HF in Safety Management Systems

Job and Task Design:

The design of jobs, tasks and supporting procedures can have a substantial effect on safety, efficiency and operational effectiveness. The design of jobs and procedures can have practical impacts related to the workflow (e.g. double-handling, bottlenecks, knowledge management), and they also have psychological implications for people working within the roles (e.g. feelings of autonomy, fulfilment, motivation and burnout). By optimising how jobs and tasks are designed, it is possible to streamline processes, increase productivity, and improve wellbeing.

We have experience across industries in applying human factors methods to help organisations to design jobs and tasks that optimise human performance, supported by workable and usable procedures. In one of our recent projects supporting a major financial institution, we conducted a human factors and usability review of the organisation’s operational procedures in response to concerns about transaction processing errors. The procedures were overhauled using a process of observation and task analysis to understand the processes and context of operation, and we worked with subject matter experts who work within the processing roles to ensure that the procedures more accurately reflected the way work is done. We evaluated the usability of the procedures, and presented them in a user-friendly format, with opportunities for error identified and reduced through the design of procedures and embedded cautions where appropriate.