1. The Basics Human Factors and Ergonomics
Andy Brazier
30 minutes
Tel: Mob:

2. Ergonomics and Human Factors
What are they?
Same thing or different?
Why are they important?

3. Ergonomics
The application of scientific information concerning humans to the design of objects, systems and environment for human use.
The interaction of technology and people
Basic anatomy, physiology and psychology
Objective to achieve:
The most productive use of human capabilities
Maintenance of human health and well-being
The job must ‘fit the person’ and should not compromise human capabilities and limitations.
From the Ergonomics Society website at

4. Human Factors Physical demands - musculoskeletal disorders
“Environmental, organisational and job factors, and human and individual characteristics which influence behaviour at work in a way which can affect health and safety”
Physical demands - musculoskeletal disorders
Psychological demands - stress
Social conditions - job satisfaction
Human error - cause of major accidents.
HSG48 Reducing error and influencing behaviour

5. Human Factors
What are people being asked to do (the task and its characteristics)?
Who is doing it (the individual and their competence)?
Where are they working (the organisation and its attributes)?

6. There is a large overlap
Ergonomics
Human capabilities
Hardware design
Work stations
User interfaces
Working environment
Manual handling
Personal safety, health and well being
Human factors
Whole system
Organisation
Culture
Tasks
Errors
Procedures
Training and competence
Major hazard

7. Why important?
Up to 80% of accident causes can be attributed to human factors
All major accidents involve a number of human failures
Human factors is concerned with
Understanding the causes of human failures
Preventing human failures.

8. Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations (MHSWR, 1992)
“Every employer shall make and give effect to such arrangements as are appropriate, having regard to the nature of his activities and the size of his undertaking, for the effective planning, organisation, control, monitoring and review of the preventative and protective measures” (Regulation 4)
The recent Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, published in 1992, also refer to the need to have in place management arrangements for health and safety.

9. Robens Report, 1972
“Promotion of health and safety at work is an essential function of good management … Good intentions at the board level are useless if managers further down the chain and closer to what happens on the shop floor remain preoccupied exclusively with production problems”
The recognition of the importance of safety management is not a new concept. For example, the Roben’s Report in 1972 stated that the promotion of health and safety at work is an essential function of good management.

10. Industrial Accident Prevention
“Underlying accident causes are faults of management and supervision plus the unwise methods and procedures that management and supervision fail to correct…”
Heinrich (1931)

11. Behavioural safety Tends to be more concerned with
Physical activities
Personal safety accidents
Failures of people at the sharp end
The premise is that people are free to choose the actions they make
Human factors is based on the principle that people are ‘set up’ to fail
Management and organisational root causes.