“It is the obvious, which is so difficult to see most of the time.
People say it’s as plain as the nose on your face, but how much of the nose on your face can you see unless someone holds a mirror up to you?”
Isaac Asimov
The term human factors is not confined to one single area of scientific study but covers a range of diverse disciplines and is applied to systems that improve the efficiency of operation and the reduction of human error leading to accidents. The knowledge, concepts, models, and theories are derived mainly from human science disciplines such as psychology, physiology, medicine, anthropometry.
None of the existing recognised disciplines can of themselves account for the full range of current knowledge about how and why humans function the way we do. As a result, the process of trying to consider human performance as a subject in its own right has necessitated a new term. The term generally used is “Human Factors”.
Human Factors is used to cover a broad number of functions that study people’s performance in their work and non-work environments. It can mean many things to many people and trying to understand all its implications can be daunting. Often the term is used following human error or critical incidence of some type, and so it’s easy to think of it negatively. However, Human Factors also includes all the positive aspects of human performance, the unique things human beings do well.
The primary focus of any Human Factors initiative is to improve safety and efficiency by reducing and managing human error. Human Factors is about understanding humans, our behaviour and performance. Then, from an operational perspective, Human Factors knowledge is applied to optimise the fit between people and the systems in which they work in order to improve safety and performance.
Taken from “The Authority Guide to Behaviour in Business: How to Inspire Others and Build Successful Relationships”. Available on Amazon.
The video forms part of the online course “The Authority Guide to Behaviour in Business”
