Cards have been developed to visualise the most significant Human & Organisational Factors (HOF) associated with Safety at Work.
Performance Influencing Factors (PIFs) are the characteristics of the Job, the Individual and the Organisation that influence human performance. Further information is available from the UK HSE which is summarised below:
Job
- The nature of the task, workload, the working environment, the design of displays and controls, and the role of procedures.
- Tasks should be designed in accordance with ergonomic principles to take account of both human limitations and strengths.
- This includes matching the job to the physical and the mental strengths and limitations of people.
- Mental aspects would include perceptual, attentional and decision making requirements.
Individual
- His/Her competence, skills, personality, attitude, and risk perception.
- Individual characteristics influence behaviour in complex ways.
- Some characteristics such as personality are fixed; others such as skills and attitudes may be changed or enhanced.
Organisation
- Work patterns, the culture of the workplace, resources, communications, leadership and so on.
- Such factors are often overlooked during the design of jobs but have a significant influence on individual and group behaviour.
In other words, human factors is concerned with what people are being asked to do (the task and its characteristics), who is doing it (the individual and their competence) and where they are working (the organisation and its attributes), all of which are influenced by the wider societal concern, both local and national.
Many thanks to Lorraine Braben of Braben Consulting for her insight & experience.
For more information on Human Factors cards, options & pricing, please contact us.