Systems ergonomics

While there are five major components within the ergonomic system - the person, the machine or equipment or tools, the job procediues, the materials, and the environment, which together with the management system, accomplish the task - in this section we will concentrate on the person-machine interface or model. This involves considering some of the attributes of, and issues relating to us as persorts shown in the table below. 

High Cost of the Plant In most cases, the physical implementation of the system is much more expensive than a real-time simulator. It is therefore more economically viable to develop and test embedded systems connected to a HIL simulator than to build a complete prototype. Development of Systems with Human Factors (Ergonomic) The HIL simulation is very important in the development of ergonomic systems. It is a method that can guarantee usability and consistency of ergonomic systems. For real-time technology, test data for components that have an interface with humans interacting with it are vital. 

LVHV nozzles can create problems that may be sufficiently severe as to prevent their use, usually in the form of ergonomic encumbrances and excessive noise. These problems can be dealt with, to limited extents, and LVHV applications can be effective. It must also be understood that dust control by 1..VHV systems is ultimately limited. No ventilation control measure can ensure sufficient worker protection down to extraordinatily low acceptable dust levels. Worker protection must always be confirmed by industrial hygiene monitoring and evaluation, and administrative control measures such as respiratory protection may be necessary. 

The first component of the systems approach to error reduction is the optimization of human performance by designing the system to support human strengths and minimize the effects of human limitations. The hiunan factors engineering and ergonomics (HFE/E) approach described in Section 2.7 of Chapter 2 indicates some of the techniques available. Design data from the human factors literature for areas such as equipment, procedures, and the human-machine interface are available to support the designer in the optimization process. In addition the analytical techniques described in Chapter 4 (e.g., task analysis) can be used in the development of the design. 

The second perspective to be considered in this chapter is the human factors engineering (or ergonomics) approach (HFE/E). This approach, described in Section 2.5, emphasizes the mismatch between human capabilities and system demands as being the main source of human error. From this perspective, the primary remedy is to ensure that the design of the system takes into account the physical and mental characteristics of the human. This includes consideration of factors such as ... 

Evaluation level create a system, in accordance with ergonomic criteria, that is error tolerant and supports error recovery redesign charging manifold (see Figure 7.7) using functional grouping corresponding to the actual layout of system. 

These include identification of process equipment and instruments, interpretation of the meaning of their values and trends, navigation through different VDU pages by means of a selection menu, etc. The common feature of these tasks is handling the display system to search and locate relevant process data. In this respect, "classical" ergonomics checklists (see Chapter 4) are very useful in facilitating performance of such tasks. 

From the ergonomics perspective, some level of automation was desirable. This was because the worker was in a high stress situation and had to make a relatively difficult decision. A semiautomatic system in which blowdown would occur automatically after a fixed time period following coincident red alarms (given no worker veto) would appear to have the advantages... 

Colquhoun, W. P., Blake, M. ]., Edwards, R. S. (1969). Experimental Studies of Shift Work III Stabilized 12-hour Shift Systems. Ergonomics 12,865-882. 

Kirwan B., 1998a. Soft systems, hard lessons, Applied Ergonomics 31, pp. 663-678. 

Pasman H.J., Vrijling J.K., 2003. Social Risk Assessment of Large Technical Systems, Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing Vol. 13(4), pp. 305-316. 

International Organization for Standardization (ISO), ISO 1503 1981, Ergonomic Principles of the Design of Work Systems. ISO, Geneva, Switzerland, 1981. 

Maintenance must sometimes be performed at elevated heights, within confined spaces, and in situations with challenging ergonomic conditions. Opening equipment that has not been properly prepared may have potential to release chemicals or electrical or mechanical energy. Hazards that exist in other parts of the process could be transported to areas where maintenance is underway, if the systems have not been suitably isolated or fully cleared of residual chemicals. 

The project Human Error in the Process Industry within the Ergonomics Section of the Technology Work Department at the Graduate School of Industrial Engineering and Management Science was started in 1985. In order to get acquainted with the world of chemical process control two exploratory investigations were carried out in the first two years at Dutch chemical companies. This led to the development of a prototype classification model of system failure (see Chapter 5 for the most recent version). 

The primary considerations with respeci to safety are the following (1) identifying 2-3 levels of relief to protect the equipment from over-pressurizing (2) identifying the classification of the room and the code of the equipment needed based on the solvent systems used in the process (3) the ergonomics of solids handling associated with... 

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