An Application of the HFACS Method to Aviation Accidents in Africa

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Munene
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Human Factor ◽  
Flight Training ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Aviation Accidents ◽  
Factors Analysis ◽  
Adverse Weather ◽  
Decision Errors

Abstract. The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) methodology was applied to accident reports from three African countries: Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. In all, 55 of 72 finalized reports for accidents occurring between 2000 and 2014 were analyzed. In most of the accidents, one or more human factors contributed to the accident. Skill-based errors (56.4%), the physical environment (36.4%), and violations (20%) were the most common causal factors in the accidents. Decision errors comprised 18.2%, while perceptual errors and crew resource management accounted for 10.9%. The results were consistent with previous industry observations: Over 70% of aviation accidents have human factor causes. Adverse weather was seen to be a common secondary casual factor. Changes in flight training and risk management methods may alleviate the high number of accidents in Africa.

scholarly journals On the Influence of Human Factors on Safety of Remotely-Controlled Merchant Vessels

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 1145
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Wróbel ◽  
Mateusz Gil ◽  
Chong-Ju Chae
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Human Factor ◽  
Potential Influence ◽  
General Belief ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Physiological Conditions ◽  
Factors Analysis ◽  
Important Barrier ◽  
Human Operators ◽  
Expert Study

With numerous efforts undertaken by both industry and academia to develop and implement autonomous merchant vessels, their safety remains an utmost priority. One of the modes of their operation which is expected to be used is a remote control. Therein, some, if not all, decisions will be made remotely by human operators and executed locally by a vessel control system. This arrangement incorporates a possibility of a human factor occurrence. To this end, a variety of factors are known in the literature along with a complex network of mutual relationships between them. In order to study their potential influence on the safety of remotely-controlled merchant vessels, an expert study has been conducted using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System-Maritime Accidents (HFACS–MA) framework. The results indicate that the most relevant for the safety of this prospective system is to ensure that known problems are properly and timely rectified and that remote operators maintain their psycho- and physiological conditions. The experts elicited have also assigned higher significance to the causal factors of active failures than latent failures, thus indicating a general belief that operators’ actions represent the final and the most important barrier against accident occurrence.

Human Factors Analysis of Infection Prevention Practices in the Anesthesia Work Environment

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 639-642
Author(s):  
Ella Franklin ◽  
Lucy Stein
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Work Environment ◽  
Operating Room ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Infection Prevention ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Organizational Influences ◽  
Space Design ◽  
Factors Analysis ◽  
Emerging Themes

The department of anesthesia for a Washington, D.C. hospital engaged the MedStar National Center for Human Factors in Healthcare to identify opportunities for improving the anesthesia work environment with aims to mitigate the risk of pathogen transmission during operating room procedures. The human factors approach included operating room visits for observation and thematic analysis to identify emerging themes. Process inconsistencies in hand hygiene and cleaning practices were indicative of system vulnerabilities, including organizational influences and the design of the physical environment. Work-space design recommendations as well as strategies to improve infection control processes and safety culture are presented.

scholarly journals Incorporating Hofstede’ National Culture in Human Factor Analysis and Classification System (HFACS): Cases of Indonesian Aviation Safety

2018 ◽  
Vol 154 ◽  
pp. 01063
Author(s):  
Gradiyan Budi Pratama ◽  
Ari Widyanti ◽  
Iftikar Zahedi Sutalaksana
Keyword(s):  
National Culture ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Human Factor ◽  
Accident Analysis ◽  
Culture Result ◽  
Aviation Accidents ◽  
Factors Analysis ◽  
High Power Distance ◽  
Low Uncertainty

National culture plays an important role in the application of ergonomics and safety. This research examined role of national culture in accident analysis of Indonesian aviation using framework of Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). 53 Indonesian aviation accidents during year of 2001-2012 were analyzed using the HFACS framework by authors and were validated to 14 air-transport experts in Indonesia. National culture is viewed with Hofstede’ lens of national culture. Result shows that high collectivistic, low uncertainty avoidance, high power distance, and masculinity dimension which are characteristics of Indonesian culture, play an important role in Indonesian aviation accident and should be incorporated within HFACS. Result is discussed in relation with HFACS and Indonesian aviation accident analysis.

Human Error and Commercial Aviation Accidents: An Analysis Using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System

2017 ◽  
pp. 73-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Shappell ◽  
Cristy Detwiler ◽  
Kali Holcomb ◽  
Carla Hackworth ◽  
Albert Boquet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Human Error ◽  
Commercial Aviation ◽  
Aviation Accidents ◽  
Factors Analysis ◽  
Human Factors Analysis

scholarly journals Exploring the Underlying Causes of Chinese Eastern Star, Korean Sewol, and Thai Phoenix Ferry Accidents by Employing the HFACS-MA

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 4114
Author(s):  
Xiaolong Wang ◽  
Boling Zhang ◽  
Xu Zhao ◽  
Lulu Wang ◽  
Ruipeng Tong
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Maritime Industry ◽  
Factors Analysis ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Core Concepts ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Decision Errors

Maritime safety is a significant topic in the maritime industry since the numerous dangers at sea could lead to loss of property, environmental pollution, and even casualties. Existing research illustrates that human factors are the primary reasons of maritime accidents. Indeed, numerous maritime accidents can be classified into different types of human factors. In this context, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System for Maritime Accidents (HFACS-MA) model is introduced in this paper. The HFACS-MA framework consists of five levels, complying with the core concepts of HFACS and the guiding principles of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Based on the five levels of the framework, this research explores the underlying causes of Chinese Eastern Star, Korean Sewol, and Thai Phoenix accidents, and a comparative analysis is conducted. The analysis demonstrates the utility of applying the HFACS-MA model to the maritime industry, and the results emphasize the importance of the following categories: legislation gaps, organizational process, inadequate supervision, communication (ships and VTS), decision errors, and so on. Consequently, the research enables increased support for HFACS-MA and its application and provides valuable information for safety management and policy development in the maritime industry at different levels.

scholarly journals Improved HFACS on Human Factors of Construction Accidents: A China Perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gui Ye ◽  
Qin Tan ◽  
Xiaoli Gong ◽  
Qingting Xiang ◽  
Yuhe Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Aviation Accidents ◽  
Factors Analysis ◽  
Critical Paths ◽  
Human Factors Analysis

Human errors are one of the major contributors of accidents. In order to improve the safety performance, human errors have to be addressed. Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) has been developed as an analytical framework for the investigation of the role of human errors in aviation accidents. However, the HFACS framework did not reveal the relationships describing the effect among diverse factors at different levels. Similarly, its interior structure was not exposed. As a result, it is difficult to identify critical paths and key factors. Therefore, an improved Human Factors Analysis and Classification System in the construction industry (I-HFACS) was developed in this study. An analytical I-HFACS mechanism was designed to interpret how activities and decisions made by upper management lead to operator errors and subsequent accidents. Critical paths were highlighted. Similarly, key human factors were identified, that is, “regulatory factors,” “organizational process,” “supervisory violations,” “adverse spiritual state,” “skill underutilization,” “skill-based errors,” and “violations.” Findings provided useful references for the construction industry to improve the safety performance.

Using HFACS-Healthcare to Identify Systemic Vulnerabilities During Surgery

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 614-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara N. Cohen ◽  
Sarah E. Francis ◽  
Douglas A. Wiegmann ◽  
Scott A. Shappell ◽  
Bruce L. Gewertz
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Human Factors ◽  
Reporting System ◽  
Near Miss ◽  
Causal Factors ◽  
Event Reporting ◽  
Near Misses ◽  
Process Improvements ◽  
Organizational Influences ◽  
Factors Analysis

The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System for Healthcare (HFACS-Healthcare) was used to classify surgical near miss events reported via a hospital’s event reporting system over the course of 1 year. Two trained analysts identified causal factors within each event narrative and subsequently categorized the events using HFACS-Healthcare. Of 910 original events, 592 could be analyzed further using HFACS-Healthcare, resulting in the identification of 726 causal factors. Most issues (n = 436, 60.00%) involved preconditions for unsafe acts, followed by unsafe acts (n = 257, 35.39%), organizational influences (n = 27, 3.72%), and supervisory factors (n = 6, 0.82%). These findings go beyond the traditional methods of trending incident data that typically focus on documenting the frequency of their occurrence. Analyzing near misses based on their underlying contributing human factors affords a greater opportunity to develop process improvements to reduce reoccurrence and better provide patient safety approaches.

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