WHAT are human factors?
Human factors refer to environmental, organisational and job factors, together with human and individual characteristics which influence the behaviour at work in a way which can affect health and safety.
The Environment:
Environment, otherwise called “surroundings” influences the human characteristics. From early childhood, a human-being experiences different stages of environment like home, school and work environment. Groups of people in each of these stages influence the human attitude and personality.
The Organisation:
The organisation’s positive safety culture, availability of a system to control the risk arising from operations, taking into account human capabilities like physical, physiological, psychological aspects, commitment to progress with high standards, demonstration of top management’s involvement in safety and health, effective leadership to promote safety and health within the organisation strongly measures human safety related behavior.
Job factor:
Design of job functions considering human limitations in accordance with ergonomic principles is one among the best ways to impose positive attitude in human behavior. This can be done by using techniques like job safety analysis prior to carrying out the activity.
HOW to improve these human factors?
Interpersonal relationship studies – by monitoring the bonding or affiliations between two or more people
Motivation and reinforcement – conditioning the individual to respond to a given stimulus
Reward schemes of positive achievement – planned motivation to improve workers attitude and human reliability
Workplace safety incentive schemes – Safety targets to be rewarded if achieved
Providing proper trainings and procedures for all critical work; ensuring positive climate in the organisation through effective communication and support from the top management.
By Anuradha Karthikeyan
Consultant (PSB Academy)
Reference: Jeremy Stranks (2007) Human Factors and Safety Behaviour, Butterworth-Heinemann |
