Human factors integration in safety assesments

THE NEED FOR FURTHER EVOLUTION IN SAFETY MANAGEMENT, HAS MOVED INECO TO DEVELOP A METHODOLOGY ADDRESSING THE HUMAN ELEMENT MORE THOROUGHLY AND EXPLICITLY IN SAFETY ASSESSMENTS, MAKING SYSTEM DESIGN MORE FIT TO HUMAN NEEDS.

Human Factors (HF) related issues are the cause of most accidents in transportation. This, and our need for further evolution in safety management, has moved Ineco to develop a methodology addressing the human element more thoroughly and explicitly in safety assessments, making system design more fit to human needs.

The method has considered validated Human Factors methodologies and techniques to extract, simplify and integrate them in the safety assessment, making it transversal for any transport sector.

Our adapted process starts with task analysis for Human Error (HE) identification. A specifically designed parameter classification indicates the tasks’ potential for error, and the link to the safety analysis determines the errors’ contribution to hazards and their criticality. Finally, our HE assessment uses an adapted list of generic Performance Shaping Factors (PSF), determining and assessing what affects human performance.

The combination of task potential for error, error criticality and PSFs establishes priorities for a custom designed HE reduction technique: FARHRA (Feasible Action Rules for Human Reliability Assessment). It provides a broad set of generic measures, aligned with the typical system view used in safety assessment.

The main achievements and innovations obtained through this project are:

Definition of a global methodology integrating known HF techniques into a standard safety assessment, in a manner easily applicable by safety practitioners.

Development of new techniques, like FARHRA, for a better integration, also offering and customizing tools such as HAZOP sessions, interviews, surveys or questionnaires, for optimized results.

The product will enhance system design deriving specific requirements to improve human performance, increasing safety levels and adding value and recognition to the human role.