- Dr. Luis Amendola, PhD., Dr. Tibaire Depool, PhD
- Case studies
- Management, Operational Excellence
SUMMARY
From time to time, some catastrophe reminds us that the weakest link in a production system—man—is at the same time the one who holds the guarantee and reliability of its operation in his hands. We speak of human error, we say that the lack of reliability in a system is due to the fact that, after all, it is managed by humans.
Reflection on this problem is necessary. Human error is treated as the inevitable, that which always escapes what is controllable and measurable, what seems to be subtitled “on the impossibility of foreseeing human stupidity.”
When small or large disruptions cause serious incidents or accidents in situations of dialogue between man and machines, it must be said that the system has failed. That there will be no human errors or human reliability. We must speak of operational reliability, which inseparably combines technical reliability and human reliability. The overall reliability of a system will depend on the capacity a production system has to prevent technical and organizational failures, on the system’s ability to allow people to recover—taking into account their physiological, psychological, mental, and social capabilities—from technical failures and difficulties in executing a specific task.
Measuring human error is measuring the limits and capabilities of man, and for this it is necessary to integrate these limits and capabilities into technical systems, to create technologies compatible with the brain.
