Human factors and systems

Human factors defined

 Human factors discovers and applies information about
human behavior, abilities, limitations, and other
characteristics to the design of tools, machines, systems,
tasks, jobs, and environments for productive, safe,
comfortable, and effective human use.
Focus of human factors
 Human factors focuses on human beings and their interaction
with products, equipment, facilities, procedures, and
environments used in work and everyday living.
 The emphasis is on human beings and how the design of
things influence people.
 Human factors, then seeks to change the things people use
and the environments in which they use these things to better
match the capabilities, limitations, and needs of people.
 Objectives of human factors
Human factors has two major objectives:
1. To enhance the effectiveness and efficiency with which
work and other activities are carried out. It includes
convenience of use, reduced errors, and increased
productivity.
2. To enhance certain desirable human values, including
improved safety, reduced fatigue and stress, increased
comfort, greater user acceptance, increased job
satisfaction, and improved quality of life.
 What human factor is not..

 Human factors is not just applying checklists and

guidelines

 Human factors is not using oneself as the model for

designing things

 Human factors is not just common sense

Doctrines of human factors
 Commitment to the idea that things, machines, etc. are built to
serve humans and must be designed always with the user in
mind.
 Recognition of individual differences in human capabilities
and limitations and an appreciation for their design
implications.
 conviction that the design of things, procedures, etc.
influences human behavior and well being.
 Emphasis on empirical data and evaluation in the design
process.
 Reliance on the scientific method and the use of objective
data to test hypotheses and generate basic data about
human behavior.
 Commitment to a systems orientation and a recognition that
things, procedures, environments, and people do not exist in
isolation.
Systems
 A system is an entity that exists to carry out some purpose.
 A system is composed of humans, machines, and other things
that work together to accomplish some goal which these
same components could not produce independently.
 The concept of a system implies that we recognize a
purpose; we carefully analyze the purpose; we design the
system’s parts to accomplish the requirements; and we
fashion a well-coordinated system that effectively meets our
purpose.
Human-machine system
 Human-machine system is defined as a combination of one or
more human beings and one or more physical components
interacting to bring about, from given inputs, some desired
output
 In a relatively simple form, a human-machine system can be a
person with a hoe, a hammer, or a hair curler.
Schematic representation of a human-
machine system
Types of systems
1. Manual system
2. Mechanical system
3. Automated system

1. Manual systems:
 A manual system consists of hand tools and other aids
which are coupled by a human operator who controls the
operation.
 Operators of such systems use their own physical energy
as the power source.
2. Mechanical system:
 These systems consists of well-integrated physical parts,
such as various types of powered machine tools.
 They are generally designed to perform their functions with
little variation.
 The power typically is provided by the machine, and the
operator’s function is essentially one of control, usually by
the use of control devices.
3. Automated systems:
 When a system is fully automated, it performs all
operational; functions with little or no human intervention.
 Robots are a good example of an automated system.
 Some peoples have the mistaken belief that since
automated systems require no human intervention, they
are not machine systems and involve no human factors
considerations.
 All automated systems require humans to install, program,
reprogram, and maintain them.
 Automated systems must be designed with the same
attention paid to human factors that would be given to any
other type of human-machine system.
Characteristics of systems

1. Systems are purposive

2. Systems can be hierarchical

3. Systems operate in an environment

4. Components serve functions

5. Components interact
1. Systems are purposive:
 Every system must have a purpose, or else it is nothing

more than a collection of odds and ends.

 The purpose of a system is the system goal, or objective,

and systems can have more than one.

2. Systems can be hierarchical:

 Some systems can be considered to be parts of larger

systems.
3. Systems operate in an environment:
 The environment of a system is everything outside its
boundaries.
 Depending on how the system’s boundaries are drawn,
the environment can range from the immediate
environment through the intermediate to the general.
4. Components serve functions:
 Every component in a system serves at least one
function that is related to the fulfillment of one or more
of the system’s goal.
 One task of human factors specialists is to aid in
making decisions as to whether humans or machines
carry out a particular system function.
 Components serve various functions in systems, but all
typically involve a combination of four more basic
functions: sensing(information receiving), information
storage, information storage, information processing
and decision, and action function.
5. Components interact:
 Components interact means that the components
work together to achieve system goals.
 Each component has an effect, however small, on
other components.
 One outcome of a system’s analysis is the
description and understanding of these component
and subsystem relationships.
 Types of basic functions performed by human
or machine components of human-machine

Information storage

Sensing Information Action

Information (information Processing & functions Output
input Receiving) decision
 Types of basic functions performed by human
or machine components of human-machine
1. Sensing (information receiving):
 One of these functions is sensing, or information receiving.
 Some of the information entering a system is from outside
the system, for example, airplanes entering the area of
control of a control-tower operator, an order for the
production of a product, or the heat that sets off an
automatic fire alarm.
 Some information, however, may originate inside the
system itself. Such information can be feedback, or it can
be information that is stored in the system.
2. Information storage:

 For human beings, information storage is

synonymous with memory of learned material.
 Information can be stored in physical components in
many ways, as on magnetic tapes and disks,
templates, records, and tables of data.
 Most of the information that is stored for later use is
in coded or symbolic form.
3. Information processing and decision:
 Information processing embraces various types of
operations performed with information that is received
(sensed) and information that is stored.
 When human beings are involved in information processing,
this process, simple or complex, typically results in a decision
to act
 When mechanized or automated machine components are
used , their information processing must be programmed in
some way.
 Such programming is , of course, readily understood if a
computer is used.
 Other methods of programming involve the use of various
types of schemes, such as gears, cams, electric and
electronic circuits, and levels.
4. Action functions:
 Action functions of a system are those operations which occur
as a consequence of the decisions that are made.
 These functions fall roughly into two classes.
 The first is some type of physical control action or process, such
as the activation of certain control mechanisms or the handling,
moving, modification, or alteration of materials or objects.
 The other is essentially a communication action, be it by voice,
signals, records, or other methods.such functions also involve
some physical actions, but these are in a sense incidental to
the communication function.
Information
 Information theory defines information as the reduction of
uncertainty.
 The occurrences of highly certain events do not convey
much information since they only confirm what was
expected.
 The occurrences of highly unlikely events, however convey
more information.
 When the temperature warning light comes on in a car, for
example, it conveys considerable information because it is
an unlikely event.
 The “fasten seat belt” warning that comes on when the car is
started conveys less information because it is expected.
Types of information presented by displays

1. Quantitative information

2. Qualitative information

3. Status information

4. Warning and signal information

5. Representational information

6. Identification information

7. Alphanumeric and symbolic information

8. Time-phased information
1. Quantitative information:
 Display presentations that reflect the quantitative value of
some variable such as temperature or speed.
 Although in most instances the variable is dynamic, some
such information may be static.

2. Qualitative information:
 Display presentations that reflect the approximate value,
trend, rate of change, or other aspect of some changeable
variable.
 Such information usually is predicated on some
quantitative parameter, but the displayed presentation is
used more as an indication of the change in the parameter
than obtaining a quantitative value as such.
3. Status information:
 Display presentations that reflect the condition or status of
a system, such as on-off indications; indications of one of a
limited number of conditions, such as stop-caution-go
lights; and indications of a independent conditions of some
class, such as a TV channel.
4. Warning and signal information:
 Display presentation used to indicate emergency or unsafe
conditions, or to indicate the presence or absence of some
object or condition.
 Displayed information of this type can be static or dynamic.
5. Representational information:
 Pictorial or graphic representations of objects, areas, or
other configurations.
 Certain displays may present dynamic images( such as
TV or movies) or symbolic representations (such as
heart beats shown on an oscilloscope or blips on a
cathode ray tube).
 Others may present static information(such as
photographs, maps, charts, diagrams, and blueprints)
and graphic representations ( such as bar graphs and
line graphs).
6. Identification information:
 Display presentations used to identify some (usually)
static condition, situation, or object, such as the
identification of hazards, traffic lanes,and color-coded
pipes.
 The identification usually is in coded form.
7. Alphanumeric and symbolic information:
 Display presentations of verbal, numeric, and related
coded information in many forms, such as signs, labels,
placards, instructions, music notes, printed and typed
material including Braille, and computer printouts.
 Such information usually is static, but in certain
circumstances it may be dynamic, as in news bulletins
displayed by moving lights on a building.
8. Time-phased information:
 Display presentations of pulsed or time-phased
signals, e.g., signals that are controlled in terms of
duration of the signals and of inter signal
intervals,and of their combinations, such as the
Morse code and blinker lights.
Selection of display modality
Use auditory presentations if:
1. The message is simple.
2. The message is short.
3. The message will not be referred to later.
4. The message deals with events in time.
5. The message calls for immediate action.
6. The visual system of the person is overburdened.
7. The receiving location is too bright or dark adaptation
integrity is necessary.
8. The person’s job requires moving about continually.
Use visual presentation if:

1. The message is complex.

2. The message is long.

3. The message will be referred to later.

4. The message deals with location in space.

5. The message does not call for immediate action.

6. The auditory system of the person is overburdened.

7. The receiving location is too noisy.

8. The person’s job allows him or her to remain in one position.

Uses of dynamic information
The information provided by dynamic displays can be used in a
variety of ways.
1. Quantitative readings:
 The display is used to read a precise numeric value.
 For example, a quantitative reading would precede a
response such as “the pressure is 125 psi.”
2. Qualitative readings:
 The display is used to read an approximate value or
to discern a trend, rate of change, or change in
direction.
 For example, a qualitative reading would result in a
response such as “the pressure is rising”.
3. Check readings:
 The display is used to read determine if parameters are
within some “normal” bounds or that several parameters
are equal.
 For example, check reading would elicit a response such
as “all pressures are normal.”
4. Situation awareness:
 The display is used to perceive and attach meaning to
elements in a volume of time and space and to project the
status of the elements into the near future.
 For example, situation awareness is involved when an air
traffic controller, looking at a radar display, understands
the meaning and positions of aircraft within the sector he
or she is controlling and predicts where the aircraft will be
in 5, 10, or 15 minutes.
Quantitative visual displays
 The objective of quantitative displays is to provide
information about the quantitative value of some variable.
 In most cases, the variable changes or is subject to
change (such as speed or temperature). But (with a bit of
stretch ) we also embrace the measurement of some
variables that, in a strict sense, are more static (such as
the length and weight of objects).
Basic design of quantitative displays

Conventional quantitative displays are mechanical devices of

one of the following types:

1. Fixed scale with moving pointer

2. Moving scale with fixed pointer

3. Digital display
Factors to be considered in the selection of
analogue displays
 In general, a pointer moving against scale is preferred.
 If numerical increase is typically related to some other natural
interpretation, such as more or less or up or down, it is
easier to interpret a straight-line or thermometer scale with a
moving pointer because of the added cue of pointer position
relative to zero, or null, condition.
 Normally, do not mix types of pointer-scale indicators when
they are used for related functions-to avoid reversal errors in
reading.
 If manual control over the moving element is expected,
there is less ambiguity between the direction of motion of
the control and the display if the control moves the pointer
rather than the scale.
 If slight, variable movements or changes in quantity are
important to the observer, these will be more apparent if a
moving pointer is used.
Basic features of quantitative displays

 Scale range

 Numbered interval

 Graduation interval

 Scale unit
Scale range is the numerical difference between the highest and
lowest values on the scale, whether numbered or not.

Numbered interval is the numerical difference between

adjacent numbers on the scale.

Graduation interval is the numeric difference between the

smallest scale markers.

Scale unit is the smallest unit to which the scale is to be read.

This may or may not correspond to the graduation interval.
Specific features of conventional
quantitative displays
 Numeric progressions of scales

 Length of scale unit

 Design of scale markers

 Scale markers and interpolation

 Design of pointers

 Combining scale features

 Scale size and viewing distance

Numeric progressions of scales:
 Every quantitative scale has some intrinsic numeric
progression system that is characterized by the
graduation interval of the scale and by the numbering of
the major scale markers.
 In general, the garden variety of progression by 1s (0,
1, 2, 3, etc.) is the easiest to use.
 This lends itself readily to a scale with major markers at
0, 10, 20, etc.. With intermediate markers at 5, 15, 25,
etc., and with a minor markers at 1,2,3,4 etc.
Length of scale unit:
 The length of the scale unit is the length on the scale (in
inches, millimeters, or degrees of arc) that represents the
numeric value that is the smallest unit to which the scale is
to be read.
 The length of the scale unit should be such that the
distinctions between the values can be made with optimum
reliability in terms of human sensory and perceptual skills.
Design of scale markers
 It is a good practice to include a scale marker for each scale
unit to be read.

Scale markers and interpolation:

 The concept of interpolation usually applies to the estimation
of specific values between markers when not all scale units
have markers.
 However, usually it is desirable to have a scale marker for
each unit to be read. In such instances, pointers between
markers are rounded to the nearest marker.
 Scales are read most quickly when the pointers are
precisely on the markers.
 Design of pointers :

The following recommendations are followed when using pointers:

 Use pointed pointers

 Have the tip of the pointer meet, but not overlap, the

smallest scale markers.

 Have the color of the pointer extend from the tip to the

center of the scale extend from the tip to the center of the

scale ; and have the pointer close to the surface of the

scale.
Qualitative visual displays

 In using displays for obtaining qualitative information, the

user is primarily interested in the approximate value of some
continuously changeable variable(such as temperature,
pressure, or speed) or in its trend, or rate of change. The
basic underlying data used for such purposes usually are
quantitative.
Quantitative basis for qualitative reading
Quantitative data may be used as the basis for qualitative reading
in at least three ways:
1. For determining the status or condition of the variable in
terms of each of a limited number of predetermined
ranges (such as determining if the temperature gauge of
an automobile is cold, normal, or hot);
2. For maintaining some desirable range of approximate
values (such as maintaining a driving speed between 50
and 55mi/h).
3. for observing trends, rates of change, etc. (such as noting
the rate of change in the altitude of an airplane)
Check Reading
 Check reading refers to the use of an instrument to ascertain

whether the reading is normal.

 Usually this is done with a qualitative scale, but the normal

condition is represented by a specific value or narrow range of

values.

 In effect, check reading is a special case of qualitative reading.

Status indicators
 Sometimes qualitative information indicates the status of a system
or a component, such as the use of some displays for check
reading to determine if a condition is normal or abnormal, or the
qualitative reading of an automobile thermometer to determine if
the condition is hot, normal or cold.
 Status indications reflect separate separate discrete conditions
such as on and off or( in the case of traffic lights) stop, caution,
and go.
 If a qualitative instrument is to be used strictly for check reading or
for identifying a particular status(and not for some other purpose
such as observing trends), the instrument could be converted to a
status indicator.
Signal and warning lights
 Flashing and steady state light are used for various purposes,

such as indications of warning(as on highways); identification of

aircraft at night; navigation aids and beacons; and to attract

attention, such as to certain locations on an instrument panel.

Factors influencing the detectability of
signal and warning lights
The following factors influence the detectability of lights:
 Size, luminance, and exposure time
 Color of lights
 Flash rate of lights
 Context of signal lights
Size,luminance, and exposure time:
 The absolute threshold for the detection of of a flash of light
depends in part on a combination of size, luminance, and
exposure time.
 The larger the light and/or the longer the exposure time, the
lower the luminance required to detect the light 50% of the
time.
Color of lights:
 Another factor related to the effectiveness of signal lights is
color.
 Reynolds,white and hulgendorf used response time as an
indication of the effectiveness of four different colors.
 The researchers found that the background color and ambient
illumination can interact to influence the ability of people to
detect and respond to lights of different colors.
 If a signal has good brightness contrast against a dark
background, and if the absolute level of brightness of the
signal is high, the color of the signal is high, the color of the
signal is of minimal importance in attracting attention.
 With low signal-to-background brightness contrast, a red
signal has a marked advantage, followed by green, yellow,
and white in that order.
Flash rate of lights:
 In the case of flashing lights, the flash rate should be well
below that at which a flashing light appears as a steady
light, which is approximately 30 times per second.
 Markowitz makes the point that the range of 60 to 120
flashes per minute , as used on highways and in
flyways,appears to be compatible with discrimination
capabilities and available hardware constraints.
Recommendations regarding signal and
warning lights
Following are the some recommendations about signal and warning
lights:
• When should they be used? To warn of an actual or a
potential dangerous condition.
• How many warning lights? Ordinary only one.
• Steady state or flashing? If the light is to represent a
continuous, ongoing condition, use a steady-state light
unless the condition is especially hazardous; continuous
flashing lights can be distracting. To represent occasional
emergencies or new conditions, use a flashing light.
 Flash rate:
 If flashing lights are used, flash rates should be from about
3 to 10 per second (4 is best) with equal intervals of light and
dark.
 If different flash rates are to represent different levels of
some variable, use no more than three different rates.
 Warning light intensity:
 The light should be at least twice at least twice as bright as
the immediate background.
 Location:
 The warning light should be within 30 degrees of the
operator’s normal line of sight.
 Color:
 Warning lights are normally red because red means
danger to most people.
 Size:
 Warning lights should subtend at least 1 degree of visual
angle.
Representational displays
 Most representational displays that depict changeable
conditions consists of elements that tend to change
positions or configuration superimposed on a background.
 An example would be an aircraft display that shows
position of other aircraft in the sky and retain features on
the ground.
 One purpose of such displays is to enhance operators
situation awareness.
Aircraft bank angle displays

 The problem of representing the bank angle of an aircraft has

haunted human factors specialists- and pilots-for years.
 One aspect of the problem relates to the basic movement
relationships to be depicted by the display.
 The two basic relationships are

 Moving aircraft
 Moving horizon
Moving aircraft:
 The earth is fixed and the aircraft moves in relation to it.
 Such displays are also called outside-in, bird’s-eye, or
ground-based displays.
 When the real plane banks to the left, the display indicator
(the plane symbol) also rotates to the left.
 The problem is that the pilot sitting in the cockpit does not
sees the real horizon as level horizon as level and his or
her plane as titled.
 What the pilot sees out the cockpit window is a titled
horizon and an aircraft that from the pilot’s frame of
reference is horizontal.
Moving horizon:
 The aircraft symbol is fixed and the horizon moves in
relation to it.
 Such displays are also called inside-out or pilot’s eye
displays.
 Most aircraft bank angle displays are of this type.
 This type of display is congruent with the pilot’s frame of
reference, but when the pilot’s banks the real airplane to
the left, generating a leftward rotation in the pilot’s mind,
the moving element of the display moves to the right.
 Comparisons between moving aircraft and moving-horizon
displays have produced mixed results.
 Fogel proposed a bank angle display that combined the
features of the moving aircraft and moving-horizon displays.
 In this display, rapid movement of the controls and thus the
aircraft