plan for a NPP design

  17. A development of the Human Factors Assessment Guide for the Study of Erroneous Human Behaviors in Nuclear Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oh, Yeon Ju; Lee, Yong Hee; Jang, Tong Il; Kim, Sa Kil [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-08-15

    The aim of this paper is to describe a human factors assessment guide for the study of the erroneous characteristic of operators in nuclear power plants (NPPs). We think there are still remaining the human factors issues such as an uneasy emotion, fatigue and stress, varying mental workload situation by digital environment, and various new type of unsafe response to digital interface for better decisions, although introducing an advanced main control room. These human factors issues may not be resolved through the current human reliability assessment which evaluates the total probability of a human error occurring throughout the completion of a specific task. This paper provides an assessment guide for the human factors issues a set of experimental methodology, and presents an assessment case of measurement and analysis especially from neuro physiology approach. It would be the most objective psycho-physiological research technique on human performance for a qualitative analysis considering the safety aspects. This paper can be trial to experimental assessment of erroneous behaviors and their influencing factors, and it can be used as an index for recognition and a method to apply human factors engineering V and V, which is required as a mandatory element of human factor engineering program plan for a NPP design.

  18. Evaluation of the reliability concerning the identification of human factors as contributing factors by a computer supported event analysis (CEA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilpert, B.; Maimer, H.; Loroff, C.

    2000-01-01

    The project's objectives are the evaluation of the reliability concerning the identification of Human Factors as contributing factors by a computer supported event analysis (CEA). CEA is a computer version of SOL (Safety through Organizational Learning). Parts of the first step were interviews with experts from the nuclear power industry and the evaluation of existing computer supported event analysis methods. This information was combined to a requirement profile for the CEA software. The next step contained the implementation of the software in an iterative process of evaluation. The completion of this project was the testing of the CEA software. As a result the testing demonstrated that it is possible to identify contributing factors with CEA validly. In addition, CEA received a very positive feedback from the experts. (orig.) [de

  19. Human Factors in Coast Guard Computer Security - An Analysis of Current Awareness and Potential Techniques to Improve Security Program Viability

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Whalen, Timothy

    2001-01-01

    .... This thesis attempts to identify both the susceptibility of Coast Guard information systems to human factors-based security risks and possible means for increasing user awareness of those risks...

  20. Human Research Program Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Standing Review Panel (SRP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wichansky, Anna; Badler, Norman; Butler, Keith; Cummings, Mary; DeLucia, Patricia; Endsley, Mica; Scholtz, Jean

    2009-01-01

    The Space Human Factors Engineering (SHFE) Standing Review Panel (SRP) evaluated 22 gaps and 39 tasks in the three risk areas assigned to the SHFE Project. The area where tasks were best designed to close the gaps and the fewest gaps were left out was the Risk of Reduced Safety and Efficiency dire to Inadequate Design of Vehicle, Environment, Tools or Equipment. The areas where there were more issues with gaps and tasks, including poor or inadequate fit of tasks to gaps and missing gaps, were Risk of Errors due to Poor Task Design and Risk of Error due to Inadequate Information. One risk, the Risk of Errors due to Inappropriate Levels of Trust in Automation, should be added. If astronauts trust automation too much in areas where it should not be trusted, but rather tempered with human judgment and decision making, they will incur errors. Conversely, if they do not trust automation when it should be trusted, as in cases where it can sense aspects of the environment such as radiation levels or distances in space, they will also incur errors. This will be a larger risk when astronauts are less able to rely on human mission control experts and are out of touch, far away, and on their own. The SRP also identified 11 new gaps and five new tasks. Although the SRP had an extremely large quantity of reading material prior to and during the meeting, we still did not feel we had an overview of the activities and tasks the astronauts would be performing in exploration missions. Without a detailed task analysis and taxonomy of activities the humans would be engaged in, we felt it was impossible to know whether the gaps and tasks were really sufficient to insure human safety, performance, and comfort in the exploration missions. The SRP had difficulty evaluating many of the gaps and tasks that were not as quantitative as those related to concrete physical danger such as excessive noise and vibration. Often the research tasks for cognitive risks that accompany poor task or

  1. Human factors review for Severe Accident Sequence Analysis (SASA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krois, P.A.; Haas, P.M.; Manning, J.J.; Bovell, C.R.

    1984-01-01

    The paper will discuss work being conducted during this human factors review including: (1) support of the Severe Accident Sequence Analysis (SASA) Program based on an assessment of operator actions, and (2) development of a descriptive model of operator severe accident management. Research by SASA analysts on the Browns Ferry Unit One (BF1) anticipated transient without scram (ATWS) was supported through a concurrent assessment of operator performance to demonstrate contributions to SASA analyses from human factors data and methods. A descriptive model was developed called the Function Oriented Accident Management (FOAM) model, which serves as a structure for bridging human factors, operations, and engineering expertise and which is useful for identifying needs/deficiencies in the area of accident management. The assessment of human factors issues related to ATWS required extensive coordination with SASA analysts. The analysis was consolidated primarily to six operator actions identified in the Emergency Procedure Guidelines (EPGs) as being the most critical to the accident sequence. These actions were assessed through simulator exercises, qualitative reviews, and quantitative human reliability analyses. The FOAM descriptive model assumes as a starting point that multiple operator/system failures exceed the scope of procedures and necessitates a knowledge-based emergency response by the operators. The FOAM model provides a functionally-oriented structure for assembling human factors, operations, and engineering data and expertise into operator guidance for unconventional emergency responses to mitigate severe accident progression and avoid/minimize core degradation. Operators must also respond to potential radiological release beyond plant protective barriers. Research needs in accident management and potential uses of the FOAM model are described. 11 references, 1 figure

  2. Human factors considerations for reliability and safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carnino, A.

    1985-01-01

    Human factors in many industries have become an important issue, since the last few years. They should be considered during the whole life time of a plant: design, fabrication and construction, licensing, operation. Improvements have been performed in the field of man-machine interface such as procedures, control room lay-out, operator aids, training. In order to meet the needs of reliability and probabilistic risk studies, quantification of human errors has been developed but needs still improvements in the field of cognitive behaviour, diagnosis and representation errors. Data banks to support these quantifications are still in a development stage. This applies to nuclear power plants and several examples are given to illustrate the above ideas. In conclusion, human factors field is in a very quickly evolving process but the tendency is still to adapt the man to the machines whilst the reverse would be desirable

  3. Identification of advanced human factors engineering analysis, design and evaluation methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plott, C.; Ronan, A. M.; Laux, L.; Bzostek, J.; Milanski, J.; Scheff, S.

    2006-01-01

    NUREG-0711 Rev.2, 'Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model,' provides comprehensive guidance to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in assessing the human factors practices employed by license applicants for Nuclear Power Plant control room designs. As software based human-system interface (HSI) technologies supplant traditional hardware-based technologies, the NRC may encounter new HSI technologies or seemingly unconventional approaches to human factors design, analysis, and evaluation methods which NUREG-0711 does not anticipate. A comprehensive survey was performed to identify advanced human factors engineering analysis, design and evaluation methods, tools, and technologies that the NRC may encounter in near term future licensee applications. A review was conducted to identify human factors methods, tools, and technologies relevant to each review element of NUREG-0711. Additionally emerging trends in technology which have the potential to impact review elements, such as Augmented Cognition, and various wireless tools and technologies were identified. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the survey results and to highlight issues that could be revised or adapted to meet with emerging trends. (authors)

  4. Human factors issues in fuel handling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beattie, J.D.; Iwasa-Madge, K.M.; Tucker, D.A.

    1994-01-01

    The staff of the Atomic Energy Control Board wish to further their understanding of human factors issues of potential concern associated with fuel handling in CANDU nuclear power stations. This study contributes to that objective by analysing the role of human performance in the overall fuel handling process at Ontario Hydro's Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, and reporting findings in several areas. A number of issues are identified in the areas of design, operating and maintenance practices, and the organizational and management environment

  5. Human factors review of nuclear power plant control room design. Summary report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Gonzalez, W.R.; Parsons, S.O.

    1976-11-01

    Human factors engineering is an interdisciplinary specialty concerned with influencing the design of equipment systems, facilities, and operational environments to promote safe, efficient, and reliable operator performance. The human factors aspects of five representative nuclear power plant control rooms were evaluated using such methods as a checklist-guided observation system, structured interviews with operators and trainers, direct observations of operator behavior, task analyses and procedure evaluation, and historical error analyses. The human factors aspects of design practices are illustrated, and many improvements in current practices are suggested. The study recommends that a detailed set of applicable human factors standards be developed to stimulate a uniform and systematic concern for human factors in design considerations

  6. Integrating human factors and artificial intelligence in the development of human-machine cooperation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Maanen, P.P. van; Lindenberg, J.; Neericx, M.A.

    2005-01-01

    Increasing machine intelligence leads to a shift from a mere interactive to a much more complex cooperative human-machine relation requiring a multidisciplinary development approach. This paper presents a generic multidisciplinary cognitive engineering method CE+ for the integration of human factors

  7. Maturity of hospital information systems: Most important influencing factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidal Carvalho, João; Rocha, Álvaro; Abreu, António

    2017-07-01

    Maturity models facilitate organizational management, including information systems management, with hospital organizations no exception. This article puts forth a study carried out with a group of experts in the field of hospital information systems management with a view to identifying the main influencing factors to be included in an encompassing maturity model for hospital information systems management. This study is based on the results of a literature review, which identified maturity models in the health field and relevant influencing factors. The development of this model is justified to the extent that the available maturity models for the hospital information systems management field reveal multiple limitations, including lack of detail, absence of tools to determine their maturity and lack of characterization for stages of maturity structured by different influencing factors.

  8. Implementating Information Technology in E-Human Resource Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina-Dana Popescu (Mitu

    2016-01-01

    More and more organizations have been replacing face-to-face human resource managementactivities with electronic human resource management, which is considered as one of the keyfactors that every organization needs to focus. Considering that human resource management isone of the necessary needs of today’s business, the goal of this article is to establish the importanceof human resource management (HRM, to examine recent research in e-HRM in order to evaluatethe cumulated evidence on the relationship between HRM and e-HRM and to outline the impact ofe-HRM on human resource. Many specialists underlined the fact that human resource requiresmore attention and careful management than any other resource of an organization. This paperalso deals with the influence of Internet and information technology on work and human resourcemanagement.

  9. Human factors reliability Benchmark exercise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poucet, A.

    1989-06-01

    The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has organized a Human Factors Reliability Benchmark Exercise (HF-RBE) with the aim of assessing the state of the art in human reliability modelling and assessment. Fifteen teams from eleven countries, representing industry, utilities, licensing organisations and research institutes, participated in the HF-RBE. The HF-RBE was organized around two study cases: (1) analysis of routine functional Test and Maintenance (T and M) procedures: with the aim of assessing the probability of test induced failures, the probability of failures to remain unrevealed and the potential to initiate transients because of errors performed in the test; (2) analysis of human actions during an operational transient: with the aim of assessing the probability that the operators will correctly diagnose the malfunctions and take proper corrective action. This report contains the final summary reports produced by the participants in the exercise

  10. [Analysis of prevalence of self-reported hearing loss and associated factors: primary versus proxy informant].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quevedo, André Luis Alves de; Leotti, Vanessa Bielefeldt; Goulart, Bárbara Niegia Garcia de

    2017-07-03

    The objective was to evaluate differences between prevalence rates for self-reported hearing loss and associated factors, obtained from responses by primary and proxy informants in a Population-Based Study on Human Communication Disorders (DCH-POP in Portuguese). This was a study on epidemiological methods using data from a cross-sectional household survey with a sample of 1,253 individuals from Southern Brazil. To verify differences between prevalence rates comparing primary informants and proxy informants, we used the chi-square or Fisher's exact test for categorical variables and Mann-Whitney for continuous variables. The log-binomial model was adjusted for hearing loss as the dependent variable, considering three datasets: the entire sample, only primary informants, and only proxy informants, estimating association by prevalence ratios. In the final models, only the independent variables age and dizziness were associated with hearing loss, independently of the dataset that was used. Proxy informants generally underestimated the prevalence rates for the target outcomes, when compared to primary informants.

  11. A Study of Information Systems Outsourcing Influential Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claver, Enrique; Gonzalez, Reyes; Gasco, Jose; Llopis, Juan

    2002-01-01

    Surveyed information systems managers at Spanish public universities to determine the level of information systems outsourcing. Also determined how factors such as the size of universities and their information systems departments, as well as the degree of involvement of rector's and general manager's teams, influence outsourcing levels. (EV)

  12. The contributions of human factors and ergonomics to a sustainable minerals industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horberry, Tim; Burgess-Limerick, Robin; Fuller, Ruth

    2013-01-01

    This article describes examples of the application of human factors research and development work to a sustainable minerals industry. It begins by outlining human-related aspects of the minerals industry and the key human factors work previously undertaken in this domain. The focus then switches to sustainability in the minerals industry. Sustainability principles are introduced and illustrations provided of how human factors research and development work fits within such a framework. Three case studies of human factors in the minerals industry research are presented and the sustainability implications in each case study are highlighted. Finally, future trends related to human factors work in a sustainable minerals industry are addressed, in particular the opportunities and possible adverse consequences that increasing deployment of mining automation might bring. Minerals industries are a major global activity with significant sustainability implications. Aspects of sustainability in mining are examined using three case studies. These illustrate the contribution of human factors/ergonomics in reducing risks; developing emergency response management systems; and the value of participatory ergonomics in improving the design of mining equipment.

  13. DOT/FAA Human Factors Workshop on Aviation (5th). Transcript.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-01-01

    This document is a verbatim transcript of the proceedings of the Fifth Human Factors Workshop held at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on July 7-9, 1981. The Sixth Human Factors Workshop was held at the same facility ...

  14. The impact of human factor on labor productivity at the mining enterprises

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pinigina Galina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the term “human factor” which implies a person involved in the organizational process in the diversity of his natural and socio-psychological characteristics. The necessity to identify the impact of human factor on labour productivity at the mining enterprises is proved. It is assumed that considering human factor can be one of the ways to increase labour productivity. A research technique of the complex – mechanized team in order to identify the impact of human factor on its productivity is described. Definite research results and analysis which strongly support the assumption are given. The stages at which the human factor should be considered are analyzed. Based on the fact that person's mood determines all his vital functions, the following interpretation of the human factor was propose: to consider the human factor means to take into account everything that might spoil the mood of a person starting from his coming to the place of work till the work is finished. If it is necessary to provide high productivity, take care of the human mind. This thesis does not require proof and justification, it is obvious.

  15. Human factors reliability benchmark exercise, report of the SRD participation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waters, Trevor

    1988-01-01

    Within the scope of the Human Factors Reliability Benchmark Exercise, organised by the Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy, the Safety and Reliability Directorate (SRD) team has performed analysis of human factors in two different activities - a routine test and a non-routine operational transient. For both activities, an 'FMEA-like' task, potential errors, and the factors which affect performance. For analysis of the non-routine activity, which involved a significant amount of cognitive processing, such as diagnosis and decision making, a new approach for qualitative analysis has been developed. Modelling has been performed using both event trees and fault trees and examples are provided. Human error probabilities were estimated using the methods Absolute Probability Judgement (APJ), Human Cognitive Reliability Method (HCR), Human Error and Assessment and Reduction Technique (HEART), Success-Likelihood Index Method (SLIM), Technica Empiriza Stima Eurori Operatori (TESEO), and Technique for Human Error Rate Prediction (THERP). A discussion is provided of the lessons learnt in the course of the exercise and unresolved difficulties in the assessment of human reliability. (author)

  16. Human factor in the problem of Russian nuclear industry safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abramova, V.

    2002-01-01

    The approach to human factor definition, considered in the paper, consists of recognition of as many as possible factors for developing a complete list of factors, which have influence on mistakes or successful work of NPP personnel. Safety culture is considered as the main factor. The enhancement in nuclear power industry includes an optimization of organizational structures and development of personnel safety attitudes. The organizational factors, as possible root causes for human errors, need to be identified, assessed and improved. The organizational activities taken in Russia are presented

  17. Informal Justice Systems: Charting a Course for Human Rights-Based Engagement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kerrigan, Fergus; McKay, Anne Louise; Kristiansen, Annali

    engagement with informal justice systems can build greater respect and protection for human rights. It highlights the considerations that development partners should have when assessing whether to implement programmes involving informal justice systems, the primary consideration being that engagement......Providing accessible justice is a state obligation under international human rights standards, but this obligation does not require that all justice be provided through formal justice systems. If done in ways to respect and uphold human rights, the provision of justice through informal justice...... systems is not against human rights standards and can be a mechanism to enhance the fulfilment of human rights obligations by delivering accessible justice to individuals and communities where the formal justice system does not have the capacity or geographical reach. This study seeks to identify how...

  18. Human Factors: Spanning the Gap between OM & HRM

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    W.P. Neumann (Patrick); J. Dul (Jan)

    2010-01-01

    textabstractPurpose: This paper examines the claim that the application of human factors (HF) knowledge can improve both human well-being and operations system performance. Methodology: A systematic review was conducted using a general and two specialist databases to identify empirical studies

  19. Human factors guidelines and methodology in the design of a user computer interface: a case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richards, R.E.; Gilmore, W.E.; Haney, L.N.

    1986-01-01

    In this case study, human factors personnel were requested to participate in a project team of programmers and operations specialists to design a cathode ray tube (CRT) display system for a complex process control application. This presentation describes the process and benefits obtained by incorporating human factors guidelines and methods in system design. Standard human engineering guidelines and techniques were utilized by the project team. In addition, previously published documents and research findings sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) were used. Preliminary tasks involved a review of the draft plant procedures. Then, interviews with operators were conducted to establish the initial information for the displays. These initial requirements were evaluated against existing guidelines and criteria to determine the optimal presentation formats. Detailed steps of the approaches used, design decisions made, and tradeoffs that resulted in the final user acceptable design are discussed. 7 refs., 2 figs

  20. Incorporation of human factors into design change processes - a regulator's perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Staples, L.; McRobbie, H.

    2003-01-01

    Nuclear power plants in Canada must receive written approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) when making certain changes that are defined in their licenses. The CNSC expects the design change process to include a method for ensuring that the human-machine interface and workplace design support the safe and reliable performance of required tasks. When reviewing design changes for approval, the CNSC looks for evidence of analysis work, use of appropriate human factors design guidelines, and verification and validation testing of the design. In addition to reviewing significant design changes, evaluations are conducted to ensure design change processes adequately address human performance. Findings from reviews and evaluations highlight the need to integrate human factors into the design change process, provide human factors training and support to engineering staff, establish processes to ensure coordination between the various groups with a vested interest in human factors, and develop more rigorous methods to validate changes to maintenance, field operations and testing interfaces. (author)

  1. Human factors review of nuclear power plant control room design. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seminara, J.L.; Gonzalez, W.R.; Parsons, S.O.

    1976-11-01

    The human factors aspects of five representative nuclear power plant control rooms were evaluated using such methods as a checklist guided observation system, structured interviews with operators and trainers, direct observations of operator behavior, task analyses and procedure evaluation, and historical error analyses. The human factors aspects of design practices are illustrated, and many improvements in current practices are suggested. The study recommends that a detailed set of applicable human factors standards be developed to stimulate a uniform and systematic concern for human factors in design considerations

  2. Linking human capital and enterprise sustainability in Indonesian medium-sized food manufacturing enterprises: the role of informal knowledge sharing practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunardi, O.

    2017-12-01

    Medium-sized food manufacturing enterprises in Indonesia are significant in a number of contexts, in terms of their part to the national production (GDP) and their establishment to the employment. In term of their role to national production, manufacturing sector contributes the highest GDP by 85%. In this sector, food manufacturing subsector contributes the highest GDP. Nevertheless, they faced the same common problems: quality of human capital and sustainability issues. Previous government supplementary programs have been established to expand the human capital capability amongst medium enterprises. Adequate amount of fund has been apportioned to develop human capital, though, the medium enterprises sustainability is still in question. This study proposes and examines the human capital role from informal knowledge sharing perspective. By conducting qualitative approach through interviews to four informants in Indonesian medium-sized food manufacturing enterprises, a set of hypotheses is derived from this study for future quantitative study. This study indicates that human capital traits (diverse education background, employee skills, and employee experience) could leverage the practice of informal knowledge sharing. Constructs such as mutual trust and reciprocal intention could play as mediating variables, and cultural interpretation perspective could act as moderating factor to informal knowledge sharing effectiveness. In final, informal knowledge sharing is indicated to play as moderating variable for human capital policy and practice to support enterprise sustainability.

  3. Applying Human Factors Evaluation and Design Guidance to a Nuclear Power Plant Digital Control System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Thomas Ulrich; Ronald Boring; William Phoenix; Emily Dehority; Tim Whiting; Jonathan Morrell; Rhett Backstrom

    2012-08-01

    The United States (U.S.) nuclear industry, like similar process control industries, has moved toward upgrading its control rooms. The upgraded control rooms typically feature digital control system (DCS) displays embedded in the panels. These displays gather information from the system and represent that information on a single display surface. In this manner, the DCS combines many previously separate analog indicators and controls into a single digital display, whereby the operators can toggle between multiple windows to monitor and control different aspects of the plant. The design of the DCS depends on the function of the system it monitors, but revolves around presenting the information most germane to an operator at any point in time. DCSs require a carefully designed human system interface. This report centers on redesigning existing DCS displays for an example chemical volume control system (CVCS) at a U.S. nuclear power plant. The crucial nature of the CVCS, which controls coolant levels and boration in the primary system, requires a thorough human factors evaluation of its supporting DCS. The initial digital controls being developed for the DCSs tend to directly mimic the former analog controls. There are, however, unique operator interactions with a digital vs. analog interface, and the differences have not always been carefully factored in the translation of an analog interface to a replacement DCS. To ensure safety, efficiency, and usability of the emerging DCSs, a human factors usability evaluation was conducted on a CVCS DCS currently being used and refined at an existing U.S. nuclear power plant. Subject matter experts from process control engineering, software development, and human factors evaluated the DCS displays to document potential usability issues and propose design recommendations. The evaluation yielded 167 potential usability issues with the DCS. These issues should not be considered operator performance problems but rather opportunities

  4. Activated human neutrophils release hepatocyte growth factor/scatter factor.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    McCourt, M

    2012-02-03

    BACKGROUND: Hepatocyte growth factor or scatter factor (HGF\\/SF) is a pleiotropic cytokine that has potent angiogenic properties. We have previously demonstrated that neutrophils (PMN) are directly angiogenic by releasing vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We hypothesized that the acute inflammatory response can stimulate PMN to release HGF. AIMS: To examine the effects of inflammatory mediators on PMN HGF release and the effect of recombinant human HGF (rhHGF) on PMN adhesion receptor expression and PMN VEGF release. METHODS: In the first experiment, PMN were isolated from healthy volunteers and stimulated with tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and formyl methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP). Culture supernatants were assayed for HGF using ELISA. In the second experiment, PMN were lysed to measure total HGF release and HGF expression in the PMN was detected by Western immunoblotting. Finally, PMN were stimulated with rhHGF. PMN CD 11a, CD 11b, and CD 18 receptor expression and VEGF release was measured using flow cytometry and ELISA respectively. RESULTS: TNF-alpha, LPS and fMLP stimulation resulted in significantly increased release of PMN HGF (755+\\/-216, 484+\\/-221 and 565+\\/-278 pg\\/ml, respectively) compared to controls (118+\\/-42 pg\\/ml). IL-8 had no effect. Total HGF release following cell lysis and Western blot suggests that HGF is released from intracellular stores. Recombinant human HGF did not alter PMN adhesion receptor expression and had no effect on PMN VEGF release. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that pro-inflammatory mediators can stimulate HGF release from a PMN intracellular store and that activated PMN in addition to secreting VEGF have further angiogenic potential by releasing HGF.

  5. Human Factors and Their Effects on Human-Centred Assembly Systems - A Literature Review-Based Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Q.; Abubakar, M. I.

    2017-09-01

    If a product has more than one component, then it must be assembled. Assembly of products relies on assembly systems or lines in which assembly of each product is often carried out manually by human workers following assembly sequences in various forms. It is widely understood that efficiency of assembling a product by reducing assembly times (therefore costs) is vital particularly for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies to survive in an increasingly competitive market. Ideally, it is helpful for pre-determining efficiency or productivity of a human-centred assembly system at the early design stage. To date, most research on performance of an assembly system using modelling simulation methods is focused on its “operational functions”. The term used in a narrow sense always indicates the performance of the “operational system”, which does not incorporate the effect of human factors that may also affect the system performance. This paper presents a research outcome of findings through a literature review-based study by identifying possible human factors that mostly affect the performance on human-centred manufacturing systems as part of the research project incorporating parameters of human factors into a DES (discrete event simulation) tool.

  6. Human factors at the Department of Energy National Laboratories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pond, D.J.; Waters, R.M.

    1991-01-01

    After World War II, a system of national laboratories was created to foster a suitable environment for scientific research. This paper reports that today, human factors activities are in evidence at most of the nine U.S. Department of Energy multi-program national laboratories as well as at a number of special program facilities. This paper provides historical and future perspectives on the DOE's human factors programs

  7. Human capital – investing in man (intangible development factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tadeusz Ziejewski

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The main issue considered in the paper is a man, and his place and role in the work environment in the knowledge driven development. The author emphasises the significance of the human factor and analyses related terms against the background of the contemporary social economics. The human capital as a development factor is a modern strategy for achieving competitive advantages on the market.

  8. Factors associated with mobile health information seeking among Singaporean women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Leanne; Chiuan Yen, Ching; Xue, Lishan; Choo Tai, Bee; Chuan Chan, Hock; Been-Lirn Duh, Henry; Choolani, Mahesh

    2017-01-01

    This study examined effects of age and social psychological factors on women's willingness to be mobile health information seekers. A national survey of 1,878 Singaporean women was conducted to obtain information on women's mobile phone usage, experiences of health information seeking, and appraisals of using mobile phones to seek health information. Results showed that young, middle-aged, and older women exhibited distinct mobile phone usage behaviors, health information-seeking patterns, and assessments of mobile health information seeking. Factors that accounted for their mobile information-seeking intention also varied. Data reported in this study provide insights into mobile health interventions in the future.

  9. HUMAN POTENTIAL AS A STRATEGIC FACTOR OF REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.M. Korobeynikov

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The article gives an insight of human potential as the strategic factor of regional development. The matter of human potential and its role in regional reproducing process is considered; regional intellectual potential as an integral part of human potential is analysed. The author outlines major directions of active social policy, aimed to develop regional human potential.

  10. Human Factors Engineering Aspects of Modifications in Control Room Modernization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hugo, Jacques [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Clefton, Gordon [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Joe, Jeffrey [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2017-06-01

    This report describes the basic aspects of control room modernization projects in the U.S. nuclear industry and the need for supplementary guidance on the integration of human factors considerations into the licensing and regulatory aspects of digital upgrades. The report pays specific attention to the integration of principles described in NUREG-0711 (Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model) and how supplementary guidance can help to raise general awareness in the industry regarding the complexities of control room modernization projects created by many interdependent regulations, standards and guidelines. The report also describes how human factors engineering principles and methods provided by various resources and international standards can help in navigating through the process of licensing digital upgrades. In particular, the integration of human factors engineering guidance and requirements into the process of licensing digital upgrades can help reduce uncertainty related to development of technical bases for digital upgrades that will avoid the introduction of new failure modes.

  11. How do supply-side factors influence informal payments for healthcare? The case of HIV patients in Cameroon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kankeu, Hyacinthe Tchewonpi; Boyer, Sylvie; Fodjo Toukam, Raoul; Abu-Zaineh, Mohammad

    2016-01-01

    Direct out-of-pocket payments for healthcare continue to be a major source of health financing in low-income and middle-income countries. Some of these direct payments take the form of informal charges paid by patients to access the needed healthcare services. Remarkably, however, little is known about the extent to which these payments are exercised and their determinants in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa. This study attempts therefore to shed light on the role of supply-side factors in the occurrence of informal payments while accounting for the demand-side factors. The study relies on data taken from a nationally representative survey conducted among people living with HIV/AIDS in Cameroon. A multilevel mixed-effect logistic model is employed to identify the factors associated with the incidence of informal payments. Results reveal that circa 3.05% of the surveyed patients incurred informal payments for the consultations made on the day of the survey. The amount paid informally represents up to four times the official tariff. Factors related to the following: (i) human resource management of the health facilities (e.g., task shifting); (ii) health professionals' perceptions vis-à-vis the remunerations of HIV care provision; and (iii) reception of patients (e.g., waiting time) significantly influence the probability of incurring informal payments. Also of note, the type of healthcare facilities is found to play a role: informal payments appear to be significantly lower in private non-profit facilities compared with those belonging to public sector. Our findings allude to some policy recommendations that can help reduce the incidence of informal payments. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Human Factors in Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barshi, Immanuel; Byrne, Vicky; Arsintescu, Lucia; Connell, Erin

    2010-01-01

    Future space missions will be significantly longer than current shuttle missions and new systems will be more complex than current systems. Increasing communication delays between crews and Earth-based support means that astronauts need to be prepared to handle the unexpected on their own. As crews become more autonomous, their potential span of control and required expertise must grow to match their autonomy. It is not possible to train for every eventuality ahead of time on the ground, or to maintain trained skills across long intervals of disuse. To adequately prepare NASA personnel for these challenges, new training approaches, methodologies, and tools are required. This research project aims at developing these training capabilities. By researching established training principles, examining future needs, and by using current practices in space flight training as test beds, both in Flight Controller and Crew Medical domains, this research project is mitigating program risks and generating templates and requirements to meet future training needs. Training efforts in Fiscal Year 09 (FY09) strongly focused on crew medical training, but also began exploring how Space Flight Resource Management training for Mission Operations Directorate (MOD) Flight Controllers could be integrated with systems training for optimal Mission Control Center (MCC) operations. The Training Task addresses Program risks that lie at the intersection of the following three risks identified by the Project: 1) Risk associated with poor task design; 2) Risk of error due to inadequate information; and 3) Risk associated with reduced safety and efficiency due to poor human factors design.

  13. Human-factor operating concept for Borssele Nuclear Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wieman, J.L.

    1995-01-01

    The safety level in the operation of a reactor is determined basically by human beings. The Borssele Nuclear Power Station has carried out measures for improving the man-machine interface through training and operating instructions for the shift personnel. The retrofitting of control technology relevant to safety engineering should avoid operating instructions which can cause potential failures. A safety study has shown that the remaining risk following all retrofitting measures remains dependent to the extent of 80% on human factors and that human factors as a whole have a positive effect on reactor safety. (orig.) [de

  14. Are We There Yet? Human Factors Knowledge and Health Information Technology - the Challenges of Implementation and Impact.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, P; Kushniruk, A; Nohr, C

    2017-08-01

    Objective: To review the developments in human factors (HF) research on the challenges of health information technology (HIT) implementation and impact given the continuing incidence of usability problems and unintended consequences from HIT development and use. Methods: A search of PubMed/Medline and Web of Science® identified HF research published in 2015 and 2016. Electronic health records (EHRs) and patient-centred HIT emerged as significant foci of recent HF research. The authors selected prominent papers highlighting ongoing HF and usability challenges in these areas. This selective rather than systematic review of recent HF research highlights these key challenges and reflects on their implications on the future impact of HF research on HIT. Results: Research provides evidence of continued poor design, implementation, and usability of HIT, as well as technology-induced errors and unintended consequences. The paper highlights support for: (i) strengthening the evidence base on the benefits of HF approaches; (ii) improving knowledge translation in the implementation of HF approaches during HIT design, implementation, and evaluation; (iii) increasing transparency, governance, and enforcement of HF best practices at all stages of the HIT system development life cycle. Discussion and Conclusion: HF and usability approaches are yet to become embedded as integral components of HIT development, implementation, and impact assessment. As HIT becomes ever-more pervasive including with patients as end-users, there is a need to expand our conceptualisation of the problems to be addressed and the suite of tactics and strategies to be used to calibrate our pro-active involvement in its improvement. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart.

  15. Human factors issues in fuel handling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beattie, J D; Iwasa-Madge, K M; Tucker, D A [Humansystems Inc., Milton, ON (Canada)

    1994-12-31

    The staff of the Atomic Energy Control Board wish to further their understanding of human factors issues of potential concern associated with fuel handling in CANDU nuclear power stations. This study contributes to that objective by analysing the role of human performance in the overall fuel handling process at Ontario Hydro`s Darlington Nuclear Generating Station, and reporting findings in several areas. A number of issues are identified in the areas of design, operating and maintenance practices, and the organizational and management environment. 1 fig., 4 tabs., 19 refs.

  16. Accounting for human factor in QC and QA inspections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goodman, J.

    1986-01-01

    Two types of human error during QC/QA inspection have been identified. The method of accounting for the effects of human error in QC/QA inspections was developed. The result of evaluation of the proportion of discrepant items in the population is affected significantly by human factor

  17. Human corpus luteum: presence of epidermal growth factor receptors and binding characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayyagari, R.R.; Khan-Dawood, F.S.

    1987-01-01

    Epidermal growth factor receptors are present in many reproductive tissues but have not been demonstrated in the human corpus luteum. To determine the presence of epidermal growth factor receptors and its binding characteristics, we carried out studies on the plasma cell membrane fraction of seven human corpora lutea (days 16 to 25) of the menstrual cycle. Specific epidermal growth factor receptors were present in human corpus luteum. Insulin, nerve growth factor, and human chorionic gonadotropin did not competitively displace epidermal growth factor binding. The optimal conditions for corpus luteum-epidermal growth factor receptor binding were found to be incubation for 2 hours at 4 degrees C with 500 micrograms plasma membrane protein and 140 femtomol 125 I-epidermal growth factor per incubate. The number (mean +/- SEM) of epidermal growth factor binding sites was 12.34 +/- 2.99 X 10(-19) mol/micrograms protein; the dissociation constant was 2.26 +/- 0.56 X 10(-9) mol/L; the association constant was 0.59 +/- 0.12 X 10(9) L/mol. In two regressing corpora lutea obtained on days 2 and 3 of the menstrual cycle, there was no detectable specific epidermal growth factor receptor binding activity. Similarly no epidermal growth factor receptor binding activity could be detected in ovarian stromal tissue. Our findings demonstrate that specific receptors for epidermal growth factor are present in the human corpus luteum. The physiologic significance of epidermal growth factor receptors in human corpus luteum is unknown, but epidermal growth factor may be involved in intragonadal regulation of luteal function

  18. Human factors in waste management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moray, N.

    1994-01-01

    This article examines the role of human factors in radioactive waste management. Although few problems and ergonomics are special to radioactive waste management, some problems are unique especially with long term storage. The entire sociotechnical system must be looked at in order to see where improvement can take place because operator errors, as seen in Chernobyl and Bhopal, are ultimately the result of management errors

  19. An experimental approach to estimation of human information processing capacity for diagnosis tasks in NPPs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Ji Tae

    2006-02-15

    The objectives of this research are 1) to determine the human's information processing capacity and 2) to describe the relationship between the information processing capacity and human factors. This research centers on the relationship, as experimentally determined, between an operator's mental workload and information flow during accident diagnosis tasks at nuclear power plants (NPPs). The relationship between the information flow rate and operator's mental workload is investigated experimentally. According to this relationship, the operator's information processing capacity can be established. Once the information processing capacity of a main control room (MCR) operator in a NPP is known, it is possible to apply it 1) to predict the operator's performance, 2) to design diagnosis tasks, and 3) to design human-machine interface. In advanced MCR, an operator's mental activity is more important than his or her physical activity. The mental workload is the portion of the operator's limited capacity that is actually required to perform a particular task. A high mental workload may cause an operator to make a mistake and consequently affect that the safe operation of NPPs. Thus, to predict an operator's performance is very important for the nuclear safety. The information processing capacity is the operator's ability to manage the amount of bits per second when an operator is diagnosing tasks or accidents. We can estimate the information processing capacity using the relationship between the information flow rate and human performance. That is, if the operator's performance decreases rapidly as the information flow rate (bit/sec) is increased, it is possible to determine the operator's information processing capacity. A diagnosis task is one of the most complex and mentally demanding tasks as well as a crucial part in maintaining the safe operation of NPPs. Diagnosis tasks refer to the overall tasks of finding the

  20. An experimental approach to estimation of human information processing capacity for diagnosis tasks in NPPs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Ji Tae

    2006-02-01

    The objectives of this research are 1) to determine the human's information processing capacity and 2) to describe the relationship between the information processing capacity and human factors. This research centers on the relationship, as experimentally determined, between an operator's mental workload and information flow during accident diagnosis tasks at nuclear power plants (NPPs). The relationship between the information flow rate and operator's mental workload is investigated experimentally. According to this relationship, the operator's information processing capacity can be established. Once the information processing capacity of a main control room (MCR) operator in a NPP is known, it is possible to apply it 1) to predict the operator's performance, 2) to design diagnosis tasks, and 3) to design human-machine interface. In advanced MCR, an operator's mental activity is more important than his or her physical activity. The mental workload is the portion of the operator's limited capacity that is actually required to perform a particular task. A high mental workload may cause an operator to make a mistake and consequently affect that the safe operation of NPPs. Thus, to predict an operator's performance is very important for the nuclear safety. The information processing capacity is the operator's ability to manage the amount of bits per second when an operator is diagnosing tasks or accidents. We can estimate the information processing capacity using the relationship between the information flow rate and human performance. That is, if the operator's performance decreases rapidly as the information flow rate (bit/sec) is increased, it is possible to determine the operator's information processing capacity. A diagnosis task is one of the most complex and mentally demanding tasks as well as a crucial part in maintaining the safe operation of NPPs. Diagnosis tasks refer to the overall tasks of finding the root of cause of the faults or accidents. In this

  1. Stimulating Informal Learning Activities Through Perceptions of Performance Appraisal Quality and Human Resource Management System Strength: A Two-Wave Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bednall, T.; Sanders, K.; Runhaar, P.R.

    2014-01-01

    Employees' participation in informal learning activities benefits their workplace performance, and ultimately their long-term career development. While research has identified several individual- and organizational-level factors that promote participation, to date, the role of human resource

  2. Turning men into machines? Scientific management, industrial psychology, and the "human factor".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Derksen, Maarten

    2014-01-01

    In the controversy that broke out in 1911 over Frederick W. Taylor's scientific management, many critics contended that it ignored "the human factor" and reduced workers to machines. Psychologists succeeded in positioning themselves as experts of the human factor, and their instruments and expertise as the necessary complement of Taylor's psychologically deficient system. However, the conventional view that the increasing influence of psychologists and other social scientists "humanized" management theory and practice needs to be amended. Taylor's scientific management was not less human than later approaches such as Human Relations, but it articulated the human factor differently, and aligned it to its own instruments and practices in such a way that it was at once external to them and essential to their functioning. Industrial psychologists, on the other hand, at first presented themselves as engineers of the human factor and made the human mind an integral part of management. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Modelling human factor with Petri nets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bedreaga, Luminita; Constantinescu, Cristina; Guzun, Basarab

    2007-01-01

    The human contribution to risk and safety of nuclear power plant operation can be best understood, assessed and quantified using tools to evaluate human reliability. Human reliability analysis becomes an important part of every probabilistic safety assessment and it is used to demonstrate that nuclear power plants designed with different safety levels are prepared to cope with severe accidents. Human reliability analysis in context of probabilistic safety assessment consists in: identifying human-system interactions important to safety; quantifying probabilities appropriate with these interactions. Nowadays, the complex system functions can be modelled using special techniques centred either on states space adequate to system or on events appropriate to the system. Knowing that complex system model consists in evaluating the likelihood of success, in other words, in evaluating the possible value for that system being in some state, the inductive methods which are based on the system states can be applied also for human reliability modelling. Thus, switching to the system states taking into account the human interactions, the underlying basis of the Petri nets can be successfully applied and the likelihoods appropriate to these states can also derived. The paper presents the manner to assess the human reliability quantification using Petri nets approach. The example processed in the paper is from human reliability documentation without a detailed human factor analysis (qualitative). The obtained results by these two kinds of methods are in good agreement. (authors)

  4. Human factors and safety in emergency medicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schaefer, H. G.; Helmreich, R. L.; Scheidegger, D.

    1994-01-01

    A model based on an input process and outcome conceptualisation is suggested to address safety-relevant factors in emergency medicine. As shown in other dynamic and demanding environments, human factors play a decisive role in attaining high quality service. Attitudes held by health-care providers, organisational shells and work-cultural parameters determine communication, conflict resolution and workload distribution within and between teams. These factors should be taken into account to improve outcomes such as operational integrity, job satisfaction and morale.

  5. Analysis Testing of Sociocultural Factors Influence on Human Reliability within Sociotechnical Systems: The Algerian Oil Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdelbaki Laidoune

    2016-09-01

    Conclusion: The explored sociocultural factors influence the human reliability both in qualitative and quantitative manners. The proposed model shows how reliability can be enhanced by some measures such as experience feedback based on, for example, safety improvements, training, and information. With that is added the continuous systems improvements to improve sociocultural reality and to reduce negative behaviors.

  6. The Seven Deadly Tensions of Health-Related Human Information Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. David Johnson

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Tensions are a ubiquitous feature of social life and are manifested in a number of particular forms: contradictory logics, competing demands, clashes of ideas, contradictions, dialectics, irony, paradoxes, and/or dilemmas. This essay aims to explore in detail tensions surrounding seven common findings of the information seeking literature relating to: interpersonal communication, accessibility, level of skill, individual preferences, psychological limits, inertia, and costs. Our incomplete understanding of these tensions can lead us to suggest resolutions that do not recognize their underlying dualities. Human information behavior stands at the intersection of many important theoretical and policy issues (e.g., personalized medicine. Policy makers need to be more attuned to these basic tensions of information seeking recognizing the real human limits they represent to informing the public. So, even if you build a great information system, people will not necessarily use it because of the force of these underlying tensions. While rationality rules systems, irrationality rules people. The proliferation of navigator roles over the last several years is actually a hopeful sign: recognition that people need a human interface to inform them about our ever more complex health care systems.

  7. Critical survey of research on human factors and the man-machine interaction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, L.A.

    1984-01-01

    A case is developed for placing a high priority on research into human factors in the nuclear power industry. This is based essentially on the fact that human error is a significant factor in plant reliability and the assurance of safety. Control of human error can therefore produce benefits in the reduction of both operational costs and public risk. Descriptions are given of activities initiated by the Commission of the European Communities in conjunction with institutes within the Member States. These include: a comprehensive survey and analysis of current relevant work; considerations of classification schemes for human factors activities; the use of simulators for human factors research; and a proposed European collaborative research programme. (author)

  8. Unveiling the mystery of visual information processing in human brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diamant, Emanuel

    2008-08-15

    It is generally accepted that human vision is an extremely powerful information processing system that facilitates our interaction with the surrounding world. However, despite extended and extensive research efforts, which encompass many exploration fields, the underlying fundamentals and operational principles of visual information processing in human brain remain unknown. We still are unable to figure out where and how along the path from eyes to the cortex the sensory input perceived by the retina is converted into a meaningful object representation, which can be consciously manipulated by the brain. Studying the vast literature considering the various aspects of brain information processing, I was surprised to learn that the respected scholarly discussion is totally indifferent to the basic keynote question: "What is information?" in general or "What is visual information?" in particular. In the old days, it was assumed that any scientific research approach has first to define its basic departure points. Why was it overlooked in brain information processing research remains a conundrum. In this paper, I am trying to find a remedy for this bizarre situation. I propose an uncommon definition of "information", which can be derived from Kolmogorov's Complexity Theory and Chaitin's notion of Algorithmic Information. Embracing this new definition leads to an inevitable revision of traditional dogmas that shape the state of the art of brain information processing research. I hope this revision would better serve the challenging goal of human visual information processing modeling.

  9. Human factors assessment in PRA using task analysis linked evaluation technique (TALENT)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wells, J.E.; Banks, W.W.

    1990-01-01

    Human error is a primary contributor to risk in complex high-reliability systems. A 1985 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) study of licensee event reports (LERs) suggests that upwards of 65% of commercial nuclear system failures involve human error. Since then, the USNRC has initiated research to fully and properly integrate human errors into the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) process. The resulting implementation procedure is known as the Task Analysis Linked Evaluation Technique (TALENT). As indicated, TALENT is a broad-based method for integrating human factors expertise into the PRA process. This process achieves results which: (1) provide more realistic estimates of the impact of human performance on nuclear power safety, (2) can be fully audited, (3) provide a firm technical base for equipment-centered and personnel-centered retrofit/redesign of plants enabling them to meet internally and externally imposed safety standards, and (4) yield human and hardware data capable of supporting inquiries into human performance issues that transcend the individual plant. The TALENT procedure is being field-tested to verify its effectiveness and utility. The objectives of the field-test are to examine (1) the operability of the process, (2) its acceptability to the users, and (3) its usefulness for achieving measurable improvements in the credibility of the analysis. The field-test will provide the information needed to enhance the TALENT process

  10. Analysis Testing of Sociocultural Factors Influence on Human Reliability within Sociotechnical Systems: The Algerian Oil Companies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laidoune, Abdelbaki; Rahal Gharbi, Med El Hadi

    2016-09-01

    The influence of sociocultural factors on human reliability within an open sociotechnical systems is highlighted. The design of such systems is enhanced by experience feedback. The study was focused on a survey related to the observation of working cases, and by processing of incident/accident statistics and semistructured interviews in the qualitative part. In order to consolidate the study approach, we considered a schedule for the purpose of standard statistical measurements. We tried to be unbiased by supporting an exhaustive list of all worker categories including age, sex, educational level, prescribed task, accountability level, etc. The survey was reinforced by a schedule distributed to 300 workers belonging to two oil companies. This schedule comprises 30 items related to six main factors that influence human reliability. Qualitative observations and schedule data processing had shown that the sociocultural factors can negatively and positively influence operator behaviors. The explored sociocultural factors influence the human reliability both in qualitative and quantitative manners. The proposed model shows how reliability can be enhanced by some measures such as experience feedback based on, for example, safety improvements, training, and information. With that is added the continuous systems improvements to improve sociocultural reality and to reduce negative behaviors.

  11. Human Factors Engineering Guidelines for Overhead Cranes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandler, Faith; Delgado, H. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    This guideline provides standards for overhead crane cabs that can be applied to the design and modification of crane cabs to reduce the potential for human error due to design. This guideline serves as an aid during the development of a specification for purchases of cranes or for an engineering support request for crane design modification. It aids human factors engineers in evaluating existing cranes during accident investigations or safety reviews.

  12. Research on the NPP human factors engineering operating experience review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren Xiangchen; Miao Hongxing; Ning Zhonghe

    2006-01-01

    This paper addresses the importance of the human factors engineering (HFE) for the design of nuclear power plant (NPP), especially for the design of human-machine interface in the NPP. It also summarizes the scope and content of the NPP HFE. The function, scope, content and process of the NPP human factors engineering operating experience review (OER) are mainly focused on, and significantly discussed. Finally, it briefly introduces the situation of the studies on the OER in China. (authors)

  13. Human factors aspects of advanced instrumentation in the nuclear industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carter, R.J.

    1989-01-01

    An important consideration in regards to the use of advanced instrumentation in the nuclear industry is the interface between the instrumentation system and the human. A survey, oriented towards identifying the human factors aspects of digital instrumentation, was conducted at a number of United States (US) and Canadian nuclear vendors and utilities. Human factors issues, subsumed under the categories of computer-generated displays, controls, organizational support, training, and related topics were identified. 20 refs., 2 tabs

  14. Cytokines and Growth Factors Expressed by Human Cutaneous Melanoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elias, Elias G., E-mail: george.elias@medstar.net; Hasskamp, Joanne H.; Sharma, Bhuvnesh K. [Maryland Melanoma Center, Weinberg Cancer Institute, Franklin Square Hospital Center, Baltimore, MD (United States)

    2010-05-07

    Cytokines and growth factors have biologic effects that could stimulate tumor growth, invasion and angiogenesis. The incidence of 24 factors was investigated in 25 cultured human melanoma cell lines and in 62 fixed tissues at different stages of the disease. Over 80% of the human melanoma cell lines expressed TGF-β, IL-8, IL-6, VEGF, PDGF-AA and OPN. Significantly higher TGF-β, IGF-1 and IL-15 were determined in primary lesions compared to distant metastases by immunohistochemistry. Illustrating the complexity of the milieu of the tumor microenvironment, some of these factors may have to be considered in targeted therapy.

  15. Human factors and fuzzy set theory for safety analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishiwaki, Y.

    1987-01-01

    Human reliability and performance is affected by many factors: medical, physiological and psychological, etc. The uncertainty involved in human factors may not necessarily be probabilistic, but fuzzy. Therefore, it is important to develop a theory by which both the non-probabilistic uncertainties, or fuzziness, of human factors and the probabilistic properties of machines can be treated consistently. In reality, randomness and fuzziness are sometimes mixed. From the mathematical point of view, probabilistic measures may be considered a special case of fuzzy measures. Therefore, fuzzy set theory seems to be an effective tool for analysing man-machine systems. The concept 'failure possibility' based on fuzzy sets is suggested as an approach to safety analysis and fault diagnosis of a large complex system. Fuzzy measures and fuzzy integrals are introduced and their possible applications are also discussed. (author)

  16. First International Workshop on Human Factors in Modeling (HuFaMo 2015)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Störrle, Harald; Chaudron, Michel R. V.; Amaral, Vasco

    2015-01-01

    human factors in modeling. Our goal is to improve the state of the science and professionalism in empirical research in the Model Based Engineering community. Typical examples of research questions might consider the usability of a certain approach, such as a method or language, or the emotional states......Modeling is a human-intensive enterprise. As such, many research questions related to modeling can only be answered by empirical studies employing human factors. The International Workshop Series on Human Factors in Modeling (HuFaMo) is dedicated to the discussion of empirical research involving...... or personal judgements of modelers. While concerned with foundations and framework support for modeling, the community has been somehow neglecting the issue of human factors in this context. There is a growing need from the community concerned with quality factors to understand the best practices...

  17. 77 FR 3500 - VTECH Communications, Inc., Human Factors Department, Beaverton, OR; Amended Certification...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-24

    ... firm should read VTech Communications, Inc., Human Factors Department, Beaverton, Oregon. New... Communications, Inc., Human Factors Department, Beaverton, Oregon. The intent of the Department's certification... workers from VTech Communications, Inc., Human Factors Department, Beaverton, Oregon, who became totally...

  18. Characterization of a human antigen specific helper factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Richardson, B.

    1986-01-01

    While antigen (Ag) specific helper factors have been characterized in mice, similar molecules have not been identified in humans. To characterize human antigen specific helper molecules, an IL-2 dependent tetanus toxoid (T.T.) reactive T cell line was fused with a 6-thioguanine resistant CEM line, and hybrids selected in medium containing hypoxanthine and azaserine. Hybrids were screened by culturing the cells with 35 S-Met then reacting the supernatants with T.T. or hepatitis vaccine immobilized on nitrocellulose. One hybrid, TT6BA-O, was identified which secreted a Met-containing molecule which bound T.T. but not hepatitis vaccine. Supernatants from TT6BA-O, but not the parent CEM line, when added to autologous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC's) stimulated secretion of T.T. specific antibodies (Abs). Specificity controls demonstrated that TT6BA-O supernatant did not induce antibodies to diphtheria toxoid, hepatitis vaccine or pneumococcal polysaccharide, and total immunoglobulin (lg) synthesis was minimally increased. In contrast, pokeweed mitogen stimulated significant lg synthesis as well as Ab's to pneumococcal polysaccharide and T.T. TT6BA-O supernatant induced anti-T.T.Ab's in autologous PBMC's but not PBMC's from 3 unrelated donors, suggesting that the activity of the helper factor is restricted, possibly by the MHC. The molecular weight of the helper factor was estimated at 100,000-150,000 by Sephacryl S-300 chromatography. Finally, the helper factor could be demonstrated to bind and elute from sephorose-immobilized T.T. and anti-DR antisera, but not anti-lg antisera or the T40/25 monoclonal antibody, which binds a nonpolymorphic determinant on the human T cell receptor. These results demonstrate that human Ag specific helper factors exist, bind antigen and bear class II MHC determinants

  19. Monoclonal anti-human factor VII antibodies. Detection in plasma of a second protein antigenically and genetically related to factor VII.

    OpenAIRE

    Broze, G J; Hickman, S; Miletich, J P

    1985-01-01

    Several murine monoclonal anti-human Factor VII antibodies were produced using hybridoma technology. Two noncompetitive monoclonal antibodies were used to examine by Western blotting the Factor VII cross-reactive material (CRM) in normal human plasma and three commercially available congenitally Factor VII-deficient plasmas, and to construct a facile "sandwich" immunoassay for plasma Factor VII. A second, previously undescribed, form of Factor VII CRM was detected in human plasma, which on We...

  20. Identification of the human factors contributing to maintenance failures in a petroleum operation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonovsky, Ari; Pollock, Clare; Straker, Leon

    2014-03-01

    This research aimed to identify the most frequently occurring human factors contributing to maintenance-related failures within a petroleum industry organization. Commonality between failures will assist in understanding reliability in maintenance processes, thereby preventing accidents in high-hazard domains. Methods exist for understanding the human factors contributing to accidents. Their application in a maintenance context mainly has been advanced in aviation and nuclear power. Maintenance in the petroleum industry provides a different context for investigating the role that human factors play in influencing outcomes. It is therefore worth investigating the contributing human factors to improve our understanding of both human factors in reliability and the factors specific to this domain. Detailed analyses were conducted of maintenance-related failures (N = 38) in a petroleum company using structured interviews with maintenance technicians. The interview structure was based on the Human Factor Investigation Tool (HFIT), which in turn was based on Rasmussen's model of human malfunction. A mean of 9.5 factors per incident was identified across the cases investigated.The three most frequent human factors contributing to the maintenance failures were found to be assumption (79% of cases), design and maintenance (71%), and communication (66%). HFIT proved to be a useful instrument for identifying the pattern of human factors that recurred most frequently in maintenance-related failures. The high frequency of failures attributed to assumptions and communication demonstrated the importance of problem-solving abilities and organizational communication in a domain where maintenance personnel have a high degree of autonomy and a wide geographical distribution.

  1. Factors Influencing Information and Communication Technology ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Information and communication technology (ICT) is a veritable tool for sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria. This paper analyzed the factors that influenced ICT use by women research scientists in the Universities of Agriculture in Nigeria. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 40 respondents per ...

  2. Activation of human factor V by factor Xa and thrombin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Monkovic, D.D.; Tracy, P.B.

    1990-01-01

    The activation of human factor V by factor Xa and thrombin was studied by functional assessment of cofactor activity and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polycarylamide gel electrophoresis followed by either autoradiography of 125 I-labeled factor V activation products or Western blot analyses of unlabeled factor V activation products. Cofactor activity was measured by the ability of the factor V/Va peptides to support the activation of prothrombin. The factor Xa catalyzed cleavage of factor V was observed to be time, phospholipid, and calcium ion dependent, yielding a cofactor with activity equal to that of thrombin-activated factor V (factor Va). The cleavage pattern differed markedly from the one observed in the bovine system. The factor Xa activated factor V subunits expressing cofactor activity were isolated and found to consist of peptides of M r 220,000 and 105,000. Although thrombin cleaved the M r 220,000 peptide to yield peptides previously shown to be products of thrombin activation, cofactor activity did not increase. N-Terminal sequence analysis confirmed that both factor Xa and thrombin cleave factor V at the same bond to generate the M r 220,000 peptide. The factor Xa dependent functional assessment of 125 I-labeled factor V coupled with densitometric analyses of the cleavage products indicated that the cofactor activity of factor Xa activated factor V closely paralleled the appearance of the M r 220,000 peptide. The data indicate that factor Xa is as efficient an enzyme toward factor V as thrombin

  3. The New HIT: Human Health Information Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Tiffany I; Goldstein, Mary K; Musen, Mark A; Cronkite, Ruth; Chen, Jonathan H; Gottlieb, Assaf; Leitersdorf, Eran

    2017-01-01

    Humanism in medicine is defined as health care providers' attitudes and actions that demonstrate respect for patients' values and concerns in relation to their social, psychological and spiritual life domains. Specifically, humanistic clinical medicine involves showing respect for the patient, building a personal connection, and eliciting and addressing a patient's emotional response to illness. Health information technology (IT) often interferes with humanistic clinical practice, potentially disabling these core aspects of the therapeutic patient-physician relationship. Health IT has evolved rapidly in recent years - and the imperative to maintain humanism in practice has never been greater. In this vision paper, we aim to discuss why preserving humanism is imperative in the design and implementation of health IT systems.

  4. Human factors reliability benchmark exercise: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Humphreys, P.

    1990-01-01

    The Human Factors Reliability Benchmark Exercise has addressed the issues of identification, analysis, representation and quantification of Human Error in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of available techniques. Using a German PWR nuclear powerplant as the basis for the studies, fifteen teams undertook evaluations of a routine functional Test and Maintenance procedure plus an analysis of human actions during an operational transient. The techniques employed by the teams are discussed and reviewed on a comparative basis. The qualitative assessments performed by each team compare well, but at the quantification stage there is much less agreement. (author)

  5. Human-automation collaboration in manufacturing: identifying key implementation factors

    OpenAIRE

    Charalambous, George; Fletcher, Sarah; Webb, Philip

    2013-01-01

    Human-automation collaboration refers to the concept of human operators and intelligent automation working together interactively within the same workspace without conventional physical separation. This concept has commanded significant attention in manufacturing because of the potential applications, such as the installation of large sub-assemblies. However, the key human factors relevant to human-automation collaboration have not yet been fully investigated. To maximise effective implement...

  6. Human factors estimation method in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takano, Kenichi; Yoshino, Kenji; Nagasaka, Akihiko

    1987-01-01

    It is need for improving a NPS reliability to prevent human-errors of operators in a control room. Especially, the time error or omission error may be often caused by a exceed of the mental work load. Therefore, in order to decrease such kinds of human errors, not only the planning of an equipment and a console is well considered about proper level of mental work load but also the exceeded mental work load must be let down by trainning etc. This paper present measurement techniques of the mental work load by physiological informations and the relation between the error rate and mental work load on the basis of the experiment by various modeled tasks. Following results are obtained. (1) TSF, the indicator of the mental work load, is well correlated to the subsidary task reaction time. Therefore it is able to estimate the TSF by subsidary tasks if the task was loaded instanteniously with main task. (2) The relation between the TSF and GSR pulses rate has a 0.81 correlation factor except the case of a parallel processing task. Because we can evaluate the mental work load by the measurement of the GSR pulses rate if the task was processed by a single channel. But if uses GSR, the atomospheric condition is kept constant and the arousal level must be at the well stage. (3) The human error is greatly increase when the TSF exceed above 60 %, that values are almost agreed to the tolerance limit of the TTS methods. (author)

  7. The human factor in operation and maintenance of complex high-reliability systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ryan, T.G.

    1989-01-01

    Human factors issues in probabilistic risk assessment (PRAs) of complex high-reliability systems are addressed. These PRAs influence system operation and technical support programs such as maintainability, test, and surveillance. Using the U.S. commercial nuclear power industry as the setting, the paper addresses the manner in which PRAs currently treat human performance, the state of quantification methods and source data for analyzing human performance, and the role of human factors specialist in the analysis. The paper concludes with a presentation of TALENT, an emerging concept for fully integrating broad-based human factors expertise into the PRA process, is presented. 47 refs

  8. Democratizing Human Genome Project Information: A Model Program for Education, Information and Debate in Public Libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollack, Miriam

    The "Mapping the Human Genome" project demonstrated that librarians can help whomever they serve in accessing information resources in the areas of biological and health information, whether it is the scientists who are developing the information or a member of the public who is using the information. Public libraries can guide library…

  9. Model-based identification and use of task complexity factors of human integrated systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ham, Dong-Han; Park, Jinkyun; Jung, Wondea

    2012-01-01

    Task complexity is one of the conceptual constructs that are critical to explain and predict human performance in human integrated systems. A basic approach to evaluating the complexity of tasks is to identify task complexity factors and measure them. Although a great deal of task complexity factors have been studied, there is still a lack of conceptual frameworks for identifying and organizing them analytically, which can be generally used irrespective of the types of domains and tasks. This study proposes a model-based approach to identifying and using task complexity factors, which has two facets—the design aspects of a task and complexity dimensions. Three levels of design abstraction, which are functional, behavioral, and structural aspects of a task, characterize the design aspect of a task. The behavioral aspect is further classified into five cognitive processing activity types. The complexity dimensions explain a task complexity from different perspectives, which are size, variety, and order/organization. Twenty-one task complexity factors are identified by the combination of the attributes of each facet. Identification and evaluation of task complexity factors based on this model is believed to give insights for improving the design quality of tasks. This model for complexity factors can also be used as a referential framework for allocating tasks and designing information aids. The proposed approach is applied to procedure-based tasks of nuclear power plants (NPPs) as a case study to demonstrate its use. Last, we compare the proposed approach with other studies and then suggest some future research directions.

  10. Diabetes technology and the human factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liberman, A; Buckingham, B; Phillip, M

    2011-02-01

    When developing new technologies for human use the developer should take into consideration not only the efficacy and safety of the technology but also the desire and capabilities of the potential user. Any chronic disease is a challenge for both the patient and his/her caregivers. This statement is especially true in the case of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) where adherence to therapy is crucial 24 hours a day 365 days a year. No vacation days are possible for the T1DM patient. It is therefore obvious why any new technology which is developed for helping patients cope with the disease should take into consideration the 'human factor' before, during and after the production process starts. There is no doubt that technology has changed the life of patients with T1DM in the last few decades, but despite the availability of new meters, new syringes, new sophisticated insulin pumps and continuous glucose sensors and communication tools, these technologies have not been well utilised by many patients. It is therefore important to understand why the technology is not always utilised and to find new ways to maximise use and benefits from the technology to as many patients as possible. The present chapter will review papers published in the last year where the patient's ability or willingness was an important factor in the success of the technology. We will try to understand why insulin pumps, glucose sensors and self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) are not used enough or appropriately, whether there is a specific group that finds it more difficult than others to adopt new technologies and what can be done to overcome that issue. For this chapter we chose articles from a Public Medicine review of the literature related to human factors affecting the outcome of studies and of user acceptance of continuous glucose monitoring, insulin infusion pump therapy. We also searched the literature in the field of psychology in order to accurately define the problems

  11. Human factors in healthcare level two

    CERN Document Server

    Rosenorn-Lanng, Debbie

    2015-01-01

    This book builds on Human Factors in Healthcare Level One by delving deeper into the challenges of leadership, conflict resolution, and decision making that healthcare professionals currently face. It is written in an easy to understand style and includes a wealth of real-life examples of errors and patient safety issues.

  12. Human factors reliability benchmark exercise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poucet, A.

    1989-08-01

    The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission has organised a Human Factors Reliability Benchmark Exercise (HF-RBE) with the aim of assessing the state of the art in human reliability modelling and assessment. Fifteen teams from eleven countries, representing industry, utilities, licensing organisations and research institutes, participated in the HF-RBE. The HF-RBE was organised around two study cases: (1) analysis of routine functional Test and Maintenance (TPM) procedures: with the aim of assessing the probability of test induced failures, the probability of failures to remain unrevealed and the potential to initiate transients because of errors performed in the test; (2) analysis of human actions during an operational transient: with the aim of assessing the probability that the operators will correctly diagnose the malfunctions and take proper corrective action. This report summarises the contributions received from the participants and analyses these contributions on a comparative basis. The aim of this analysis was to compare the procedures, modelling techniques and quantification methods used, to obtain insight in the causes and magnitude of the variability observed in the results, to try to identify preferred human reliability assessment approaches and to get an understanding of the current state of the art in the field identifying the limitations that are still inherent to the different approaches

  13. A system engineer's Perspective on Human Errors For a more Effective Management of Human Factors in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Yong-Hee; Jang, Tong-Il; Lee, Soo-Kil

    2007-01-01

    The management of human factors in nuclear power plants (NPPs) has become one of the burden factors during their operating period after the design and construction period. Almost every study on the major accidents emphasizes the prominent importance of the human errors. Regardless of the regulatory requirements such as Periodic Safety Review, the management of human factors would be a main issue to reduce the human errors and to enhance the performance of plants. However, it is not easy to find out a more effective perspective on human errors to establish the engineering implementation plan for preventing them. This paper describes a system engineer's perspectives on human errors and discusses its application to the recent study on the human error events in Korean NPPs

  14. Socializing the human factors analysis and classification system: incorporating social psychological phenomena into a human factors error classification system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paletz, Susannah B F; Bearman, Christopher; Orasanu, Judith; Holbrook, Jon

    2009-08-01

    The presence of social psychological pressures on pilot decision making was assessed using qualitative analyses of critical incident interviews. Social psychological phenomena have long been known to influence attitudes and behavior but have not been highlighted in accident investigation models. Using a critical incident method, 28 pilots who flew in Alaska were interviewed. The participants were asked to describe a situation involving weather when they were pilot in command and found their skills challenged. They were asked to describe the incident in detail but were not explicitly asked to identify social pressures. Pressures were extracted from transcripts in a bottom-up manner and then clustered into themes. Of the 28 pilots, 16 described social psychological pressures on their decision making, specifically, informational social influence, the foot-in-the-door persuasion technique, normalization of deviance, and impression management and self-consistency motives. We believe accident and incident investigations can benefit from explicit inclusion of common social psychological pressures. We recommend specific ways of incorporating these pressures into theHuman Factors Analysis and Classification System.

  15. Cytokines and Growth Factors Expressed by Human Cutaneous Melanoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elias G. Elias

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Cytokines and growth factors have biologic effects that could stimulate tumor growth, invasion and angiogenesis. The incidence of 24 factors was investigated in 25 cultured human melanoma cell lines and in 62 fixed tissues at different stages of the disease. Over 80% of the human melanoma cell lines expressed TGF-β, IL-8, IL-6, VEGF, PDGF-AA and OPN. Significantly higher TGF-β, IGF-1 and IL-15 were determined in primary lesions compared to distant metastases by immunohistochemistry. Illustrating the complexity of the milieu of the tumor microenvironment, some of these factors may have to be considered in targeted therapy.

  16. Effect of Organizational Factors on Information Security Implementations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez, Rafael G.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this quantitative inferential study is to determine the level of correlation between the organizational factors of information security awareness, balanced security processes, and organizational structure with the size of the estimation gap of information security implementations mediated by the end user intentionality. The study…

  17. Human children rely more on social information than chimpanzees do.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Leeuwen, Edwin J C; Call, Josep; Haun, Daniel B M

    2014-11-01

    Human societies are characterized by more cultural diversity than chimpanzee communities. However, it is currently unclear what mechanism might be driving this difference. Because reliance on social information is a pivotal characteristic of culture, we investigated individual and social information reliance in children and chimpanzees. We repeatedly presented subjects with a reward-retrieval task on which they had collected conflicting individual and social information of equal accuracy in counterbalanced order. While both species relied mostly on their individual information, children but not chimpanzees searched for the reward at the socially demonstrated location more than at a random location. Moreover, only children used social information adaptively when individual knowledge on the location of the reward had not yet been obtained. Social information usage determines information transmission and in conjunction with mechanisms that create cultural variants, such as innovation, it facilitates diversity. Our results may help explain why humans are more culturally diversified than chimpanzees. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  18. A meta-analysis of factors affecting trust in human-robot interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hancock, Peter A; Billings, Deborah R; Schaefer, Kristin E; Chen, Jessie Y C; de Visser, Ewart J; Parasuraman, Raja

    2011-10-01

    We evaluate and quantify the effects of human, robot, and environmental factors on perceived trust in human-robot interaction (HRI). To date, reviews of trust in HRI have been qualitative or descriptive. Our quantitative review provides a fundamental empirical foundation to advance both theory and practice. Meta-analytic methods were applied to the available literature on trust and HRI. A total of 29 empirical studies were collected, of which 10 met the selection criteria for correlational analysis and 11 for experimental analysis. These studies provided 69 correlational and 47 experimental effect sizes. The overall correlational effect size for trust was r = +0.26,with an experimental effect size of d = +0.71. The effects of human, robot, and environmental characteristics were examined with an especial evaluation of the robot dimensions of performance and attribute-based factors. The robot performance and attributes were the largest contributors to the development of trust in HRI. Environmental factors played only a moderate role. Factors related to the robot itself, specifically, its performance, had the greatest current association with trust, and environmental factors were moderately associated. There was little evidence for effects of human-related factors. The findings provide quantitative estimates of human, robot, and environmental factors influencing HRI trust. Specifically, the current summary provides effect size estimates that are useful in establishing design and training guidelines with reference to robot-related factors of HRI trust. Furthermore, results indicate that improper trust calibration may be mitigated by the manipulation of robot design. However, many future research needs are identified.

  19. Formation of tissue factor activity following incubation of recombinant human tissue factor apoprotein with plasma lipoproteins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakai, T.; Kisiel, W.

    1990-01-01

    Incubation of recombinant human tissue factor apoprotein (Apo-TF) with human plasma decreased the recalcified clotting time of this plasma in a time-and dose-dependent manner suggesting relipidation of the Apo-TF by plasma lipoproteins. Incubation of Apo-TF with purified preparations of human very low density, low density and high density lipoproteins resulted in tissue factor activity in a clotting assay. The order of effectiveness was VLDL greater than LDL much greater than HDL. Tissue factor activity generated by incubation of a fixed amount of Apo-TF with plasma lipoproteins was lipoprotein concentration-dependent and saturable. The association of Apo-TF with lipoprotein particles was supported by gel filtration studies in which 125 I-Apo-TF coeluted with the plasma lipoprotein in the void volume of a Superose 6 column in the presence and absence of calcium ions. In addition, void-volume Apo-TF-lipoprotein fractions exhibited tissue factor activity. These results suggest that the factor VIII-bypassing activity of bovine Apo-TF observed in a canine hemophilic model may be due, in part, to its association with plasma lipoproteins and expression of functional tissue factor activity

  20. Probabilistic safety assessment model in consideration of human factors based on object-oriented bayesian networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Zhongbao; Zhou Jinglun; Sun Quan

    2007-01-01

    Effect of Human factors on system safety is increasingly serious, which is often ignored in traditional probabilistic safety assessment methods however. A new probabilistic safety assessment model based on object-oriented Bayesian networks is proposed in this paper. Human factors are integrated into the existed event sequence diagrams. Then the classes of the object-oriented Bayesian networks are constructed which are converted to latent Bayesian networks for inference. Finally, the inference results are integrated into event sequence diagrams for probabilistic safety assessment. The new method is applied to the accident of loss of coolant in a nuclear power plant. the results show that the model is not only applicable to real-time situation assessment, but also applicable to situation assessment based certain amount of information. The modeling complexity is kept down and the new method is appropriate to large complex systems due to the thoughts of object-oriented. (authors)

  1. Training department's role in human factor analysis during post-trip reviews

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goodman, D.

    1987-01-01

    Provide training is a frequent corrective action specified in a post-trip review report. This corrective action is most often decided upon by technical and operational staff, not training staff, without a detailed analysis of whether training can resolve the immediate problem or enhance employees' future performance. A more specific human factor or performance problem analysis would often reveal that training cannot impact or resolve the concern to avoid future occurrences. This human factor analysis is similar to Thomas Gilbert's Behavior Engineering Model (Human Competence, McGraw-Hill, 1978) or Robert Mager's/Peter Pipe's Performance Analysis (Analyzing Performance Problems, Pitman Learning, 1984). At Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, training analysts participate in post-trip reviews in order to conduct or provide input to this type of human factor and performance problem analysis. Their goal is to keep provide training out of corrective action statements unless training can in fact impact or resolve the problem. The analysts follow a plant specific logic diagram to identify human factors and to identify whether changes to the environment or to the person would best resolve the concern

  2. Human Information Processing and Supervisory Control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1980-05-01

    errors (that is of the output of the human operator). There is growing evidence (Senders, personal communication; Norman , personal communication...relates to the relative tendency to depend on sensory information or to be more analytic and independent. Norman (personal communication) has referred...decision process model. Ergonomics, 12, 543-557. Senders, J., Elkid, J., Grignetti, M., & Smallwood , R. 1966. An investigation of the visual sampling

  3. Research on Human-Error Factors of Civil Aircraft Pilots Based On Grey Relational Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guo Yundong

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In consideration of the situation that civil aviation accidents involve many human-error factors and show the features of typical grey systems, an index system of civil aviation accident human-error factors is built using human factor analysis and classification system model. With the data of accidents happened worldwide between 2008 and 2011, the correlation between human-error factors can be analyzed quantitatively using the method of grey relational analysis. Research results show that the order of main factors affecting pilot human-error factors is preconditions for unsafe acts, unsafe supervision, organization and unsafe acts. The factor related most closely with second-level indexes and pilot human-error factors is the physical/mental limitations of pilots, followed by supervisory violations. The relevancy between the first-level indexes and the corresponding second-level indexes and the relevancy between second-level indexes can also be analyzed quantitatively.

  4. Critical Success Factors and information needs in Estonian industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aiki Tibar

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The article reports the results of the study on the critical success factors and related information needs in Estonian industry conducted in 1999. Data were collected by interviews with 27 managers and engineers from 16 manufacturing companies in various industries. Most of the critical success factors taken up were related to marketing, information management, quality management, product development and technological innovations. The information needs of managers and engineers were related to competitors, customers, markets, technology, regulations, etc. Some identified CSFs expressed also priorities for development by Estonian economic authorities: to support the implementation of new technologies and introduction of quality management methods. The finding that information management was perceived as a very critical area supports the result of the recent Finnish study on CSFs.

  5. Human factors analysis of U.S. Navy afloat mishaps

    OpenAIRE

    Lacy, Rex D.

    1998-01-01

    The effects of maritime mishaps, which include loss of life as well as environmental and economic considerations, are significant. It has been estimated that over 80percent of maritime accidents areat least partially attributable to human error. Human error has been extensively studied in a number of fields, particularly aviation. The present research involves application of the Human Factors Accident Classification System (HFACS), developed by the Naval Safety Center, to human error causal f...

  6. Human factor engineering applied to nuclear power plant design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manrique, A.; Valdivia, J.C.; Jimenez, A.

    2001-01-01

    For the design and construction of new nuclear power plants as well as for maintenance and operation of the existing ones new man-machine interface designs and modifications are been produced. For these new designs Human Factor Engineering must be applied the same as for any other traditional engineering discipline. Advantages of implementing adequate Human Factor Engineering techniques in the design of nuclear reactors have become not only a fact recognized by the majority of engineers and operators but also an explicit requirement regulated and mandatory for the new designs of the so called advanced reactors. Additionally, the big saving achieved by a nuclear power plant having an operating methodology which significantly decreases the risk of operating errors makes it necessary and almost vital its implementation. The first step for this is preparing a plan to incorporate all the Human Factor Engineering principles and developing an integral design of the Instrumentation and Control and Man-machine interface systems. (author)

  7. A human factors design of a nuclear plant analyzer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Byeon, Seung Nam; Lee, Dong Hoon; Park, Chan Woo [Kyounghee Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2000-12-15

    The project consists of four key stages as follows : based on the review of various literature, human factors design principles and processes are identified, the literature reviewed in the project includes NUREG-0700, research papers for MMI, human factors handbooks, and laboratory reports, after the design principles and processes are determined, a design checklist is developed to evaluate the user interface of NPA, the design checklist consists of seven different categories such as display screen, menu interface, form-fillin, alphanumeric characters, symbols, color, and highlighting, NPA was tested with the design checklist for conformance to the human factors design principles, the expert reviews are performed to evaluate a graphic user interface of NPA, the application of the design checklist and the subjective opinion of the expert identify the design included in the user interface of NPA, based on the thorough analysis of design defects, design guidelines are recommended to improve the user interface of NPA.

  8. Human Factors and Safety Culture in Maritime Safety (revised

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heinz Peter Berg

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available As in every industry at risk, the human and organizational factors constitute the main stakes for maritime safety. Furthermore, several events at sea have been used to develop appropriate risk models. The investigation on maritime accidents is, nowadays, a very important tool to identify the problems related to human factor and can support accident prevention and the improvement of maritime safety. Part of this investigation should in future also be near misses. Operation of ships is full of regulations, instructions and guidelines also addressing human factors and safety culture to enhance safety. However, even though the roots of a safety culture have been established, there are still serious barriers to the breakthrough of the safety management. One of the most common deficiencies in the case of maritime transport is the respective monitoring and documentation usually lacking of adequacy and excellence. Nonetheless, the maritime area can be exemplified from other industries where activities are ongoing to foster and enhance safety culture.

  9. A human factors design of a nuclear plant analyzer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byeon, Seung Nam; Lee, Dong Hoon; Park, Chan Woo

    2000-12-01

    The project consists of four key stages as follows : based on the review of various literature, human factors design principles and processes are identified, the literature reviewed in the project includes NUREG-0700, research papers for MMI, human factors handbooks, and laboratory reports, after the design principles and processes are determined, a design checklist is developed to evaluate the user interface of NPA, the design checklist consists of seven different categories such as display screen, menu interface, form-fillin, alphanumeric characters, symbols, color, and highlighting, NPA was tested with the design checklist for conformance to the human factors design principles, the expert reviews are performed to evaluate a graphic user interface of NPA, the application of the design checklist and the subjective opinion of the expert identify the design included in the user interface of NPA, based on the thorough analysis of design defects, design guidelines are recommended to improve the user interface of NPA

  10. Techno-Human Mesh: The Growing Power of Information Technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, Cynthia K.

    This book examines the intersection of information technologies, power, people, and bodies. It explores how information technologies are on a path of creating efficiency, productivity, profitability, surveillance, and control, and looks at the ways in which human-machine interface technologies, such as wearable computers, biometric technologies,…

  11. The human factor data management system of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Li; Zhang Ning; Guo Jianbing; Huang Weigang; Zhu Minhong; Wang Jin

    1999-12-01

    The collection, analysis and quantification of human factor data are very important parts of human reliability analysis and probabilistic risk assessment. Therefore various human databases have been created. But a human data management system with the functions of data collection, classification, analysis, computation and forecast is scarcely seen at home and abroad. So the authors have developed the human data management system of Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station. The system includes three modules and four databases. The authors firstly set forth some basic problems on the human factor data, which are concerned during the development of the system. Then the structure and function of the system are described. In view of the important role of human factor databases in the system, the authors also discuss the structure problems of the data in the databases in detail

  12. Human factors evaluation of the 1998 NORS MMI in HAMMLAB

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sebok, Angelia; Beere, Barnaby; Chung, Kyung-Hun

    1999-05-01

    The following document describes a Human Factors evaluation of NORS MMI in HAMMLAB. The purpose of this evaluation was to offer feedback on the usability of the current interface, to offer suggestions for improvement, and to provide useful input for MMI design in the HAMMLAB 2000 project. The evaluation was conducted using a variety of techniques: comparing the design to human factors guidelines, interviewing various HAMMLAB personnel, reviewing operator comments on the NORS interface, and assessing videotapes of operator performance in HAMMLAB. Based on this evaluation, strengths and weaknesses of the interface have been identified. Strengths include the overview display, the process format layout, the dedicated interaction areas, use of coding techniques, opportunities for comparing parameter trends, and flexibility of use. Issues for improvement have been identified regarding controls, feedback, consistency, navigation, information presentation, colour coding, symbols, naming conventions, labelling, and readability. Issues have also been identified specifically for the trend displays, logic diagrams, alarm system, and overview displays. To improve the interface, several approaches may be considered. The problems in the interface may be classified according to how realistic they are to modify. Some problems can be fixed by design changes, some require changes to the simulator data base, and others require additional hardware. Once problems are classified, they can be fixed or handled appropriately. Potential strategies for handling the more complicated design problems include personnel selection, training, procedures, job performance aids, or a help system (author) (ml)

  13. Do we need sustainability as a new approach in human factors and ergonomics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zink, Klaus J; Fischer, Klaus

    2013-01-01

    The International Ergonomics Association Technical Committee 'Human Factors and Sustainable Development' was established to contribute to a broad discourse about opportunities and risks resulting from current societal 'mega-trends' and their impacts on the interactions among humans and other elements of a system, e.g. in work systems. This paper focuses on the underlying key issues: how do the sustainability paradigm and human factors/ergonomics interplay and interact, and is sustainability necessary as a new approach for our discipline? Based on a discussion of the sustainability concept, some general principles for designing new and enhancing existent approaches of human factors and ergonomics regarding their orientation towards sustainability are proposed. The increasing profile of sustainability on the international stage presents new opportunities for human factors/ergonomics. Positioning of the sustainability paradigm within human factors/ergonomics is discussed. Approaches to incorporating sustainability in the design of work systems are considered.

  14. Theoretical Fundamentals of Human Factor

    OpenAIRE

    Nicoleta Maria Ienciu

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to identify the theoretical approaches presented by the literature on the human factor. In order to achieve such objective we have performed a qualitative research by analyzing the content of several papers published in internationally renowned journals, classified according to the list of journals' ranking provided by the Association of Business Schools (UK), in relation to the theories that have been approached within it. Our findings suggest that from all ident...

  15. Human factors engineering report for the cold vacuum drying facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    IMKER, F.W.

    1999-06-30

    The purpose of this report is to present the results and findings of the final Human Factors Engineering (HFE) technical analysis and evaluation of the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF). Ergonomics issues are also addressed in this report, as appropriate. This report follows up and completes the preliminary work accomplished and reported by the Preliminary HFE Analysis report (SNF-2825, Spent Nuclear Fuel Project Cold Vacuum Drying Facility Human Factors Engineering Analysis: Results and Findings). This analysis avoids redundancy of effort except for ensuring that previously recommended HFE design changes have not affected other parts of the system. Changes in one part of the system may affect other parts of the system where those changes were not applied. The final HFE analysis and evaluation of the CVDF human-machine interactions (HMI) was expanded to include: the physical work environment, human-computer interface (HCI) including workstation and software, operator tasks, tools, maintainability, communications, staffing, training, and the overall ability of humans to accomplish their responsibilities, as appropriate. Key focal areas for this report are the process bay operations, process water conditioning (PWC) skid, tank room, and Central Control Room operations. These key areas contain the system safety-class components and are the foundation for the human factors design basis of the CVDF.

  16. Human factors engineering report for the cold vacuum drying facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    IMKER, F.W.

    1999-01-01

    The purpose of this report is to present the results and findings of the final Human Factors Engineering (HFE) technical analysis and evaluation of the Cold Vacuum Drying Facility (CVDF). Ergonomics issues are also addressed in this report, as appropriate. This report follows up and completes the preliminary work accomplished and reported by the Preliminary HFE Analysis report (SNF-2825, Spent Nuclear Fuel Project Cold Vacuum Drying Facility Human Factors Engineering Analysis: Results and Findings). This analysis avoids redundancy of effort except for ensuring that previously recommended HFE design changes have not affected other parts of the system. Changes in one part of the system may affect other parts of the system where those changes were not applied. The final HFE analysis and evaluation of the CVDF human-machine interactions (HMI) was expanded to include: the physical work environment, human-computer interface (HCI) including workstation and software, operator tasks, tools, maintainability, communications, staffing, training, and the overall ability of humans to accomplish their responsibilities, as appropriate. Key focal areas for this report are the process bay operations, process water conditioning (PWC) skid, tank room, and Central Control Room operations. These key areas contain the system safety-class components and are the foundation for the human factors design basis of the CVDF

  17. Making sense of information in noisy networks: human communication, gossip, and distortion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laidre, Mark E; Lamb, Alex; Shultz, Susanne; Olsen, Megan

    2013-01-21

    Information from others can be unreliable. Humans nevertheless act on such information, including gossip, to make various social calculations, thus raising the question of whether individuals can sort through social information to identify what is, in fact, true. Inspired by empirical literature on people's decision-making when considering gossip, we built an agent-based simulation model to examine how well simple decision rules could make sense of information as it propagated through a network. Our simulations revealed that a minimalistic decision-rule 'Bit-wise mode' - which compared information from multiple sources and then sought a consensus majority for each component bit within the message - was consistently the most successful at converging upon the truth. This decision rule attained high relative fitness even in maximally noisy networks, composed entirely of nodes that distorted the message. The rule was also superior to other decision rules regardless of its frequency in the population. Simulations carried out with variable agent memory constraints, different numbers of observers who initiated information propagation, and a variety of network types suggested that the single most important factor in making sense of information was the number of independent sources that agents could consult. Broadly, our model suggests that despite the distortion information is subject to in the real world, it is nevertheless possible to make sense of it based on simple Darwinian computations that integrate multiple sources. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Human factors guidelines for large-screen displays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collier, Steve

    2005-09-01

    Any control-room project (including upgrades or evolutionary improvements to existing control-rooms) is well advised at the outset first to gather and update related background material for the design. This information-gathering exercise should also take into account experience from similar projects and operating experience. For these reasons, we decided to use our research, and experience in large-screen display design with several clients to update human factors guidance for large-screen displays, to take into account new ergonomics guidelines, operating experience, and work from similar projects. To write the updated guidelines, we drew on much of our experience across several departments at IFE, including research funded by the HRP programme, and experience with individual clients. Guidance here is accordingly focused mainly on recent areas of technical and human innovations in the man-machine interface. One particular area of focus was on the increasing use of large-screen display systems in modern control-rooms, and on how guidelines could be adapted and supplemented for their design. Guidance or reference to recommended sources is also given for control suite arrangement and layout, control-room layout, workstation layout, design of displays and controls, and design of the work environment, especially insofar as these ergonomic issues interact with the effectiveness of modern displays, in particular large screen displays. The work shows that there can be synergy between HRP research and bilateral activities: the one side offers a capability to develop tools and guidelines, while the other side gives an opportunity to test and refine these in practice, to the benefit of both parties. (Author)

  19. Human factors guidelines for large-screen displays

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collier, Steve

    2005-09-15

    Any control-room project (including upgrades or evolutionary improvements to existing control-rooms) is well advised at the outset first to gather and update related background material for the design. This information-gathering exercise should also take into account experience from similar projects and operating experience. For these reasons, we decided to use our research, and experience in large-screen display design with several clients to update human factors guidance for large-screen displays, to take into account new ergonomics guidelines, operating experience, and work from similar projects. To write the updated guidelines, we drew on much of our experience across several departments at IFE, including research funded by the HRP programme, and experience with individual clients. Guidance here is accordingly focused mainly on recent areas of technical and human innovations in the man-machine interface. One particular area of focus was on the increasing use of large-screen display systems in modern control-rooms, and on how guidelines could be adapted and supplemented for their design. Guidance or reference to recommended sources is also given for control suite arrangement and layout, control-room layout, workstation layout, design of displays and controls, and design of the work environment, especially insofar as these ergonomic issues interact with the effectiveness of modern displays, in particular large screen displays. The work shows that there can be synergy between HRP research and bilateral activities: the one side offers a capability to develop tools and guidelines, while the other side gives an opportunity to test and refine these in practice, to the benefit of both parties. (Author)

  20. Human factors and security in the nuclear and radioactive facilities in Cuba

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferro Fernandez, R.; Guillen Campos, A.; Ilizastegui Perez, F.

    1998-01-01

    Considering the wide and multidisciplinary character the topics related with the human factors and the security one believes in the one in CNSN a group gives human factors that has carried out some works in several addresses such form that can be integrated the knowledge and experience in an unique objective to reduce the incidence the human factors in the security starting from a fundamentally preventive work. The present work picks up the main results the developed work

  1. Double Shell Tank (DST) Human Factors Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    CHAFFEE, G.A.

    1994-01-01

    This report documents the data collection and analyses that were performed in development of material to be used in the Human Factors chapter for the upgrade to the Safety Analysis Report (SAR) for the Double-Shell Tank Farms (DSTF). This study was conducted to collect the data that is necessary to prepare the Human Factors chapter for the upgrade of the SAR for the DSTF. Requirements for the HF chapter of the SAR generally dictate that the facility management describe how the consideration of operator capabilities and limitations and operating experience are used in ensuring the safe and effective operation of the facility. Additionally, analysis to indicate the contribution of human error to the safety basis accidents or events must be reported. Since the DSTF is a mature operating facility and the requirement to prepare a HF chapter is new, it was not expected that the consideration of HF principles would be an explicit part of DSTF operations. It can be expected, however, that the programs that guide the daily operations at the DSTF contain provisions for the consideration of the needs of their operating personnel and lessons learned from prior experience. Consideration of both the SAR requirements and the nature of the DSTF operations led to the following objectives being defined for the study: (1) to identify the programs at the OSTF where human performance may be considered; (2) to describe how HF principles and operating experience are used to ensure safe and reliable human performance at the DSTF; (3) to describe how HF principles and operating experience are considered as modifications or improvements are made at the DSTF; and (4) to perform task analysis sufficient to understand the potential for human error in OSTF operations

  2. Factors affecting the adoption of healthcare information technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phichitchaisopa, Nisakorn; Naenna, Thanakorn

    2013-01-01

    In order to improve the quality and performance of healthcare services, healthcare information technology is among the most important technology in healthcare supply chain management. This study sets out to apply and test the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), to examine the factors influencing healthcare Information Technology (IT) services. A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to healthcare representatives in each province surveyed in Thailand. Data collected from 400 employees including physicians, nurses, and hospital staff members were tested the model using structural equation modeling technique. The results found that the factors with a significant effect are performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions. They were also found to have a significant impact on behavioral intention to use the acceptance healthcare technology. In addition, in Thai provincial areas, positive significance was found with two factors: social influence on behavioral intention and facilitating conditions to direct using behavior. Based on research findings, in order for healthcare information technology to be widely adopted and used by healthcare staffs in healthcare supply chain management, the healthcare organizational management should improve healthcare staffs' behavioral intention and facilitating conditions.

  3. Factors affecting the adoption of healthcare information technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phichitchaisopa, Nisakorn; Naenna, Thanakorn

    2013-01-01

    In order to improve the quality and performance of healthcare services, healthcare information technology is among the most important technology in healthcare supply chain management. This study sets out to apply and test the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), to examine the factors influencing healthcare Information Technology (IT) services. A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to healthcare representatives in each province surveyed in Thailand. Data collected from 400 employees including physicians, nurses, and hospital staff members were tested the model using structural equation modeling technique. The results found that the factors with a significant effect are performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions. They were also found to have a significant impact on behavioral intention to use the acceptance healthcare technology. In addition, in Thai provincial areas, positive significance was found with two factors: social influence on behavioral intention and facilitating conditions to direct using behavior. Based on research findings, in order for healthcare information technology to be widely adopted and used by healthcare staffs in healthcare supply chain management, the healthcare organizational management should improve healthcare staffs' behavioral intention and facilitating conditions. PMID:26417235

  4. The role of human factor in the development of agriculture in Montenegro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Božović Žarko

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We have started from the analysis of existing human resources in the paper, from the point of view of regional, qualification and age structure of the active labour force. Basic research method is deduction method, because we start from the general towards special and individual, with the aim to bring human factor and development of agriculture in Montenegro into connection. With regards to the key role of the human factor in the development of agriculture, a question emerges: is this factor in Montenegro a real opportunity or a constraint? Upon having insight into the existing situation of the human factor, we can conclude that there is an obvious discrepancy between demographic and economic centres. Expressed migration of the population from the north towards the south and from villages to cities brought the development of agricultural production into question. When the human factor engaged in agriculture is concerned, old population and elderly households prevail, which is a serious threat to the development, because depopulation and 'senilization' caused abandoning villages, deagrarization and space devastation.

  5. Human Factors Considerations in New Nuclear Power Plants: Detailed Analysis.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    OHara,J.; Higgins, J.; Brown, W.; Fink, R.

    2008-02-14

    This Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sponsored study has identified human-performance issues in new and advanced nuclear power plants. To identify the issues, current industry developments and trends were evaluated in the areas of reactor technology, instrumentation and control technology, human-system integration technology, and human factors engineering (HFE) methods and tools. The issues were organized into seven high-level HFE topic areas: Role of Personnel and Automation, Staffing and Training, Normal Operations Management, Disturbance and Emergency Management, Maintenance and Change Management, Plant Design and Construction, and HFE Methods and Tools. The issues where then prioritized into four categories using a 'Phenomena Identification and Ranking Table' methodology based on evaluations provided by 14 independent subject matter experts. The subject matter experts were knowledgeable in a variety of disciplines. Vendors, utilities, research organizations and regulators all participated. Twenty issues were categorized into the top priority category. This Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) technical report provides the detailed methodology, issue analysis, and results. A summary of the results of this study can be found in NUREG/CR-6947. The research performed for this project has identified a large number of human-performance issues for new control stations and new nuclear power plant designs. The information gathered in this project can serve as input to the development of a long-term strategy and plan for addressing human performance in these areas through regulatory research. Addressing human-performance issues will provide the technical basis from which regulatory review guidance can be developed to meet these challenges. The availability of this review guidance will help set clear expectations for how the NRC staff will evaluate new designs, reduce regulatory uncertainty, and provide a well-defined path to new nuclear power plant

  6. Human factors: A major issue in plant aging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Widrig, R.D.

    1985-01-01

    Humans play a significant role in the effects of aging on safe and reliable operation of nuclear power plants. These human issues may be more important than the issues of materials and component degradation with age. Human actions can accelerate or decelerate physical aging of a plant. And an aging plant can have a significant negative impact on staff quality and performance. The purpose of this paper is to provide some insights into the nature of these human factors issues and their relationship to plant aging. An early awareness of these issues facilitates timely action to at least mitigate these problems before they become insurmountable

  7. Quinones are growth factors for the human gut microbiota.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fenn, Kathrin; Strandwitz, Philip; Stewart, Eric J; Dimise, Eric; Rubin, Sarah; Gurubacharya, Shreya; Clardy, Jon; Lewis, Kim

    2017-12-20

    The human gut microbiome has been linked to numerous components of health and disease. However, approximately 25% of the bacterial species in the gut remain uncultured, which limits our ability to properly understand, and exploit, the human microbiome. Previously, we found that growing environmental bacteria in situ in a diffusion chamber enables growth of uncultured species, suggesting the existence of growth factors in the natural environment not found in traditional cultivation media. One source of growth factors proved to be neighboring bacteria, and by using co-culture, we isolated previously uncultured organisms from the marine environment and identified siderophores as a major class of bacterial growth factors. Here, we employ similar co-culture techniques to grow bacteria from the human gut microbiome and identify novel growth factors. By testing dependence of slow-growing colonies on faster-growing neighboring bacteria in a co-culture assay, eight taxonomically diverse pairs of bacteria were identified, in which an "induced" isolate formed a gradient of growth around a cultivatable "helper." This set included two novel species Faecalibacterium sp. KLE1255-belonging to the anti-inflammatory Faecalibacterium genus-and Sutterella sp. KLE1607. While multiple helper strains were identified, Escherichia coli was also capable of promoting growth of all induced isolates. Screening a knockout library of E. coli showed that a menaquinone biosynthesis pathway was required for growth induction of Faecalibacterium sp. KLE1255 and other induced isolates. Purified menaquinones induced growth of 7/8 of the isolated strains, quinone specificity profiles for individual bacteria were identified, and genome analysis suggests an incomplete menaquinone biosynthetic capability yet the presence of anaerobic terminal reductases in the induced strains, indicating an ability to respire anaerobically. Our data show that menaquinones are a major class of growth factors for bacteria

  8. Human Genome Epidemiology : A scientific foundation for using genetic information to improve health and prevent disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefania Boccia

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available

    Human health is determined by the interplay of genetic factors and the environment. In this context the recent advances in human genomics are expected to play a central role in medicine and public health by providing genetic information for disease prediction and prevention.

    After the completion of the human genome sequencing, a fundamental step will be represented by the translation of these discoveries into meaningful actions to improve health and prevent diseases, and the field of epidemiology plays a central role in this effort. These are some of the issues addressed by Human Genome Epidemiology –A scientific foundation for using genetic information to improve health and prevent disease, a volume edited by Prof. M. Khoury, Prof. J. Little, Prof.W. Burke and published by Oxford university Press 2004.

    This book describes the important role that epidemiological methods play in the continuum from gene discovery to the development and application of genetic tests. The Authors calls this continuum human genome epidemiology (HuGE to denote an evolving field of inquiry that uses systematic applications of epidemiological methods to assess the impact of human genetic variation on health and disease.

    The book is divided into four sections and it is structured to allow readers to proceed systematically from the fundamentals of genome technology and discovery, to the epidemiological approaches, to gene characterisation, to the evaluation of genetic tests and their use in health services and public health.

  9. Genetic and environmental factors in experimental and human cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takayama, S.; Takebe, H.; Gelboin, H.V.; MaChahon, B.; Matsushima, T.; Sugimura, T.

    1980-01-01

    Recently technological advances in assaying mutagenic principles have revealed that there are many mutagens in the environment, some of which might be carcinogenic to human beings. Other advances in genetics have shown that genetic factors might play an important role in the induction of cancer in human beings, e.g., the high incidence of skin cancers in patients with xeroderma pigmentosum. These proceedings deal with the relationships between genetic and environmental factors in carcinogenesis. The contributors cover mixed-function oxidases, pharmacogenetics, twin studies, DNA repair, immunology, and epidemiology.

  10. Exploring Factors that Influence Students' Behaviors in Information Security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, Cheolho; Hwang, Jae-Won; Kim, Rosemary

    2012-01-01

    Due to the ever-increasing use of the Internet, information security has become a critical issue in society. This is especially the case for young adults who have different attitudes towards information security practices. In this research, we examine factors that motivate college students' information security behaviors. Based on the concept of…

  11. Human Factor Modelling in the Risk Assessment of Port Manoeuvers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa Abramowicz-Gerigk

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The documentation of human factor influence on the scenario development in maritime accidents compared with expert methods is commonly used as a basis in the process of setting up safety regulations and instructions. The new accidents and near misses show the necessity for further studies in determining the human factor influence on both risk acceptance criteria and development of risk control options for the manoeuvers in restricted waters. The paper presents the model of human error probability proposed for the assessment of ship masters and marine pilots' error decision and its influence on the risk of port manoeuvres.

  12. Human factors evaluation of the engineering test reactor control room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banks, W.W.; Boone, M.P.

    1981-03-01

    The Reactor and Process Control Rooms at the Engineering Test Reactor were evaluated by a team of human factors engineers using available human factors design criteria. During the evaluation, ETR, equipment and facilities were compared with MIL-STD-1472-B, Human Engineering design Criteria for Military Systems. The focus of recommendations centered on: (a) displays and controls; placing displays and controls in functional groups; (b) establishing a consistent color coding (in compliance with a standard if possible); (c) systematizing annunciator alarms and reducing their number; (d) organizing equipment in functional groups; and (e) modifying labeling and lines of demarcation

  13. Long-term research plan for human factors affecting safeguards at nuclear power plants. Volume 1. Summary and users' guide. Vol. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Brien, J.N.; Fainberg, A.

    1984-04-01

    This report presents a long-term research plan for addressing human factors which can adversely affect safeguards at nuclear power plants. It was developed in order to prioritize and propose research for NRC in regulating power plant safeguards. Research efforts addressing human factors in safeguards were developed and prioritized according to the importance of human factors areas. Research was also grouped to take advantage of common research approaches and data sources where appropriate. Four main program elements emerged from the analysis, namely (1) Training and Performance Evaluation, (2) Organizational Factors, (3) Man-Machine Interface, and (4) Trustworthiness and Reliability. Within each program element, projects are proposed with results and information flowing between program elements where useful. An overall research plan was developed for a 4-year period and it would lead ultimately to regulatory activities including rulemaking, regulatory guides, and technical bases for regulatory action. The entire plan is summarized in Volume 1 of this report

  14. Human Factors in the Management of Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Per Langå; Alting, Leo

    2006-01-01

    The ‘Human factor’ is a major issue when optimizing manufacturing systems. The development in recommendations on how to handle this factor in the management of production reflects the change in dominating challenges faced by production in society. Presently, industrial societies are meeting new...... challenges. Qualitative interviews with Danish stakeholders in the education of engineers (BA & MA) confirm the picture given in international literature. Therefore, the didactics concerning the ‘human factor’ in the curriculum on production management has to reflect these changes. This paper concludes...

  15. Hematopoietic growth factors and human acute leukemia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Löwenberg, B; Touw, I

    1988-10-22

    The study of myelopoietic maturation arrest in acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) has been eased by availability of the human recombinant hemopoietic growth factors, macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF), granulocyte-(G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage-(GM-CSF) and multilineage stimulating factor (IL-3). Nonphysiological expansion of the leukemic population is not due to escape from control by these factors. Proliferation in vitro of AML cells is dependent on the presence of one or several factors in most cases. The pattern of factor-dependency does not correlate with morphological criteria in individual cases, and may thus offer a new tool for classification of AML. Overproduction of undifferentiated cells is not due to abnormal expression of receptors for the stimulating factors acting at an immature level. Rather, autocrine secretion of early acting lymphokines maintains proliferation of the leukemic clone. When looking at causes of leukemic dysregulation, yet undefined inhibitors of differentiation probably are of equal importance as dysequilibrated stimulation by lymphokines.

  16. Human roughness perception and possible factors effecting roughness sensation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aktar, Tugba; Chen, Jianshe; Ettelaie, Rammile; Holmes, Melvin; Henson, Brian

    2017-06-01

    Surface texture sensation is significant for business success, in particular for solid surfaces for most of the materials; including foods. Mechanisms of roughness perception are still unknown, especially under different conditions such as lubricants with varying viscosities, different temperatures, or under different force loads during the observation of the surface. This work aims to determine the effect of those unknown factors, with applied sensory tests on 62 healthy participants. Roughness sensation of fingertip was tested under different lubricants including water and diluted syrup solutions at room temperature (25C) and body temperature (37C) by using simple pair-wise comparison to observe the just noticeable difference threshold and perception levels. Additionally, in this research applied force load during roughness observation was tested with pair-wise ranking method to illustrate its possible effect on human sensation. Obtained results showed that human's capability of roughness discrimination reduces with increased viscosity of the lubricant, where the influence of the temperature was not found to be significant. Moreover, the increase in the applied force load showed an increase in the sensitivity of roughness discrimination. Observed effects of the applied factors were also used for estimating the oral sensation of texture during eating. These findings are significant for our fundamental understanding to texture perception, and for the development of new food products with controlled textural features. Texture discrimination ability, more specifically roughness discrimination capability, is a significant factor for preference and appreciation for a wide range of materials, including food, furniture, or fabric. To explore the mechanism of sensation capability through tactile senses, it is necessary to identify the relevant factors and define characteristics that dominate the process involved. The results that will be obtained under these principles

  17. Human factors engineering in nuclear plant rehabilitations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernston, K.; Remisz, M.; Malcolm, S.

    2001-01-01

    There are several unique considerations when creating and maintaining a human factors program for a plant refurbishment. These consideration arise from a variety of sources, including budget and time constraints on life extension projects, working to existing plant protocols and current acceptable HFE practices, and issues relating to function and task analysis. This results in a need to streamline and carefully time HFE practices from project start up to completion. In order to perform this task adequately, a comprehensive Human Factors Engineering Program Plan should be designed and tailored to the project. Systems of planning and prioritization are essential, and the required HFE designer training needs to be established. HFE specialists need to be aware of the existing plant constraints, and he prepared to work within them when providing support. The current paper discusses these aspects in the context of major refurbishment work at CANDU stations. (author)

  18. Current trends in dog-human communication:do dogs inform?

    OpenAIRE

    Kaminski, Juliane; Piotti, Patrizia

    2016-01-01

    Domestic dogs are especially skillful at understanding human forms of communication. Evidence suggests that dogs’ skills in this domain might be an adaptation to life with humans and the result of selection processes during domestication. One question that has sparked a lot of research in recent years is to what extent dogs’ communication is in any way comparable to that of human infants. Here, we discuss recent research that has examined the extent to which dogs communicate to inform others....

  19. The human factors approach at EDF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colas, A.

    2004-01-01

    At the dawn of the 21st century, French electricity utility EDF is facing a number of major changes, in particular the liberalisation of European energy markets and the restructuring needed to cope with this development. EDF's approach to human factors (HF) aspects is also undergoing major changes, since people obviously play a predominant role in any organisational structure. (author)

  20. A mobile Nursing Information System based on human-computer interaction design for improving quality of nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Kuo-Wei; Liu, Cheng-Li

    2012-06-01

    A conventional Nursing Information System (NIS), which supports the role of nurse in some areas, is typically deployed as an immobile system. However, the traditional information system can't response to patients' conditions in real-time, causing delays on the availability of this information. With the advances of information technology, mobile devices are increasingly being used to extend the human mind's limited capacity to recall and process large numbers of relevant variables and to support information management, general administration, and clinical practice. Unfortunately, there have been few studies about the combination of a well-designed small-screen interface with a personal digital assistant (PDA) in clinical nursing. Some researchers found that user interface design is an important factor in determining the usability and potential use of a mobile system. Therefore, this study proposed a systematic approach to the development of a mobile nursing information system (MNIS) based on Mobile Human-Computer Interaction (M-HCI) for use in clinical nursing. The system combines principles of small-screen interface design with user-specified requirements. In addition, the iconic functions were designed with metaphor concept that will help users learn the system more quickly with less working-memory. An experiment involving learnability testing, thinking aloud and a questionnaire investigation was conducted for evaluating the effect of MNIS on PDA. The results show that the proposed MNIS is good on learning and higher satisfaction on symbol investigation, terminology and system information.

  1. Harnessing the Risk-Related Data Supply Chain: An Information Architecture Approach to Enriching Human System Research and Operations Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buquo, Lynn; Johnson-Throop, Kathy

    2010-01-01

    NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) and Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD), not unlike many NASA organizations today, struggle with the inherent inefficiencies caused by dependencies on heterogeneous data systems and silos of data and information spread across decentralized discipline domains. The capture of operational and research-based data/information (both in-flight and ground-based) in disparate IT systems impedes the extent to which that data/information can be efficiently and securely shared, analyzed, and enriched into knowledge that directly and more rapidly supports HRP's research-focused human system risk mitigation efforts and SLSD s operationally oriented risk management efforts. As a result, an integrated effort is underway to more fully understand and document how specific sets of risk-related data/information are generated and used and in what IT systems that data/information currently resides. By mapping the risk-related data flow from raw data to useable information and knowledge (think of it as the data supply chain), HRP and SLSD are building an information architecture plan to leverage their existing, shared IT infrastructure. In addition, it is important to create a centralized structured tool to represent risks including attributes such as likelihood, consequence, contributing factors, and the evidence supporting the information in all these fields. Representing the risks in this way enables reasoning about the risks, e.g. revisiting a risk assessment when a mitigation strategy is unavailable, updating a risk assessment when new information becomes available, etc. Such a system also provides a concise way to communicate the risks both within the organization as well as with collaborators. Understanding and, hence, harnessing the human system risk-related data supply chain enhances both organizations' abilities to securely collect, integrate, and share data assets that improve human system research and operations.

  2. Human factors inspection of current control room panel in Jose Cabrera NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almeida, P.; O'Hara, J.; Higgins, J.

    2002-01-01

    Within the process of renewal of Exploitation Permit of Jose Cabrera Nuclear Power Plant, UNION FENOSA GENERACIO, S. A. (UFG) has carried out an analysis and evaluation project regarding human factors implications of current control room panel arrangement. The project has been developed in two phases. In the first phase, leaded by EPRI and carried out by experts from SAIC, an independent review from a double viewpoint of human reliability and human factors was developed. In the second phase, a multidisciplinary team (composed by human factors, risk analysis, operation, engineering, training and instrumentation and controls experts) has developed a study on human factors implications of current panel arrangement, following the methodology pointed out in NUREG-0711. The project has been developed under the direction of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), organisation that has authored the aforementioned methodology, with the participation of UFG and SOLUZIONA Ingenieria. For the development of the second study the following steps were taken: Firstly, the potential effects of panel arrangement on crew performance were identified its real evidence was analysed and the goals for the improvement of control room operation were established; following NUREG-0711. After this, several design alternatives that addressed these goals were identified and were analysed along three dimensions: human factors, risk analysis and economic costs. Finally the results of these evaluations were combined using a multi-attribute decision method to arrive at a recommended alternative as he best proposal to incorporate human factors criteria and good practices in the design of control room panels. (Author)

  3. Factors Related to Job Satisfaction of Information Technology Professionals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    İbrahim Halil SEYREK

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Job satisfaction of employees in any type of organization is important both for the employee and for the organization he/she works for. There are several factors researchers studied that are related to employee satisfaction. Even though there are several common factors for the job satisfaction of employees, there can be differences based on the personal and job characteristics. Information Technology (IT workers are important for current information economy and therefore factors related to their job satisfaction is an important research topic. In this study, based on survey data collected from 455 IT workers from different industries, the factors related to IT worker job satisfaction are investigated. As a result of analyses, it was found that demographic factors like gender, sector (public vs. private, work experience, and wage are not related to the job satisfaction of the worker. On the other hand, the results show that feel of belonging, feel of acceptance, job autonomy, burnout, role clarity and fairness of rewards are factors that affect job satisfaction.

  4. Human factors in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hennig, J.; Bohr, E.

    1976-04-01

    This annotated bibliography is a first attempt to give a survey of the kind of literature which is relevant for the ergonomic working conditions in nuclear power plants. Such a survey seems to be useful in view of the fact that the 'factor human being' comes recently more and more to the fore in nuclear power plants. In this context, the necessity is often pointed out to systematically include our knowledge of the performance capacity and limits of human beings when designing the working conditions for the personnel of nuclear power plants. For this reason, the bibliography is so much intended for the ergonomics experts as for the experts of nuclear engineering. (orig./LN) [de

  5. Study on human factor at NPP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nopp, I.

    1984-01-01

    Factors affecting the reliabilty of the reactor control by an NPP operator are considered on the base of the Czechoslovakia NPP operating experience. The reliability level of NPP operators depends on objective factors (conditions and regime of labour) determining the labour productivity and on subjective ones (psychological morale, physical and mental abilities and occupational level of personnel). Problems of the effect of physical and mental abilities and professional level on the reliability of personnel are considered to be the most important ones. The effect of individual abilities and specific features of the human body on changes in his occupational abilities can be estimated only to a certain degree

  6. A study to determine influential factors on implementation of management information system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naser Azad

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Management information system (MIS plays an important role on sharing necessary information within organization. In this paper, we study to find out important factors influencing the implementation of MIS in banking industry. The study designs a questionnaire in Likert scale and distributes it among 253 randomly selected people. Cronbach alpha has been calculated as 0.82, which is within an acceptable limit. The study uses factor analysis to find important factors and detects six important factors including fear of technology, organizational instability, informal groups, cultural factors, organizational development and understanding that change is always good.

  7. [The Role of Resilience Factors in Informal Caregivers of Dementia Patients - A Review on Selected Factors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunzler, Angela; Skoluda, Nadine; Nater, Urs

    2018-01-01

    In the face of demographic change, the informal care of dementia patients is becoming increasingly important. However, due to dementia symptoms as well as persisting care demands, this subgroup of informal caregivers is confronted with a large number of stressors resulting in chronic stress and impaired physical and mental health in many caregivers. Based on the current research on resilience (i. e., maintaining or regaining health despite stress and adversities), there is increasing interest in identifying resilience factors that may serve as resources to cope with informal care and protect caregivers against health problems. The review discusses the role of resilience factors in the association between ongoing caregiving stress and health. In analyzing the current state of research on resilience factors for dementia caregivers, we focus on the factors self-efficacy, relationship quality, and social support. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  8. Human Resource – Potential Factor of Organiztional Crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihail Cristian Negrulescu

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available At the level of any economic system, the change brings about the modification of the internal operating method of the relations between the actors and of the work habits. In other words, the substance (main, important modifications can be shaped on each of the organizational dominant of the system at a structural, functional or cultural level, in which the main actor, the human resource, intends to be part of this equation of changes. In this context, significant is the role played by the main organization actors, a role which can be materialized either as a factor of innovation, prevention and even progress, or as a conflict promoting factor, which, in time, generates a state of abnormality, of crisis. That is why major importance must be allotted to the human resources at the level of each organisation, considering the progress focused on knowledge, experience, experiments, attitude, behaviour and competences, these implying factors of correction and efficient reaction for the administration of the organizational crises.

  9. Characteristics of Company Accounting Information System

    OpenAIRE

    Marija Tokić; Marina Proklin

    2011-01-01

    Information has always presented an important factor of human activity. As a resource that guided human activity, information was gathered, stored, analysed and distributed in different ways throughout the history. Today, information system is a necessity in the global business system. Globalisation processes have changed the traditional concept of doing business and brought about the need for information management as an integral part of overall company assets and rapid developme...

  10. Seasonal variation in human reproduction: environmental factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bronson, F H

    1995-06-01

    Almost all human populations exhibit seasonal variation in births, owing mostly to seasonal variation in the frequency of conception. This review focuses on the degree to which environmental factors like nutrition, temperature and photoperiod contribute to these seasonal patterns by acting directly on the reproductive axis. The reproductive strategy of humans is basically that of the apes: Humans have the capacity to reproduce continuously, albeit slowly, unless inhibited by environmental influences. Two, and perhaps three, environmental factors probably act routinely as seasonal inhibitors in some human populations. First, it seems likely that ovulation is regulated seasonally in populations experiencing seasonal variation in food availability. More specifically, it seems likely that inadequate food intake or the increased energy expenditure required to obtain food, or both, can delay menarche, suppress the frequency of ovulation in the nonlactating adult, and prolong lactational amenorrhea in these populations on a seasonal basis. This action is most easily seen in tropical subsistence societies where food availability often varies greatly owing to seasonal variation in rainfall; hence births in these populations often correlate with rainfall. Second, it seems likely that seasonally high temperatures suppress spermatogenesis enough to influence the incidence of fertilization in hotter latitudes, but possibly only in males wearing clothing that diminishes scrotal cooling. Since most of our knowledge about this phenomenon comes from temperate latitudes, the sensitivity of spermatogenesis in both human and nonhuman primates to heat in the tropics needs further study. It is quite possible that high temperatures suppress ovulation and early embryo survival seasonally in some of these same populations. Since we know less than desired about the effect of heat stress on ovulation and early pregnancy in nonhuman mammals, and nothing at all about it in humans or any of the

  11. Alternative pathways of thromboplastin-dependent activation of human factor X in plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marlar, R.A.; Griffin, J.H.

    1981-01-01

    To determine the interrelationships of the major coagulation pathways, the activation of 3H-labeled factor X in normal and various deficient human plasmas was evaluated when clotting was triggered by dilute rabbit or human thromboplastin. Various dilutions of thromboplastin and calcium were added to plasma samples containing 3H-factor X, and the time course of factor X activation was determined. At a 1/250 dilution of rabbit brain thromboplastin, the rate of factor X activation in plasmas deficient in factor VIII or factor IX was 10% of the activation rate of normal plasma or of factor XI deficient plasma. Reconstitution of the deficient plasmas with factors VIII or IX, respectively, reconstituted normal factor X activation. Similar results were obtained when various dilutions of human thromboplastin replaced the rabbit thromboplastin. From these plasma experiments, it is inferred that the dilute thromboplastin-dependent activation of factor X requires factors VII, IX, and VIII. An alternative extrinsic pathway that involves factors IX and VIII may be the physiologic extrinsic pathway and hence help to explain the consistent clinical observations of bleeding diatheses in patients deficient in factors IX or VIII

  12. Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Training and organizational analysis. Volume 4

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henriksen, K.; Kaye, R.D.; Jones, R.; Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.I.

    1995-07-01

    A series of human factors evaluations were undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. A team of human factors specialists, assisted by a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation therapists, conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. A function and task analysis was initially performed to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of system-user interfaces, procedures, training and qualifications, and organizational policies and practices. The present work focuses solely on training and qualifications of personnel (e.g., training received before and during employment), and the potential impact of organizational factors on the performance of teletherapy. Organizational factors include such topics as adequacy of staffing, performance evaluations, commonly occurring errors, implementation of quality assurance programs, and organizational climate

  13. Human factors evaluation of teletherapy: Training and organizational analysis. Volume 4

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henriksen, K.; Kaye, R.D.; Jones, R. [Hughes Training, Inc., Falls Church, VA (United States); Morisseau, D.S.; Serig, D.I. [Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of Systems Technology

    1995-07-01

    A series of human factors evaluations were undertaken to better understand the contributing factors to human error in the teletherapy environment. Teletherapy is a multidisciplinary methodology for treating cancerous tissue through selective exposure to an external beam of ionizing radiation. A team of human factors specialists, assisted by a panel of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and radiation therapists, conducted site visits to radiation oncology departments at community hospitals, university centers, and free-standing clinics. A function and task analysis was initially performed to guide subsequent evaluations in the areas of system-user interfaces, procedures, training and qualifications, and organizational policies and practices. The present work focuses solely on training and qualifications of personnel (e.g., training received before and during employment), and the potential impact of organizational factors on the performance of teletherapy. Organizational factors include such topics as adequacy of staffing, performance evaluations, commonly occurring errors, implementation of quality assurance programs, and organizational climate.

  14. Information Flow Analysis for Human-System Interaction in the SG Level Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jong Hyun; Shin, Yeong Cheol

    2008-01-01

    Interaction between automatic control and operators is one of main issues in the application of automation technology. Inappropriate information from automatic control systems causes unexpected problems in human-automation collaboration. Poor information becomes critical, especially when the operator takes over the control from an automation system. Operators cannot properly handle the situation transferred from the automatic mode because of inadequate situation awareness, if the operator is out-of-the loop and the automatic control system fails. Some cases of unplanned reactor trips during the transition between the manual mode and the automatic mode are reported in nuclear power plants (NPPs). Among unplanned reactor trips since 2002, two cases were partially caused by automation-related failures of steam generator (SG) level control. This paper conducts information flow analysis to identify information and control requirement for human-system interaction of SG level control. At first, this paper identifies the level of automation in SG level control systems and then function allocation between system control and human operators. Then information flow analysis for monitoring and transition of automation is performed by adapting job process chart. Information and control requirements will be useful as an input for the human-system interface (HSI) design of SG level control

  15. Factor Analysis for Finding Invariant Neural Descriptors of Human Emotions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vitor Pereira

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A major challenge in decoding human emotions from electroencephalogram (EEG data is finding representations that are invariant to inter- and intrasubject differences. Most of the previous studies are focused in building an individual discrimination model for every subject (subject dependent model. Building subject-independent models is a harder problem due to the high data variability between different subjects and different experiments with the same subject. This paper explores, for the first time, the Factor Analysis as an efficient technique to extract temporal and spatial EEG features suitable to build brain-computer interface for decoding human emotions across various subjects. Our findings show that early waves (temporal window of 200–400 ms after the stimulus onset carry more information about the valence of the emotion. Also, spatial location of features, with a stronger impact on the emotional valence, occurs in the parietal and occipital regions of the brain. All discrimination models (NN, SVM, kNN, and RF demonstrate better discrimination rate of the positive valence. These results match closely experimental psychology hypothesis that, during early periods after the stimulus presentation, the brain response—to images with highly positive valence—is stronger.

  16. Normalization of Deviation: Quotation Error in Human Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lock, Jordan; Bearman, Chris

    2018-05-01

    Objective The objective of this paper is to examine quotation error in human factors. Background Science progresses through building on the work of previous research. This requires accurate quotation. Quotation error has a number of adverse consequences: loss of credibility, loss of confidence in the journal, and a flawed basis for academic debate and scientific progress. Quotation error has been observed in a number of domains, including marine biology and medicine, but there has been little or no previous study of this form of error in human factors, a domain that specializes in the causes and management of error. Methods A study was conducted examining quotation accuracy of 187 extracts from 118 published articles that cited a control article (Vaughan's 1996 book: The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA). Results Of extracts studied, 12.8% ( n = 24) were classed as inaccurate, with 87.2% ( n = 163) being classed as accurate. A second dimension of agreement was examined with 96.3% ( n = 180) agreeing with the control article and only 3.7% ( n = 7) disagreeing. The categories of accuracy and agreement form a two by two matrix. Conclusion Rather than simply blaming individuals for quotation error, systemic factors should also be considered. Vaughan's theory, normalization of deviance, is one systemic theory that can account for quotation error. Application Quotation error is occurring in human factors and should receive more attention. According to Vaughan's theory, the normal everyday systems that promote scholarship may also allow mistakes, mishaps, and quotation error to occur.

  17. Human factors engineering plan for reviewing nuclear plant modernization programs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Hara, John; Higgins, James

    2004-12-01

    The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate reviews the human factors engineering (HFE) aspects of nuclear power plants (NPPs) involved in the modernization of the plant systems and control rooms. The purpose of a HFE review is to help ensure personnel and public safety by verifying that accepted HFE practices and guidelines are incorporated into the program and nuclear power plant design. Such a review helps to ensure the HFE aspects of an NPP are developed, designed, and evaluated on the basis of a structured top-down system analysis using accepted HFE principles. The review addresses eleven HFE elements: HFE Program Management, Operating Experience Review, Functional Requirements Analysis and Allocation, Task Analysis, Staffing, Human Reliability Analysis, Human-System Interface Design, Procedure Development, Training Program Development, Human Factors Verification and Validation, and Design Implementation

  18. Human factors engineering plan for reviewing nuclear plant modernization programs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    O' Hara, John; Higgins, James [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY (United States)

    2004-12-01

    The Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate reviews the human factors engineering (HFE) aspects of nuclear power plants (NPPs) involved in the modernization of the plant systems and control rooms. The purpose of a HFE review is to help ensure personnel and public safety by verifying that accepted HFE practices and guidelines are incorporated into the program and nuclear power plant design. Such a review helps to ensure the HFE aspects of an NPP are developed, designed, and evaluated on the basis of a structured top-down system analysis using accepted HFE principles. The review addresses eleven HFE elements: HFE Program Management, Operating Experience Review, Functional Requirements Analysis and Allocation, Task Analysis, Staffing, Human Reliability Analysis, Human-System Interface Design, Procedure Development, Training Program Development, Human Factors Verification and Validation, and Design Implementation.

  19. An Inter-Rater Comparison of DoD Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) and Human Factors Analysis and Classification System-Maritime (HFACS-M)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-01

    LEFT BLANK vii TABLE OF CONTENTS I.  INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1...Adams, Brent DeVore, John Zuzich, and Cory Blaser. xviii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 1 I. INTRODUCTION A. OVERVIEW Human error has...Behavioral Factors Perceptual Factors Condition of Individuals Crew Resource Mangement Self Imposed Stress Personnel Factors PRECONDITIONS Figure 7

  20. Missing focus on Human Factors - organizational and cognitive ergonomics - in the safety management for the petroleum industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnsen, Stig O; Kilskar, Stine Skaufel; Fossum, Knut Robert

    2017-08-01

    More attention has recently been given to Human Factors in petroleum accident investigations. The Human Factors areas examined in this article are organizational, cognitive and physical ergonomics. A key question to be explored is as follows: To what degree are the petroleum industry and safety authorities in Norway focusing on these Human Factors areas from the design phase? To investigate this, we conducted an innovative exploratory study of the development of four control centres in Norwegian oil and gas industry in collaboration between users, management and Human Factors experts. We also performed a literature survey and discussion with the professional Human Factors network in Norway. We investigated the Human Factors focus, reasons for not considering Human Factors and consequences of missing Human Factors in safety management. The results revealed an immature focus and organization of Human Factors. Expertise on organizational ergonomics and cognitive ergonomics are missing from companies and safety authorities and are poorly prioritized during the development. The easy observable part of Human Factors (i.e. physical ergonomics) is often in focus. Poor focus on Human Factors in the design process creates demanding conditions for human operators and impact safety and resilience. There is lack of non-technical skills such as communication and decision-making. New technical equipment such as Closed Circuit Television is implemented without appropriate use of Human Factors standards. Human Factors expertise should be involved as early as possible in the responsible organizations. Verification and validation of Human Factors should be improved and performed from the start, by certified Human Factors experts in collaboration with the workforce. The authorities should check-back that the regulatory framework of Human Factors is communicated, understood and followed.