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NEBOSH Diploma Revision
Human factors
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NEBOSH Diploma RevisionHuman factors
Lorna Bleyswyck
Syllabus Element
National Diploma 2010 A7
National Diploma 2015 A10
International Diploma 2011 IA7
International Diploma 2015 IA8
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The revision session
The aim of the session is to supplement your revision with tutor guided discussion.
During the session there will be a series of questions posed to you please join in by typing your response within the text box.
The session will end with a general question and answer session.
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Before we start
Here is an example question poll
Type your answer in the poll that is about to appear
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Session plan
Outline psychological and sociological factors which may give rise to specific patterns of safe and unsafe behaviour in the working environment
Explain the nature of the perception of risk and its relationship to performance in the workplace
Explain the classification of human failure
Explain appropriate methods of improving individual human reliability in the workplace
Explain how organisational factors could contribute to improving human reliability
Explain how job factors could contribute to improving human reliability
Outline the principles, conditions and typical content of behavioural change programmes designed to improve safe behaviour in the workplace
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What are human factors?
Type your answer in the poll that is about to appear
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Human Factors are environmental, organisational and job factors, and human and individual characteristics which influence behaviour at work in a way which can affect health and safety
The Organisation
Culture, leadership, resources, work
patterns, communications......
The job
Task, workload,
environment, displays and
controls, procedures...
The individual
Competence, skills,
personality, attitudes,
risk perception...
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Key variables affecting individual behaviour
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Attitudes
Aptitude and ability
(Competence and skills)
Motivation
PerceptionIndividual
behaviour
Personality
Training and
development
The individual
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Attitude
Degree of like or dislike of an object (person, place, thing, or event)
Head, heart and hands!
Attitude and behaviour?
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Value of expected
outcome of
behaviour
Attitude
Subjective Norm
Beliefs about and
motivation to comply
with other views
Relative
importance
of both
Intention
Perceived
behavioural
controls
Behaviour
Theory of planned behaviour
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Perception of risk
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Define perception
Type your answer in the poll that is about to appear
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Perception is the way we take in information through our senses and
interpret it.
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Sensation Attention Perception
Sensation
The registration by
the senses of
external stimuli
Attention
A selection or
filtering process
Perception
The processing of
sensory data into
useful information
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Give reasons why a person may fail to perceive risk in a workplace
Type your answer in the poll that is about to appear
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Past exam question
A train driver has passed a stop signal resulting in a collision with another train. Investigation of the incident concluded that the driver had seen the signal gantry but had not perceived the relevant signal correctly. There had been a number of previous similar incidents at this signal gantry, although the driver was not aware of this.
The driver concerned was inexperienced and had received no local route training or information. The signal was hard to see being partly obscured by a bridge on approach and affected by strong sunlight. In addition, the arrangement of the lights on the signal was a non-typical formation. The driver had approached the signal with no expectation from previous signals that it would be on stop.
Give practical reasons why the driver may not have perceived the signal correctly AND make reference to a suitable model of perception as part of your answer. (7)
Outline the steps that could be taken to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence of this incident. (13)
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Perception of signal
Sensationo Sensory defect colour blindnesso Signal colour affected by strong sunlight / glareo Defective signal too dim
Attentiono Signal did not catch drivers attentiono Short durationo Lost amongst other information
Perceptiono Misread signal because of its unusual formationo Expectation (perceptual set) o Effects of drugs or alcohol, drugs o Fatigue
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Reducing likelihood of recurrence
Job
IndividualOrganisation
Signal design / location / maintenance
Breaks / shift patterns
Cab glazing
Automatic train protection
Pre-employment screening
Training and assessment
Ongoing supervision
Health surveillance
Alcohol and substance misuse policy
Incident / near miss reporting
Feedback re positive action
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Human failure
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Mistakes
Knowledge
based mistakes
Slips of
action
Lapses of
memory
Rule based
mistakes
Routine
Situational
Exceptional
Skill
based
Errors
Violations
Human
Failures
Human failure (HSG48)
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Past exam question
A poor organisational safety culture is said to lead to higher levels of violation by employees.
a) Give the meaning of the term violation ANDoutline the classification of violation as routine, situational or exceptional. (6)
b) Outline why a poor safety culture might lead to higher levels of violation by employees. (4)
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Key points..
a) Violation the breaking of a safety rule
Routine regularly happens such as failure to wear correct PPE. A conscious action.
Situational due to actual or perceived pressure to complete a task. Maybe due to inclement weather or with the wrong equipment or inexperienced team.
Exceptional an extremely rare event to remedy the situation usually following an accident. Individuals may ignore safety rules for the perceived greater good.
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Key pointsb)
Little supervision/no enforcement of routine violations perception by staff that unsafe practices are acceptable. No investment in health and safety training organisational pressures to get work done leading to
situational violations when there is insufficient safe equipment to complete tasks within allotted timeframes.
lack of investment in equipment, premises and plant leading to frequent breakdowns of essential safety equipment / no budget .
This may encourage unsafe practices such as situational violations.
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Past exam question
Explain the classification of human failure as described in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publication Reducing Error and Influencing Behaviour (HSG48) AND give a practical example for EACH element of the classification. (20)
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Mistakes
Knowledge
based mistakes
Slips of
action
Lapses of
memory
Rule based
mistakes
Routine
Situational
Exceptional
Skill
based
Errors
Violations
Human
Failures
Human failure (HSG48)
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Contribution of human failure to serious incidents
National Diploma examples
Kegworth
Herald of Free Enterprise
Piper Alpha
Ladbroke Grove
International Diploma examples
Seveso
Three-Mile Island
Bhopal
Buncefield
Piper Alpha
Texas City
Errors and Violations
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Personal influencing factors
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Physical capability and condition
Fatigue (acute or chronic)
Stress/morale
Work overload/underload
Competence to deal with circumstances
Motivation v other priorities
Personal Performance Influencing Factors (PIFs)
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Health and safety training
Analyse
Design and Develop
Deliver
Implement
Evaluate Stage 1Operational TaskAnalysis
Stage 2
Training Gap
Analysis
Stage 3
Training Options
Analysis
Training
objectivesList of tasks
Training
solution
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Behavioural change programmes
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Time
Accid
en
t / In
cid
en
t ra
tes
Engineering
Systems
Behaviours
When to use a behavioural change programme?
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ABC model
AAntecedents
BBehaviour
CConsequences
Feedback
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DOIT
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Behaviour modification processImplementation Observation and feedback process
Gain management and
workforce support and
ownership
Behavioural safety
training
Specify critical
behaviours
Establish baseline
Modify environment,
equipment or systems
Review and
goal setting
Provide
feedback
Conduct
observations
Monitor
performance
Review critical
behaviours
Assess cultural maturity
or readiness
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Programme suitability
Management issues
Workforce concerns
Barriers to success
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Questions?
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Take the main headings from each section and allocate revision time for each, and draw up a plan / timetable to cover everything in the unit
Space out your revision sessions - a daily routine is best Avoid working for long stretches - little and often is best Leave enough time to check that you understand the practice
questions in the workbooks Make separate summary notes when reading the texts or your
notes Restructure your notes when revising to eventually arrive at a
workable set of flashcards or similar so you can easily identify the concepts / key terms involved
Test yourself as you progress through each section based on thelearning outcomes
Revision tips