Subjective Workload Measurement: An Aid in Evaluating Flightline Maintenance Systems

Author(s):  
Laurie L. Quill ◽  
David Kancler

Armstrong Laboratory, Logistics Research Division performed an evaluation to determine whether flightline maintenance was improved by using a computerized, integrated maintenance information system (IMIS) for different types of users. The laboratory's evaluation overcame several logistical problems common to conducting research outside a laboratory setting. Such problems include obtaining representative subjects, controlling for extraneous variables, and gathering adequate sample data. The present study includes 24 maintenance technicians (12 avionics specialists and 12 crew chief non-specialists). Each subject performed 12 maintenance tasks (6 using electronic and 6 using paper presentation). Subjective workload ratings and objective performance times were measured. Subjective workload (using National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX)) and objective performance results revealed similar interactions. Using paper-based presentations, crew chiefs gave significantly higher subjective workload ratings than avionics specialists and significantly longer total performance time (e.g., time-to-complete). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups when using electronic-based presentations.

JOURNAL ASRO ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Ahmadi Ahmadi ◽  
Wahyu Endriyanto ◽  
Benny Sukandari ◽  
Agus Makhrowi

The workload is highly related to efficient and effective human resource utilization in an organization to achieve organizational objectives, vision, and mission. Various methods are used to optimize the number of personnel in an organization so that each task can be completed quickly and precisely. Accounting Institutions are inseparable from problems regarding the lack of workload with the number of personnel working on it. The change of the Policy gives an impact on the change of Job Description and List of Personnel Arrangements of the organization. To overcome these issues, workload measurement, analysis can be used to determine the optimal amount of personnel required in their working units. This study uses a mental workload measurement so called NASA-TLX and physical workload measurement According to the applicable workload regulation that is in accordance with the Administrative Direction of Workload Analysis. Both methods are then carried out to be compared to each other. The results showed that the physical workload is required in the completion of tasks in each work unit. In addition, the determination of the optimal number of personnel using physical workload or appropriate tasks per task position based Job Description is performed. As a result, it is known that there is an excessive workload in the Sub Service Budget Cost work units with personal shortcomings. On the other hand, there is an excessive personnel number in Administrative Work, Sub Department of Finance Administration and Sub Department Financial Control. The overall conclusion of this study is a need for personnel reduction in a List of Personnel Arrangements currently known as Accounting Institutions to be 39 personnel instead of the existing 48 personnel.  Keywords: Workload, NASA-TLX (Task Load Index), assignments Per Task title, Number of Optimal personnel


JOURNAL ASRO ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Ahmadi Ahmadi ◽  
Okol Sri Suharyo ◽  
Arimbo Arimbo ◽  
Aab Abdul Wahab

The workload of an organization is related to the efficient and effective utilization of human resources so that it can realize the vision, mission and objectives of the organization. Various methods are used to optimize the number of personnel in an organization, so that each task can be completed effectively and efficiently. KRI Diponegoro-365 personnel as the TNI Maritime Task Force, the Garuda Contingent can not be separated from the problems regarding the lack of conformity to workload with the allocation of the number of available personnel. To overcome this, an analysis of workload measurement is needed which can then be used for determine the allocation of the right number of personnel needed in each division. This study uses the measurement of NASA-TLX mental workload and physical workload according to TNI Roles. Both of these methods are then compared between mental and physical burden that occurs. From the results of the comparison, it was found that physical workload is needed in the completion of tasks in each division. After a comparison, then the determination of the allocation of the number of personnel will be carried out using the physical workload approach based on the description of the tasks in each division. The results of the calculation will then show the division that has excess or lack of personnel. The overall results obtained from this study can be concluded that the number of maritime task force personnel using the Diponegoro class KRI is appropriate, but the allocation of personnel in each division needs to adjust to the existing workload.  Keywords: Workload, NASA-TLX (Task Load Index), Number of Military Personnel


Author(s):  
S. Jennings ◽  
G. Craig ◽  
Stephan Carignan ◽  
Kris Ellis ◽  
D. Thorndycraft Qinetiq

This paper describes an investigation of a workload measurement technique based on pilot control movements. The Dynamic Interface Modeling and Simulation System Product Metric (DIMSS PM) assumes that pilot control activity can be used to evaluate pilot workload. Three qualified test pilots flew the fly-bywire NRC Bell 205 helicopter in a short test program that compared the DIMSS PM with subjective workload ratings and handling qualities ratings. The pilots performed a variation of an ADS-33E bob-up with varying levels of simulated turbulence and modified cyclic control characteristics. Good agreement was found for most in-flight test conditions between DIMSS Workload Metric scores and subjective workload ratings from the Bedford Workload Scale and Cooper-Harper handling qualities ratings. While, the DIMSS Workload Metric did not accurately reflect workload increases due to variations in the cyclic stick characteristics, the metric shows promise as an objective measurement tool of pilot workload in well-defined tests.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Böffel ◽  
Sophie Würger ◽  
Jochen Müsseler ◽  
Sabine J. Schlittmeier

Free games that are monetized by selling virtual items, such as cosmetic microtransactions for one’s avatar, seem to offer a better gaming experience to paying players. To experimentally explore this phenomenon, the effects of character customization with cosmetic microtransactions on objective and self-estimated player performance, subjective identification with the avatar, fun and the players’ perceived competence were examined in the game League of Legends. This study introduces a new laboratory-based, experimental task to objectively measure within-game player performance. Each participant performed this game-based task in two different conditions: With a character that was customized using a provided set of cosmetic microtransactions and with a default character. Results showed that customization increased subjective identification with the player character. However, objective performance measures were unaffected by this manipulation although the novel experimental approach provided reliable performance results. Additionally, identification was positively related to perceived competence, fun, and self-estimated performance. Implications for the design of cosmetic microtransactions and their influence on competitive gaming are discussed.


Author(s):  
Robert A. King ◽  
Gregory M. Corso

Pilots often turn off the auditory displays which are provided to improve their performance (Weiner, 1977; Veitengruber, Boucek, & Smith, 1977). The intensity of the auditory display is often cited as a possible cause of this behavior (Cooper, 1977). However, the processing of the additional information is a concurrent task demand which may increase subjective workload (Wickens & Yeh, 1983; McCloy, Derrick, & Wickens, 1983). Pilots may attempt to reduce subjective workload at the expense of performance by turning off the auditory display. Forty undergraduate males performed a visual search task. Three conditions: auditory display on, auditory display off, and subject's choice were run in combination with nine levels of visual display load. The auditory display, a 4000 Hz tone with a between-subject intensity of 60 dB(A), 70 dB(A), 80 dB(A), and 90 dB(A), indicated that the target letter was in the lower half of the search area. NASA-TLX (Task Load Index) was used to measure the subjective workload of the subjects after each block of trials (Hart & Staveland, 1988). A non-monotonic relationship was found between auditory display intensity and auditory display usage. Evidence was found that the auditory display increased some aspects of subjective workload– physical demands and frustration. Furthermore, there was a dissociation of performance and subjective workload in the manner predicted by Wickens – Yeh (1983). The implications of these results for display design are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik G. Prytz, PhD ◽  
Jonas Rybing, MSc ◽  
Carl-Oscar Jonson, PhD

Objective: This study reports on an initial test using a validated workload measurement method, the NASA Task Load Index (TLX), as an indicator of joint emergency exercise effectiveness. Prior research on emergency exercises indicates that exercises must be challenging, ie, result in high workload, to be effective. However, this is often problematic with some participants being underloaded and some overloaded. The NASA TLX was used to test for differences in workload between commanders and subordinates and among three different emergency response organizations during a joint emergency exercise.Design: Questionnaire-based evaluation with professional emergency responders.Setting: The study was performed in conjunction with a large-scale interorganizational joint emergency exercise in Sweden.Participants: A total of 20 participants from the rescue services, 12 from the emergency medical services, and 12 from the police participated in the study (N = 44). Ten participants had a command-level role during the exercise and the remaining 34 were subordinates.Main Outcome Measure(s): The main outcome measures were the workload subscales of the NASA TLX: mental demands, physical demands, temporal demands, performance, effort, and frustration. Results: The results showed that the organizations experienced different levels of workload, that the commanders experienced a higher workload than the subordinates, and that two out of three organizations fell below the twenty-fifth percentile of average workload scores compiled from 237 prior studies.Conclusions: The results support the notion that the NASA TLX could be a useful complementary tool to evaluate exercise designs and outcomes. This should be further explored and verified in additional studies.


Author(s):  
Jia hui Ma ◽  
Bernadette McCrory ◽  
David Claudio

Background: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) a nd Surgery Task Load Index (SURG-TLX) are two subjective workload m easurement instruments. Both instruments provide unweighted andweightedworkload measurements. Weighted TLX m easures have seldomly been used byresearchers typically becauseof its high correlation with unweighted TLX a nd addedexperimentaltime to collect pairwise weightings. Therefore, theaim of thestudy wa s to compare weighted TLX scores with unweighted TLX scores and each’s sensitivity for demographic and experimentalfactors. Methods: Two simulated la paroscopic single site surgery tasks were completedusing four surgicalmethods by 25 participants. Pearson correlations, principle componentanalyses and mixed effect models were used to compare the unweightedandweighted TLXscores across tasks a nd methods. Results: There was a high correlation(r > 0.950, p < 0.001) betweentheunweighted TLXscores and the weighted TLX scores. The weighted TLX scores showed better sensitivity to both demographic and experimental factors for both TLX instruments. Conclusion: The overall weighted NASA-TLX and SURG-TLX scores differed from their respective unweighted scores even with a high correlation. The weighted TLXshowed potentialto better discriminate subjective workloadfor single-site ta sks. Future research is needed to identify and validatea more streamlinedweightingmethodparticularly for complex experimental taskslike single-site surgery.


Author(s):  
David E. Kancler ◽  
Megan E. Gorman ◽  
Mary McWesler ◽  
Scott Bachmann ◽  
Darryl Stimson ◽  
...  

The Aircraft Maintenance Intuitive Troubleshooting (AMIT) project is a three-year Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) effort headed by the Logistics Readiness Branch, Warfighter Readiness Research Division, Human Effectiveness Directorate (HEAL) through NCI Information Systems, Inc, with the support of the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI). AMIT's goal is to support aircraft maintenance technicians by providing the right information, appropriate to their experience level, so they will more efficiently and effectively complete their task. Multiple data collection strategies were adopted, including an extensive literature review, a series of process interviews, and a progression of CTA interviews. The CTA effort was designed to capture where the process is inadequate or breaks down. Areas of the maintenance process identified as most challenging includes debrief, problem duplication, and troubleshooting. Resulting design recommendations include Graphical System Representations, electronic technical orders, electronic wiring diagrams, access to other information sources, and application of case based reasoning.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel R. Olsen ◽  
Jacob A. George ◽  
Mark R. Brinton ◽  
Michael D. Paskett ◽  
David T. Kluger ◽  
...  

AbstractMany presently available prostheses lack a functional wrist. To fill this niche and to better understand the impact a wrist has in prosthetic functionality, we designed a low-cost, adaptable, 3D-printable prosthetic wrist that can be adapted to various prosthetic hands and sockets. The wrist utilizes inexpensive but powerful servo motors to provide simultaneous and proportional control of two degrees of freedom: pronation/supination and flexion/extension or radial/ulnar deviation. Participants used both our wrist and a commercially available wrist (DEKA “LUKE” Arm) to complete a modified version of the clothespin relocation task with and without the wrists enabled. Through use of the NASA Task Load Index we found that both wrists significantly reduced the subjective workload associated with clothespin relocation task (p < 0.05). However, we found no significant difference in task completion speed, presumably due to compensation strategies. This inexpensive and adaptable prosthetic wrist can be used by amputees to reduce task workload, or by researchers to further explore the importance of wrist function.


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