Fundamentals + Advanced Human Factors & Error Management for Safety Critical Industries

About the Course

“Error is pervasive. The unexpected is pervasive. What is not pervasive are well-developed skills to detect and contain these errors at their early stages”. – Karl Weick, Managing the Unexpected

Regardless of industry type or sector, accident statistics appear to be dominated by the contribution of human error. This is hardly surprising since humans are involved in the design, construction, maintenance, operation and management of complex socio-technical systems across any safety critical industry such as transport, mining, construction, oil and gas, power and water utilities, essential and emergency services and healthcare service delivery.

While human error is a normal part of our human makeup, the consequences of errors in any industry can be disastrous and the subject of public outrage, exhaustive inquiries and drawn-out legal action. The cost of human error in the workplace is also considerable:

• BP estimated that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in costs that exceeded USD $40 billion
• According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), airports have estimated that ramp accidents cost over USD $10 billion each year
• The Flight Safety Foundation reports that over 38,000 commercial aircraft land in an unstable condition every year, causing potential maintenance and inspection delays
• In healthcare, the direct medical costs of preventable clinical incidents arising from human error have been estimated at $2 billion each year in Australia

This highly practical advanced 11-week on-line modular program builds on the 7-week Fundamentals of Human Factors and Error Management for Safety Critical Industries program and provides participants with a sound understanding of contemporary human factors issues facing any safety critical industry. Whether you are a safety manager, accident investigator or CEO, our human factor course will provide you with an opportunity to understand the cause and consequences of human error and assist you with identifying practical strategies to design error-tolerant solutions.

Several practical case studies presented throughout the human factor course will reinforce generic human factors issues and management solutions across various industries. A comprehensive suite of practical tools, templates and resources are provided for you to take back and apply in your own workplace.

Who Will Benefit

This human error training program is designed for those individuals seeking a comprehensive understanding of applied human factors in any workplace. Expected participants include:

• Operations and Engineering Senior Managers
• Team Leaders and Supervisors
• Human Resource Managers
• HSE and WHS Managers, Investigators and Auditors
• Industry and WHS Regulators
• Quality, risk, compliance and assurance managers

Key Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this advanced human factors and error management training course, you will be able to:

• Understand the evolution of applied human factors in the workplace, its current scope and how it may contribute to addressing future safety challenges
• Understand human error within the context of significant event investigations
• Incorporate practical proactive error management strategies
• Address human performance limitations that impact effective decision-making and increase the probability of error occurrence
• Identify social and group influences that shape human performance
• Adopt a systematic human factors analysis method for incident investigations to better identify errors and error-producing conditions
• Understand the impact of infrastructure, facility and equipment design on human performance and the pros and cons of automation and advanced technology
• Understand the incidence of mental health issues in the workplace and various strategies to support workers
• Identify cultural influences that shape human performance including the practical application of a fair and just culture approach to consequence management
• Adopt a proactive human factors analysis approach to identify the triggers that may lead to a potential fatal/critical risk event and fix conditions before they cause problems

Course Information

Instructional Delivery Method: Scheduled Digital
Prerequisite & Advanced Preparation: Reading material will be sent prior to the course 

Delivered by Dr Graham Edkins

Organisational Psychologist Dr Graham Edkins is considered one of Australia’s leading Safety Management and Human Factors experts and is regularly retained as an independent safety investigator and human factors expert witness for various civil and criminal matters.

Run this course in-house

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