Human Factor

During on job, AME shall not  be under the influence of drink  or a drug to such an extent as to impair his capacity to exercise such  privileges.” Alcohol acts as a depressant on the central nervous system, dulling the senses and increasing mental and physical reaction times.  Medication - Any medication can possibly have direct effects or side  effects that may impair performance in the workplace.   Medication can be regarded as any over-the-counter or prescribed drug  used for    therapeutic  purposes. Analgesics are used for pain relief and to counter the symptoms of colds and ‘flu.  Paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen are the most common, and are generally considered safe if used as directed.  Antibiotics ( Penicillin, mycins and cyclines) may have short  term or delayed effects which affect work performance.  Their use indicates that a  fairly severe infection may well be present and apart...

Sleep is a natural state of reduced consciousness involving changes in body and brain  physiology which is necessary to man to restore and replenish the body and brain. Five stages of sleep: Stage 1 : Transitional phase between waking and sleeping. Heart rate slows and muscles relax. It is easy to wake someone up. Stage 2 :  deeper level of sleep, but it is still fairly easy to wake someone. Stage 3 : Sleep is even deeper and the sleeper is now quite unresponsive to external stimuli and so is difficult to wake. Heart rate, blood pressure and body temp continue to drop. Stage 4 :  deepest stage of sleep and it is very difficult to wake someone up. REM Sleep :  the person is even more difficult to awaken than stage 4. Brain is active. It is also known as paradoxical sleep. Muscles become totally relaxed and the eyes rapidly dart back and forth under the eyelids.  dreaming occurs during REM sleep. Stages 1 to 4 are  known as N on-REM Sleep . NREM...

          Stress  -  any force, that when applied to a system, causes some  significant modification of its form, where forces can be physical, psychological or due to s ocial pressures.            Causes of stress  :   Physical : such as heat, cold, noise, vibration, presence of something damaging to health (e.g. carbon monoxide); psychological factor:  such as emotional upset (e.g. due to bereavements, domestic problems, etc.), worries about real or imagined problems (e.g. due to financial problems, ill health, etc.); Reactive : such as events occurring in everyday life (e.g. working under time pressure, encountering unexpected situations, etc.). Acute stress - intense but of short    duration. Cronic stress - frequent recurrence or of long duration.   Possible signs of stress Physiological symptoms - such as sweating, dryness of the mouth, etc.;   Health effects ...

AME job is physically demanding.  AME work in widely varying physical environments,  including cramped spaces, extremes of temperature, etc. Two aspects to fitness and health:  the disposition of the engineer prior to taking on employment and  the day-to-day well being of the engineer once employed.          Pre-employment Disposition ; Medical check up before employment ensure that applicant is fit for particular job.   Airworthiness authority requie medical certificate CA Form 19-06 before issuing AME licence.         Day-to-Day Fitness and Health - Fitness and health can have a significant affect upon job performance (both physical  and cognitive). Day-to-day fitness and health can be reduced through illness (physical  or mental) or injury. Many conditions can impact on the health and fitness of an engineer -  • Minor physical illness (such as colds, ‘flu, etc.); • More major physic...

Performence of AME  depends upon   fitness and health , stress, time pressures , workload , fatigue and the effects of medication, alcohol and drugs      1. Fitness and Health - Fitness and health can have a significant affect upon job performance (both physical  and cognitive).  Responsibility falls upon the individual  to determine  whether he is not well enough to work on a particular day.       The job of an AME is  physically demanding and carried out in widely varying physical environments, including cramped spaces, extremes of temperature, etc Pre-employment Disposition      A disposition is a quality of character, a habit, a preparation, a state of readiness, or a tendency to act in a specified way that may be learned. Some employers may require a medical upon commencement of employment. This allows them to judge the fitness and health of an applicant     2. Stress: Domestic...

Social Culture  - The influence of social culture (an individual’s background or heritage) can be  important in determining how an individual integrates into an organisational culture.  The way an individual behaves outside an organisation is likely to have a bearing on  how they behave within it. Internal pressures and conflicts within groups at work can be driven by underlying social cultural differences (e.g. different nationalities, different  political views, different religious beliefs, etc.). Safety cultur e  is the term that we apply to those aspects of the organization’s culture that relate to safety performance,  Safety Culture. Cultures are the product of the values and actions of the organization’s leadership as well as the results of organizational learning.  Ref. ICAO HF Digest 10 -  Safety culture  - “a set of beliefs, norms, attitudes, roles and social and technical practices  concerned with minimizing exposur...

Peer pressure is the actual or perceived pressure which an individual may feel, to conform t o what he believes that his peers or colleagues expect.  Peer pressure thus falls within the area of conformity.  Conformity is the tendency to  allow one’s opinions , attitudes , actions and even perceptions to be affected by  prevailing opinions, attitudes, actions and perceptions. Culture  of    an organisation -    ‘the way we do things here ’.  It is a group or company norm. ICAO HF Digest 10 - a safety culture is “a set of beliefs, norms, attitudes, roles  and social and technical practices concerned with minimising exposure of employees,  managers, customers and members of the general public to conditions considered  dangerous or hazardous” Social Culture -  The influence of social culture (one’s background or heritage) can be  important in determining how an individual integrates into an organisa...

E ar performs two quite different functions.    1.  detect sounds by  receiving vibrations   2. responsible for balance and sensing  acceleration .    Ear has three divisions :     1. outer ear ,      2. middle ear and       3.  inner ear.                      Function of ear - to receive vibrations from the air and turn these signals into  nerve             impulses that the brain can recognize as sounds  Outer Ear - The outer part of the ear directs sounds down the auditory canal , and on to       the  eardrum. The sound waves will cause the eardrum to vibrate.  Middle Ear - Beyond the eardrum is the middle ear which transmits vibrations from the eardrum  by way of three small bones known as the ossicles, to the fluid of the inner ear....

Anatomy of the Human  eye   1.  Cornea  2.  Iris and Pupil 3.   Lens  4.  Retina Cornea  -  is a clear ‘window’ at the very front of the eye .  Cornea  acts as a fixed  focusing device.    Focusing is achieved by the shape of the cornea bending the  incoming light rays.            Responsible for 70%-80% of the total    focusing ability (refraction) of the eye. Iris and Pupil  Iris ( coloured part of the eye ) controls the amount of light that is allowed to  enter the eye.       It does this by varying the size of the pupil ( the dark area in the centre  of the iris ).               The size of the pupil can be changed very rapidly to cater for changing light  levels.    The amount of light can be adjusted by a factor of 5:1. After passing through the pupil, the lig...

AME is part of maintenance system  have certain capabilities and limitations that .   It is   useful to have an understanding of how various parts of his body and  mental processes function and how performance limitations can influence his  effectiveness at work Human Performance is likely to degrade and eventually ‘fail’ under certain conditions.  Physically , humans  become fatigued, affected by the cold, can break bones. Mentally, humans can make errors, have limited p erceptual powers , can exhibit  poor judgement due to lack of skills and knowledge, etc.  Human performance is also affected by social and emotional  factors . Failure by aircraft maintenance engineers can also be to the  detriment of aircraft safety. Vision -  Anatomy of the Human  eye. Factors Affecting Clarity of Sight - An individual with an acuity of 20/20 vision should be able to see at 20 feet that which  the so-called ‘no...