In this column, William F. Moroney reports on human factors/ergonomics issues that have appeared in the press. Contributions are invited. Please send electronic copy with references to moroney@udayton.edu.
The Human Factor. By William Lange-wiesche, Vanity Fair, October 2014, http://vnty.fr/1pjdaRL. This very knowledgeable aviator and author describes the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447, which had 228 fatalities. He provides interesting background on the crew’s flight experience and then develops a narrative derived from the last 2 hours on the recovered voice recorder. He provides explanatory background on aircraft tracking, communication and navigation procedures, crew interaction, and, particularly, the role of automation in the accident. Langewiesche’s insightful narrative is a classic example of Jim Reason’s “Swiss cheese model,” in which a series of minor factors align and lead to an accident. The immediate cause was the loss of airspeed data, ultimately attributed to water freezing in the sensor tubes, but the lack of crew coordination and cockpit design is apparent. He concludes with this ominous statement: “Over time the automation will expand to handle in-flight failures and emergencies, and as the safety record improves, pilots will gradually be squeezed from the cockpit altogether. The dynamic has become inevitable. There will still be accidents, but at some point we will have only the machines to blame.” For aviation buffs, the author is the son of Wolfgang Langewiesche, author of the 1944 classic on the art of flying, Stick and Rudder.
The Human Factor. By David Page, http://bit.ly/1zugunm. This site explores the decision-making process that contributes to accidents and fatalities among backcountry skiers. The well-developed narratives include photos and videos of the accident scenes and commentary by the survivors. Five incidents are examined in detail and include many findings based on snow science, simulations, and psychological factors. Avalanche expert Ian McCammon examined more than 700 avalanche accidents that occurred in the United States between 1972 and 2003, resulting in 504 deaths. McCammon isolated six decision-making errors that contributed to fatalities among skiers. The heuristics he developed are “the ones that would cause you to make a mistake when your life was on the line.” He combined them under the acronym, F.A.C.E.T.S. Each specific factor listed below is followed by a phrase that provides insights into the skier’s decision making: familiarity, acceptance (social), commitment/consistency, expert halo, tracks/scarcity, and social facilitation/proof. Even if you do not ski, this is interesting reading.
Along for the Ride. By Kirsten Weir, APA Monitor, January 2015, pp. 60-65, http://bit.ly/1uQctDL. Driverless cars are legal in California, Nevada, Michigan, Florida, and the District of Columbia. However, partially automated vehicle systems (automatic braking, unassisted parking, lane holding, safe-distance following, etc.) are being installed on both upper- and lower-end vehicles. Fully automated vehicles will also increase access for the elderly and impaired (see this legally blind driver: http://bit.ly/PriKYA). Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) member David Strayer says that although the engineering issues of automated cars are being addressed, “the tough psychological problems have yet to be solved.” Tuned-out/distracted drivers, reliance on automation, information overload, loss of situation awareness, passive fatigue, transfer of control, driver characteristics (age, gender, and personality), operator workarounds to overcome safety/control features, and training on use/limitations of automation systems are among the human factors concerns discussed. Strayer says “our biggest concern is that we’ll end up with clumsy automation that solves the easy problems but leaves us responsible for the hard problems.” The contributions and opinions of several other HFES members are well represented in this article. Also see http://usat.ly/1z1L4z0.
Beware Inherent Healthcare IT Risks, Joint Commission Warns. By Sabriva Rice, Modern Healthcare, March 31, 2015, http://bit.ly/1GTRKHr. The Joint Commission says that electronic health records and other forms of health care information technologies have inherent risks that can harm patients. The report, available at http://bit.ly/1Ok0BEU, examined 120 health information technology (IT)−related events self-reported between January 2010 and June 2013. One third of the incidents were attributed to problems with the human–computer interface, 24% were tied to work flow communications, and 23% were related to “designer data issues related to clinical content.” Three factors — internal organizational policies, procedure, and culture; training/failure to follow procedures; and hardware and software design — independently accounted for 6% of the errors. The article takes a -macroeconomic view of the problem and provides specific recommendations to improve the safety culture, the health IT process, and leadership/oversight of health IT planning, implementation, and evaluation. The recommendations reflect many principles practiced by human–system integration and usability designers.
Sure You Can Track Your Health Data, but Can Your Doctor Use It? By Amy Standen, NPR, January 19, 2015, http://n.pr/18FS3c6. The proliferation of wearable medical devices and the existence of approximately 50,000 health-related apps offer the promise of additional data regarding an individual’s activity and behavior. However, this article suggests that the amount of data collected can be overwhelming. Additionally, despite what the designers claim, data received may not be accurate and probably require filtering before the information can be usable and perhaps meaningful. The Federal Drug Administration does not intend to regulate “low-risk devices” designed to collect general wellness data; rather, its emphasis is on detection and evaluation of treatment. Nevertheless, some hospitals are devoting assets to discriminate between game-changing and dead-end technologies (see http://bit.ly/QaWlhM).
Additional links:
Older Designer at IDEO:
http://n.pr/1z36OiQ
The iWorker:
http://bit.ly/1K0XI9W
Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum Reopened:
http://bit.ly/1nAPf0T and http://n.pr/1GjEGJT
Touchless Gesture Controls:
http://bit.ly/1BbZsdv
GPS App Keeps Eyes on the Road:
http://bit.ly/1zt7tZT
Economic Solutions for Retailers:
http://1.usa.gov/16bBwuw
Offices Without Chairs?
http://bit.ly/1BbZsdv
Fly by Brain:
http://bit.ly/1F0yFB8
