Human Worker Reliability

Charles P. Shelton (1999) stated, “In any complex system, most errors and failures in the system can be traced to a human source.” Human performance varies from person to person because it is a function of three factors; motivation, ability, and opportunity. Simply put, a person must desire, be able, and have access to do a task. Because of the variability in these and other personal factors, people are not consistent performers. Is it possible to improve the reliability of people in the workplace?

Human performance can drop when conducting tasks that require heavy concentration or are considered boring. Most people will perform better in a comfortable setting. Regulating the temperature, humidity, lighting, background noise, and environmental factors within comfort limits of the worker can increase productivity by reducing physical and psychological stress. A workplace that is too hot, cold, or demanding can set a worker up for failure. Stephans (2004) suggests matching people with the appropriate mental and physical capabilities to a job that best suits them.

Another alternative would be to automate tedious tasks and minimize the human element. These engineering controls can be expensive though. When designing out the problem is not a viable option, quality control is one method to consider for reducing human error during critical duties. The most common form of quality control used for personnel is training. It is a low cost means to improve consistency that can be implemented rather quickly.

Ergonomics is another opportunity to improve worker efficiency. Not all workers have the same body dimensions and some accommodations may be necessary to “fit” the smaller and larger people to the work area. The correct approach would be to fit the job to them in order to maximize performance. Workstation layout along with tools or job aides can save time and improve reliability by reducing poor postures and unnecessary body motions. Call centers have seen improved productivity, by almost 20%, just by providing a more comfortable chair.

In order to improve the reliability of human interaction within a workplace the design of the total system must be reviewed. Where possible, reducing the role of the human via automation would yield more consistent results. Improving the ergonomics of the work area to include adjustability and training of standardized, easily repeatable, procedures is a cost effective alternative that should be considered.

References

Stephans, R. A. (2004). System safety for the 21st century: The updated and revised edition of system safety 2000.