Human Factors in Aviation

     Human factors play a large role in almost every job, especially in the aviation industry. I would define human factors as the concept that none of us are perfect. We all make mistakes, this is what makes us human and we categorize that as human factors. 

    There are many different elements that make up human factors. Some of these elements could be the workload, skill level, policies and even communication (SNYN, 2020). Having problems in one category can lead to a mistake, but when all of these happen at once things can go wrong. Lets make a team based activity to further show how one or more of these things can affect a job. 

    Lets say that there are four engine mechanics that are tasked to install an engine on the wing. First we must look at what the workload is like. The lead mechanic who has the most experience must decide how to put the other 3 mechanics in each position for the optimum result. Just because one mechanic has less skill than another, does not mean he needs to take a simpler tasked position. There is a time and place for everything, it might be a good idea to give the least skilled mechanic a higher position if the workload and time permits. The team must also make sure that communication is clear throughout the job to its completion. This can be as simple as giving a good turn over to the next shift or making sure that the forms are documented correctly. 


    When considering human factors I think of the swiss cheese effect. To me it means human factors can be avoided if the holes in our safeguards are not lined up. Not every work safeguard is perfect and each have their own individual flaws because of human factors (not being perfect). As long as we don't compound these human factors, we stand less of a chance of error. We must try our best to make sure the block of swiss cheese does not allow a problem to get through. 


References:

Saftey News You Need: Human Factors (SNYN, 2020)

            https://www.assp.org/news-and-articles/2020/10/29/safety-news-you-need-human-factors

Swiss Cheese Model.

            https://www.hfacs.com/hfacs-framework.html


    





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