Human Factor

Introduction: The Memo Nobody Read We’ve all experienced it: the important company memo about a new process, posted to a shared drive or tacked to a bulletin board, that goes completely ignored. The result is usually minor confusion or an annoying, preventable mistake. But what happens when that missed memo involves the O-ring seals on a jet engine? In high-stakes environments like aviation maintenance, the consequences of failed communication are catastrophic. The principles that prevent disasters in an aircraft hangar are the same ones that can make or break any team. Drawn from aviation safety reports, these are the critical, life-saving lessons on how communication truly works—and what happens when it doesn't. 1. The Illusion of Communication: Why Posting a Memo Isn't Enough The first critical failure is assuming that making information available is the same as communicating it. True communication only happens when a message is received and understood, and simply posting a...

  The statement “It has long been acknowledged that human performance is at times imperfect” means that: Humans are not machines – even skilled, trained, and experienced people can make mistakes. Unlike automated systems, human behavior is influenced by fatigue, stress, workload, distractions, memory limits, and even emotional state. Errors are natural and expected – mistakes, lapses, and slips are part of human performance. They do not always indicate negligence or incompetence; rather, they are often the result of the limitations of human capability . History and experience support this fact – in industries like aviation, medicine, and nuclear operations, many accidents and incidents have shown that human error is a major contributing factor. This has led to the development of Human Factors as a discipline to understand and mitigate these limitations. Organizations must account for imperfection – instead of expecting flawless performance, systems, procedures, and safeguards...