Implications of Human Behaviour

The role of a human in the workplace is of great importance. No matter how technologically equipped, an organization gets, it will always require a human for operating and monitoring. The safety of a worker lies in his/her approach towards a machine. Careless attitude while running a machine results in accidents and even death in some cases. It is quite significant to analyze a worker’s behavior towards the machine so that you can stop any electrical hazards in future.

Identification of Accident

In this section, we will see how to identify an accident. The following points need to be considered to identify an accident −

Cause of Accident

Identifying the reason that leads to the accident.

Events

A detailed analysis of the chain of events, that leads to the accident.

Difference between accidents

Comparing the current accident with previous accidents.

The intensity of risk

Identifying the risk involved in the task that is being carried out by the workers.

Organization’s fault

Find out if it is the worker’s fault or the organization’s.

Improving the System

In this section, we will learn how to improve the system.

Task Analysis

Each work requires a different set of actions and each action of a worker has a ripple effect on the other. Each task carried out by a worker needs some degree of choice by the worker and that choice sometimes can cause hazards in the workplace.

Follow the example given below to have a fair idea about task analysis.

Example

Suppose a worker at a workplace is asked to raise the temperature of the Air Conditioner by 2 degrees. Now, this task seems easy to execute, but errors can occur due to human behavior. Consider the following actions that can cause errors −

Pressing the wrong button

A slip type Error will happen if the worker does not know which button to press and presses the wrong button assuming it the right.

Execute without knowledge

The worker pushes the right button, but during that time he/she thought (guessed of his/her own) that the switch is for other use.

Violation

In this situation, the employee is perfectly aware of which button to press but still presses a wrong button to complete the task sooner.

Choice Analysis

All humans tend to make mistakes at workplace especially during the end of their shift, as they are tired and focus on reaching their home as soon as possible. Therefore, while evaluating the human behaviour and performance, one must consider the fact that no human is 100% perfect. When a worker faces stress inside or outside the work, he/she is most likely to commit a mistake. Addressing the issues can help to prevent the errors and avoid any accidents in future.

The Choice analysis of a worker is categorized into two perspectives −

Personal perspective of the worker

• Age
• Gender
• Personal characteristics
• The way of learning
• The tendency to take a risk

Workplace perspective of the worker

• Organizational culture
• Office politics
• Reward System of the organization
• Management system
• Quality of training provided by the organization

Classifying Human Errors

In this section, we will classify the different human errors.

There are two types of classification approach −

• PHECA − Potential Human Error Cause Analysis
• SHERPA − Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach

PHECA

Potential Human Error Cause Analysis focuses on the tasks given in workplace and the error he/she commits. Tasks could be about an operation, maintenance, monitor, check, and communication.

Following are the errors caused by workers −

• Task not done
• Partially completed the task
• Done the task but not precisely what was asked for
• Done the task more than what asked for
• Done the task before the specified time

SHERPA

Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach combines the task and the error methods. The approach stores the error type separately. SHERPA tie the errors of a worker to his/her performance goal. The causes of the error are linked to the worker’s skill or the knowledge he/she possess.

Questions

1. Identification of accident in an organization is crucial. Which one is not a method of identifying a workplace accident?

a) Cause of an accident

b) Events leading to an accident

c) Number of people involves in the accident

Ans - c

2. Which one of this does not fall under “personal perspective of a worker” while conducting choice analysis?

a) Personal Characteristics

b) Reward System

c) The tendency to take a risk

Ans - b

3. What does PHECA Stand for?

a) Potential Human Error Cause Analysis

b) Potential Human Error Cause Awareness

c) Personal Human Error Cause Awareness

Ans - a