Human Factor

      Social Psychology  is the  scientific  study of how people's  thoughts ,  feelings ,and  behaviors  are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.                Social psychologists examine factors that cause behaviors to unfold in a given way in the presence of others.      Social psychologists  study conditions under which certain behavior, actions, and feelings occur. Social psychology is concerned with the way these feelings, thoughts, beliefs, intentions, and goals are cognitively constructed and how these mental representations, in turn, influence our interactions with others.       Social Environment -  AMEs work within a “system”.  There are various factors within this system that impinge on the AMEs , ranging from his knowledge, skills and abilities , the environment in which he works, to the culture  of ...

Hazards in the workplace are a health and safety issue dealing with the protection of individuals at work.  we need to recognize where potential hazards exist and be able to establish systems or procedures that are capable of protecting workers in the same way we strive to maintain the safety of maintenance systems.   We can mitigate hazard through               training;               checklists,               Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and                warning signs.  To be effective, warnings signs must:               • Clearly identify the hazard(s);              • Describe the danger (i.e. electric shock, radiation, etc);               • Inform employees what to do or not to do (us...

Form of Errors in aircraft maintenance engineering:       1. Error that results in a specific aircraft problem that was not there before the maintenance task was initiated;                      incorrect installation of linereplaceable  units,                                                                                failure to remove a protective cap from a hydraulic line before reassembly                     or damaging an air duct used as a foothold while gaining access to perform a task.        2. Error that results in an unwanted or unsafe condition remaining undetected while performing a maintenance task designed to detect aircraft ...

It is the nature of man to err. -  Cicero.  James Reason :  “Error will be taken as a generic term to encompass all those occasions in which a planned  sequence of mental or physical activities fails to achieve its intended outcome, and when  these failures cannot be attributed to the intervention of some chance agency”. “Because civil aircraft are designed to fly safely for unlimited time  provided defects are detected and repaired, safety becomes a matter of  detection and repair rather than one of aircraft structure failure.  In an ideal  system, all defects which could affect flight safety will have been  predicted in advance, located positively before they become dangerous,  and eliminated by effective repair. In one sense, then, we have changed  the safety system from one of physical defects in aircraft to one of errors  in complex human-centred systems” Various models and theories for error are : D esign-...

Communication : “The transmission of something from one location to another.  Thing  that is transmitted may be a message , a signal , a meaning , etc.  In communication both the transmitter and the receiver must share a common code ,  so that the meaning or information contained in the message may be interpreted without error”. We regularly communicate :    information;  idea  feelings; attitudes and beliefs Communication may be : Verbal/spoken - e.g. a single word, a phrase or sentence, a grunt; Written/textua l - e.g. printed words and/or numbers on paper or on a  screen, hand  written  notes; Non-verbal -      gesture, facial expression,tone of voice and body language    Graphic -           e.g. pictures, diagrams, hand drawn sketches, indications on  cockpit instrument; Symbolic -       e.g. ‘thumbs up’, wave of the hand, nod of th...

                Task -  a piece of work to be done .  Task implies work imposed by a person in authority or an employer or by circumstance. charged with a variety of tasks duty implies an obligation to perform or responsibility for performance.    Planning  -    is the function of management  that involves setting objectives and determining a course of action for achieving those objectives.   Planning  requires that  managers  be aware of environmental conditions facing their organization and forecast future conditions.   Planning  is the  process  of thinking about the activities required to achieve a desired goal. It is the first and foremost activity to achieve desired results. It involves the creation and maintenance of a  plan , such as psychological aspects that require conceptual skills.         Before commencing a task, an enginee...

Noise  - any unwanted sound, especially if it is loud, unpleasant and  annoying. Noise in  the workplace can have both  short-term and long-term negative effects :                  it can be annoying,                  can interfere with  verbal communication and mask warnings,                 and it can damage workers’ hearing  (either temporarily or permanently).   Ear is sensitive to sounds  between 20 HZ to 20 KHz.  Intensity of sound is  measured  in decibels (dB),   Exposure in excess of 115 dB without ear  protection even for a short duration is not recommended.  This equates to standing  within a few hundred metres of a moving jet aircraft. General background noise can be ‘filtered out’ by the brain through focused  attention.   Hearing protection   ...

            Information processing is receiving information through the senses, analyzing it, and making it meaningful.             Information Processing Model   -  captures the main elements of the process, from receipt of information via the senses, to outputs such as decision-making and actions.  Information processing theory is mainly developed for the process of our  memory .                                IPM is used to analyze memory  while receiving some information.                                             IPM   captures the main elements of the process, from receipt of information via the senses, to outputs such as decision-making and actions. Sensory Receptors and Sensory Stores Physical...

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...

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....

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...

Social Environment : Responsibilities   are the  duties  that we are supposed to do due to our job or position. Some of job is carried out independently and some job carried out along with team, as a part of team or group. Individual Responsibility -  AME's  are skilled individuals having undertaken    considerable training,    working in a highly professional environment and  generally have considerable pride in their work and its contribution to air safety. All individuals, regardless of their role, grade or qualifications should work in a  responsible manner.    Certifying Staff shall be responsible for  ensuring that work is performed and recorded in a satisfactory manner...”. Non-certifying Staff also have a responsibility in the maintenance  process.  CAR145  AMO must establish the     competence of every person, whether directly involved in hands-on maintenance or  n...

Human Factor -  A  Person working in a maintenance environment requires human factor knowledge as per his job requirement. Human Factor Training  - Aviation safety relies on maintenance. When it is not done correctly , it may cause an incident or an accident.  Mistakes of maintenance personnel is difficult to detect. They are subjected to work in changing working in variety of adverse conditon. Regulatory Requirement : CAR 66 Module 09 Human factor - for get AMEL Human Factor   - Study of human capabilities and limitations in the workplace.   It is about study of the interaction  of maintenance personnel, the equipment used, the written and verbal procedures and  rules followed by them, and the environmental conditions of any system.  Aim of human  factors is to optimise the relationship between maintenance personnel and systems to improve  safety, efficiency, and well-being. HF - Fitting the man to the job and the job to th...