The Potential Influence of Environmental Factors on Human Error - Dissertation Example

 The Potential Influence of Environmental Factors on Human Error Introduction The scientific study of people in the workplace has a long history of its own. It has been identified since ages that there is a potential influence of environmental factors on human error. This study aims to understand a specific work set up, its environment and the resources needed for its execution. This study will also help in evaluating the overall impact of the external factors involved and propose a solution to effectively address these concerns. This study involves identifying and controlling the risks from environmental factors in the working environment. Various factors affect worker’s potential and their productivity that are being described below. This document first deals with the work place, its design and the social aspects associated with it. Exposure to noise in work place has lead to hearing loss. There are several other factors like pace of work, provision for breaks, duration of work and the number and the timing of shifts. Here an attempt is made to address those primary concerns in work place of a Broking company, providing with some effective solution to avoid human errors caused by environmental factors. The design of an effective work place involves appropriate lighting, controlled noise level to avoid fatigue and generate more interest and increase motivational level. The Visual Environment The primary focus here is on the visual display of information. Determining appropriate lighting levels for work holds prime importance. In most of the jobs, the general level of lighting provided in offices and workshops is appropriate to the level that the employees can work comfortably . However, in many specific functions, higher levels of lighting are required in order to maximize performance, minimize the potential for error and for the potential effects of visual fatigue. This is achieved either through natural light ( sun light), artificial lighting provided in the ceilings and supplementary lighting such as desk lamps and inspection lamps. Reflectance This is a very major problem as far as the lighting of the work place is concerned. The reflectance from an overhead light falling onto a computer screen can be distracting for an individual. Similarly, the natural light falling from a window onto a computer screen also leads to reflectance problems. One of the major developments in recent office ergonomics has been the reduction of reflectance from window and light surfaces. One way of catering with reflectance problem is to introduce blinds on the windows. Another solution is to change the position of the computer so that the screen no longer faces the window. Glare A good reason for breaking up the direct impact of a light source is to reduce the amount of glare produced by it. Human eye makes adjustments for brighter and less brighter sources, but if this adjustment continue , this can cause visual fatigue.. Demands on vision and individual differences Visual acuity is an aspect of performance which can be measured with psychometric tests and may be demanded by some jobs. Most people who have any common “defects” in vision are corrected by use of spectacles, contact lenses or, surgery. Excessive work with computers may effect viausal acuity. Visual acuity also changes with age, and people need visual correction after middle age. The Auditory Environment Human beings and other animals are detectives to sound. At work place, hearing protection concerns the appropriate level of sound for messages, communication systems and auditory alarms. The problem of hearing against noisy backgrounds can lead to the problem of temporary or permanent hearing loss through exposure to loud noise. The everyday sounds that we are exposed to are highly complex, in terms of their waveforms, and include gaps. People working in very noisy fields can suffer from hearing loss and other hearing problems. Effects of sound There are three major areas which effect on human working activity. These are described as follows. Health and well-being: Continued exposure to relatively loud noise will affect the hearing of individuals. These effects may be temporary and disappear with rest in quiet conditions. Annoyance: Exposure to unwanted sound is a source of annoyance both at work and in other contexts. In the workplace, there are a whole range of noises that individuals report on as being annoying or distracting. Temporal variability: Noises go on or off, or change their noise level in relation to background sound. Common sources for this would be phones or the operation of office machinery for a long period of time. Signal/noise ratio: Sounds that are noticeably above the background level of sounds surrounding the individual cause an increase in noise level. Informational content: If the background noise consists of intelligible speech, then this is more distracting than if the background speech that is not comprehendible. Controllability: Sounds that are beyond the individual’s control are more annoying than those that they feel they have some control over. Predictability; If a sound is predictable, it has less annoying characteristics than those that occur unpredictably. Attitude to the noise and noise source; This reflects the personal beliefs of the individual in relation to the sound source and the nature of the sound. For example, if they believe it is harmful to them, they will be more annoyed by it. Functionality; If the sound is seen to have some importance or value within the context, then it is less annoying than if it is seen as an unnecessary feature. Reducibility; If the individual feels that the noise source could be taken in control by a responsible authority, then they will experience more annoyance from that noise. Experienced sound quality; If the individual percieves the sound to be particularly high pitched or of a deep tone, they may see the sound as more annoying. Effects on performance The effects of noise on task performance have been varied depending on characteristics of the noise itself and the kind of task being performed. People’s tolerance level to noise varies. The most obvious effect is that noise can actually mask important communication and sources of information over the phone within the work environment. This must be given primary attention, as the effects of noise on performance in general are more difficult to assess. The effects of noise have been found on such tasks as reaction time, signal detection, double task activity, memory tasks and choice of strategy tasks (Matthews, Davies, Westerman and Stammers, 2000). One possible mechanism for these effects is that the presence of noise gives rise to more effort being needed to be placed on the task in question with less resources being available for other aspects of performance (Becker, Warm, Dember and Hancock, 1995). The Thermal Environment The internal core temperature of humans varies very slightly between 36.1º and 37.2º centigrade (Oborne, 1995). Our impression of our body temperatures will be influenced mostly by skin temperature, arising from our direct interaction with the immediate ambient environment. . It can be seen that the nature of physical work is an important part of the heat balance equation. Fatigue can arise simply through the body’s activities in maintaining constant core temperature. The „tiredness that derives from working in hot conditions is partly as a result of the work that the body is carrying out in order to maintain the core body temperature. A similar phenomenon will account for the extra fatigue effects of working in high humidity. The body is unable to sweat effectively in these conditions because the sweat cannot evaporate from the skin surface. Hence we feel a strong desire to escape from the humidity into an air-conditioned environment, which is both cooler and therefore does not require so much sweating and is usually humidity controlled as well. Effects of temperature on individuals There are a variety of levels at which the thermal environment impinge upon individual’s well-being and health. Working in extreme temperatures can result in medical conditions that are not suitable to human body. Responses to raised temperatures are probably more common under normal working conditions where individuals may exert themselves beyond the normal limits and there need to be rules governing work within hot environments. Other thermal environment issues If a human factors specialist was required to conduct a thermal environment survey, there are a variety of measures that could be taken. As well as measurements of air temperature, there is also the need to measure the relative humidity in the environment. A third measure that would typically be taken is also the airflow around individuals providing the opportunity for heat exchange through convection. Other Environment Conditions Air quality concerns typically arise in buildings that have enclosed air filtration systems which tend to recycle pollutants and airborne microbes. Poor air quality can be a source both of illness and feelings of dissatisfaction. The concept of fatigue is a very old one in occupational psychology. Initial concern of fatigue in occupational psychology came from long hours of work that were compulsory, however our current concerns arise from long hours of work which are often undertaken voluntarily. Use of electronic communications in the financial markets gives rise to advantages for those organizations that can have staff in place to carry out trading around the world. . While there is concern of the employers in these situations regarding their health and well-being, there is also likely to be concern over productivity and the potential for error in the decisions made or actions carried out. The main manifestation of psychological fatigue is the drop in the availability of potential resources. Specific fatigue arises from the continued performance of a single task and leads to a decline in such performance over time which is sometimes described as a vigilance decrement. General fatigue is manifest from a variety of continued task performances and will generalize to other tasks, even novel ones. In a factor analysed questionnaire study, four types of fatigue symptoms were identified by Matthews and Desmond (1998); these are illustrated in the following list: Visual fatigue: Eye strain; Blurred vision and Flickering sensations Boredom: Task monotony; Apathy and Task aversion Malaise: Nausea; Headache and Auditory problems Muscular fatigue: Physical tiredness; Limb tremors and Stiffness It is suggested that continued task performance can lead to outcomes such as apathy and task aversion and efficiency is affected in this way. Time of day effects Different types of cognitive resources have different efficiencies at different times of day. Humans have clear daily cycles to their physiological alertness; these circadian rhythms (Folkard, 1996). One study showed that this temperature ran parallel with reaction time speed (Klietman, 1963). Related to this is the finding that some people generally perform better in the morning than in the afternoon or evening, such preferences and flexibility need to be accommodated by the companies as it is important to note that any disruption to them can have an effect and lead to errors. Inability to resist temptations like social gatherings, parties, outings in the evening will lead to further delay of the expected rest time. The consequence is difficulty in sleeping the normal length of time and an early awakening in terms. The effects are not always immediate, but will manifest themselves as fatigue and lead to drop in productivity and more errors. Shift work The easiest system for the body to adjust to is a permanent shift system, but this is the least acceptable of all the options. A slowly rotating shift system, for example, a week or a fortnight on one shift and then a reversal to day shift has been quite popular, but is also very disruptive to performance. The emerging popular option is the rapidly rotating shift. The rapidity of the rotation does not allow for adaption and thus the individual works at the disadvantage during their night shift but does not have the need to have a full adaption of their sleep schedule. The occupational psychologist need to assess the risk associated with different types of shift pattern and would need to examine the latest evidence in relation to difference types of task performance to be able to draw a clear conclusion. The evidence suggests that there is an increased risk, which needs to be countered by some sort of back-up system in certain contexts. The idea of back-up team members and other devices may not be economically attractive, but may be the only way to ensure the integrity of the system is maintained. Human Error Theory The Damage consequent to errors should be interpreted in a fairly broad sense, including damage to both an organization and individuals and across a spectrum from physical to reputational damage. There is always the possibility of some physical failure of a component within a system itself, although it might be possible to trace this back to design, maintenance or even installation errors. There are also accidents that are brought about by such things as weather conditions and unpredictable health condition. Violation The term violation is defined as a “willful’’, and therefore intended, departure from those practices deemed necessary to preserve system safety and the safety of others using the system” (Matthews et al. 2000). While we are aware that there are accidents that can be traced back to deliberate flouting of rules, regulations or laws in place in a particular context. That these are human errors is a point for discussion and certainly involves us in a broader view of the individual in the error-making situation and the circumstances involved in the work environment. It is useful at this point to contrast the analysis from a psychological point of view of what leads people to make errors with terms more commonly used in our everyday analysis of situations, such as carelessness, irresponsibility and dereliction of duty. Such terms were more common in the error reports of the past when the focus has been much more upon ascribing blame to individuals within accident situations, rather than understanding how a situation might predispose an individual to make an error. There is need to look for the accident data in more detail. Organizational factors and driver skill factors Organizational factors and driver skill factors are likely to be involved in an incident of error analysis. While we contemplate if there is anything in this form of analysis that enables us to reduce the number of errors in particular systems, it might be worth reflecting on a system with which you are familiar and look for ways in which its success rates could be improved. Error Prone Individuals Error Prone Individuals look at whether there are factors within the make-up of individuals that might predispose them to make more errors. If there is lack of focus, skill, inability to assess the significance of the task or sheer aloofness of its consequence, necessary training and feedback sessions would be required to emphasize overall impact due to individual lapse which apparently might seem insignificant. Personality characteristics There is some evidence supporting a degree of predictability from certain types of personality characteristics in certain contexts. Accident investigation reveals such individuals need to be under supervision as they are likely to be more prone to environmental factors and map its inefficiencies to their inability to delivery accurate results. Definition of Key Terms Human Error Human errors are primarily those errors which occur due to the ineffectiveness or inability of the human resources involved in the exercise. Work Space Work Space is the identified location where the resources are seated to carry out their respective function for which they have been hired. The surrounding environment and atmosphere can be considered within the scope of work space. International Ergonomics Association The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) is a federation of ergonomics and human factors societies from around the world. The mission of the IEA is to elaborate and advance ergonomics science and practice, and to improve the quality of life by expanding its scope of application and contribution to society. Tools to measure The most commonly used instrument for measuring sound levels in the workplace is the sound level meter. The units in which illuminance are measured is known as lux. Lux is an accepted abbreviation for “lumens per square metre”. Lumens are the measure of light, and are common to both illuminance and luminance and refer to the amount of light energy being emitted by a source. The International Labor Organization The ILO provides expert advice and technical assistance to member States through a network of offices and multidisciplinary teams. This assistance takes the form of labour rights and industrial relations counseling, employment promotion, training in small business development, project management, advice on social security, workplace safety and working conditions, the compiling and dissemination of labour statistics, and workers’ education. Consultancy Report Evaluation The open-plan office in question is subject to a high ambient noise level (of around 85 decibels) because of its location, but it sometimes peaks at higher levels. In addition, it is quite a hot environment, with the mean daily temperature being around 25 degrees Celsius. Desks are close together and the rooms are always illuminated with high-powered fluorescent bulbs. Workers tend to work long hours, often in excess of 10 hours a day, and weekend working is quite common. Recommendations to the stakeholder commissioning the work Keeping in view the adverse effect of non compatible environmental conditions on work, productivity and accuracy, there is a need to optimise the visual, auditory and the thermal environments. We also need to take into account and be aware of emerging factors such as indoor air quality. This can be coupled with the need to understand the mechanisms of fatigue, both the physical and mental, and the disruptive effects of long hours of work and duties that can take an individual out of the normal daily rhythm. This effort will not only ensure increase in productivity but also reduce errors. Suggested Steps and Actions for the Stock Broking Company As a responsible occupational psychology consultant and having appropriately assessed and evaluated the current condition of the company the following recommendations are made for more productive environment. Physical ergonomics; is concerned with human physiological and biomechanical characteristics that affect the physical activity. Employees need to be educated on working postures, repetitive movements, lifting, work related musculoskeletal disorders, workplace layout, safety and health. Cognitive ergonomics; is concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system. Special attention to be given to mental workload, decision-making, skilled performance, human-computer interaction, human reliability, work stress and training as these may relate to human-system and Human-Computer Interaction design. Organizational ergonomics; is concerned with the optimization of socio technical systems, including their organizational structures, policies, and processes like adequately staffed, work design, design of working times, teamwork, participatory design, community ergonomics, cooperative work, new work programs, virtual organizations, tele-work, and quality management. Lighting survey; a good lighting survey can be done by a consultant or with an appropriate amount of specialist study by the individuals themselves at regular intervals and to suit the requirement of various resources involved in the job. A good guide to an assessment of the visual environment is provided by Howarth (1995), who sets out what measurements should be taken and how. Regular surveillance; of the working environment and where necessary occupational health surveillance; Supervision; of work and work practices should be adequate, impartial and competent Application/ Systems and use of appropriate control measures and the periodic review of their effectiveness is conducted. The systems used in the workplace are safe and regularly maintained. Periodic education and training; to workers and, where appropriate, to workers’ representatives, on issues relating to aspects within their control like to get adequate sleep, have a balanced diet, working posture, how to use the light that is available on their desks so that it does not affect their sight, look for their daily motivation to enjoy their work and gather new abilities and skills to avoid fatigue, keep volumes low while talking to avoid unnecessary noise pollution. These are all important things to consider and to get training into, in order to reduce human error and consequently increase productivity. Safety and health measures relating to the prevention and control of, and protection against, injuries and risks to safety and health from hazardous ambient factors, without discrimination, to all workers should be provided by the employer if the Stock Broking Company has more than one establishment. This ideally means, all facilities across geography, engaged in similar functions should undergo similar assessment and improvement schedule from time to time to ensure the resources can delivery error free inputs and avoid any inaccuracy in work causing financial or any other loss in work place. Additionally, the broking company needs to ensure the following: Keep dust, fumes and noise under control. Report certain diseases and injuries to the relevant authority so that adequate measures are taken for the victim and the others at work place. Provide adequate first aid equipment and facilities Assess the risks that might be involved in work practices such as using a computer. The work practices must be changed to prevent errors and personal injuries. Flexible weekly offs and shifts might not be possible in the given circumstances considering the trading window or business hours, however resource priorities should be primary focus to aim for a zero error work environment. Improvement Focus Models Cognitive Walk-through Method: This method is a usability inspection method in which the evaluators can apply user perspective to task scenarios to identify design problems. Evaluators are able to analyze the usability of work system designs to identify how well a work system is organized and how well the workflow is integrated. Kansei Method: This is a method that transforms consumer’s responses to new products into design specifications and can translate employee’s responses to changes to a work system into design specifications. High Integration of Technology, Organization, and People (HITOP): This is a manual procedure done step-by-step to apply technological change to the workplace. It allows managers to be more aware of the human and organizational aspects of their technology plans, allowing them to efficiently integrate technology in these contexts. Systems Analysis Tool (SAT): This is a method to conduct systematic trade-off evaluations of work-system intervention alternatives. Macro-ergonomic Analysis of Structure (MAS): MAS analyze the structure of work systems according to their compatibility with unique socio technical aspects. References Becker. A.B, Warm. J.S, Dember. W.N. & Hancock. P.A. (1995). Effects of jet engine noise on perceived workload in a monitoring task. International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 5, 49-62. Folkard.S. (1996). Body rhythms and shiftwork. Psychology at Work. (4th ed.). London: Penguin. Fox.J.G. (1983). Industrial music. The Physical Environment at Work. Chichester: Wiley. Howarth.P.A. (1995). Assessment of the visual environment. Evaluation of Human Work. London: Taylor and Francis. Kleitman. N. (1963). Sleep and Wakefulness. (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Matthews. G. and Desmond. P.A. (1998). Personality and multiple dimensions of task-induced fatigue: A study of simulated driving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 150-168. Matthews.G, Davies. D.R, Westerman. S.J. & Stammers. R.B. (2000). Human Performance: Cognition, Stress and Individual Differences. Hove: Psychology Press. Oborne. D.J. (1995). Ergonomics at Work. (3rd. ed.). Chichester: Wiley. Matthews. G, Davies. D.R. Westerman. S.J. & Stammers, R.B. (2000). Human Performance: Cognition, Stress and Individual Differences. Hove: Psychology Press. International Labor Organization International Ergonomics Associations Read More