tues_track2

Quantifying Ergonomic/Human Systems Integration Risk and Costs to Support System Safety Analysis
Instructors: Dr. Thomas Malone and Mr. Mark Geiger
Track 2 - System Safety & ESOH Relationships
Tuesday, 8:00 AM - 11:40 AM

Course Abstract:
The course will outline a method for process review and identification of risk factors associated with the interface between humans and the systems they operate and support their management within the system safety and systems engineering process. The Defense Safety Oversight Council (DSOC) sponsored a project managing an approach toward task-based risk assessment using a hazard list that includes ergonomics. This approach involves a cradle to grave integration of design and safety that emphasizes:

· Proactive implementation of ergonomic principles in design
· Improvement of contract specifications to result in design concepts for products and systems that will reduce the safety and ergonomic risks
· Educating purchasers to understand and accept the product or system design philosophy that results in reduced risks of safety and ergonomic injury

The approach above is embodied in the Human Engineering and Ergonomics Risk Analysis Process (HEERAP).

The objective of the HEERAP is to provide human engineering, ergonomics, and system safety personnel in the DOD acquisition organization with a process that will help them better identify and analyze risks of personal injury associated with the design of a system as well as develop strategies to avoid or reduce that risk.   A potential secondary result from the application of this methodology is to achieve improved operational efficiency through better matching of manpower requirements to task demands through the development of human injury risk mitigation strategies.

Topic Learning Objectives:
1. Provide an overview of ergonomics/ human systems integration considerations in design and their interaction with
    system safety
      a. Outline factors considered in ergonomic evaluations
      b. Describe overlaps of safety and ergonomics and process efficiency
      c. Outline the scope of human systems integration, major elements and overlap with systems engineering

2. Overview of the Human Injury Risk Analysis Procedure. This procedure focuses on identifying system specific injury
    risks and determining their significance in terms of likelihood and severity. The procedure revolves around identifying
    human tasks and the human injury risks associated with those tasks
      a. Identification of system-specific injury risks (consistent with preliminary hazard list)
      b. Determination of risk significance in term of likelihood and severity (consistent with preliminary hazard analysis)
      c. Review illustrative examples used in conjunction with this procedure to provide examples of tasks, risks (i.e.,
         mishaps), root causes (i.e., hazards), and mitigation strategies

3. Application of Human Injury Risk Matrix. This involves use of the Human Injury Risk Analysis Procedure Matrix used
    to:
      a. Identify and evaluate examples of potential risks associated with generic functions and tasks and associated
          human interfaces to sensitize the user to risk issues
      b. Apply the model to identify risks, describe risk root causes, and develop appropriate risk mitigation strategies
      c. Provide a source for test and evaluation metrics to measure the effectiveness of mitigation strategies.
      d. Describe economic, safety and manpower impacts of corrective actions.

4. An initial demonstration will be followed by a class exercise in which a process is described, hazardous tasks
    identified and the risk factors evaluated and mitigation methods evaluated

Student Requirements:
· Students are required to actively participate in the class exercise
· Students are required to have a scientific calculator or a laptop computer equipped with Microsoft Excel and the proper tools necessary to take notes

Instructor Bios:
Dr. Thomas Malone is an expert in Human Systems Integration and its interface with defense systems acquisition. He has 44 years experience in developing and applying human factors engineering (HFE) and human systems integration (HSI) principles, tools, methods and data to complex human-machine systems for government organizations and industry in the US, Canada, Europe and the Far East. He has contributed to human-machine interface design for every manned space program managed by NASA since Gemini. He led the Government's investigation of the roles of human error and operator training in the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, Unit 2, leading to Nuclear Regulatory Commission directives mandating human factors engineering in the design of nuclear power facilities. He has developed and published standardized processes for applying HFE and HSI for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, French Army, Royal Navies of the UK and Holland, NASA, the Coast Guard, the Offshore Oil industry, the FAA, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. For the European Union DG VII Waterborne Transport he conducted two research programs directed at human performance in maritime environments.

A prior project in this area includes the HSI/MANPRINT Integrated Decision/Engineering Aid (IDEA) tool set, a set of automated processes, tools, and databases developed specifically to enable HSI/MANPRINT analysts in the Army and Navy to meet the requirements of the DoD 5000 series.

Mark Geiger is the acquisition contact for the Chief of Naval Operations Safety Liaison Office (N09FB). He has approximately 27 years experience in industrial hygiene, safety and environmental areas within diverse industrial, laboratory and managerial settings. His efforts have focused upon integration of ergonomic and human systems integration analysis into the context of system safety. He is the initiator and technical representative for the Defense Safety Oversight Committee Project that developed this work.