Important questions
When an accident or an incident occurs, questions are manifold. The most prominent ones are: 'What exactly happened? Why, in hindsight, didn’t the people involved act differently? Who is to blame?'
More important, however, is the question how the accident or incident could happen. Why did it make sense for people to do what they did? The answer to these questions is what gives us insight in how to prevent such an event from happening again. The answer to these questions – against the background of the physical and psychological work environment – is what a human factors investigation is all about.
The science behind it
‘Human factors’ is a scientific field that focuses on the interplay between people, technologies and organisations so that goods or services can be produced safely and effectively. It is an interdisciplinary field that encompasses, among other things, psychology, technology and engineering science, as well as sociology, organisational theory and management. ‘Human factors’ ranges from fundamental ergonomic questions regarding the design of systems and displays, to complex associations between management staffs’ ways of expressing their objectives and how this affects everyday work in an organisation.
