Variability of Human Performance during Normal and Emergency Situations

VARIABILITY OF HUMAN PERFORMANCE DURING NORMAL AND EMERGENCY SITUATIONS 

Although the issue of PIF interactions has long been recognized by human factors researchers, little has been done to develop practical recommendations. This is partially a result of the large number of possible PIF combinations and the complexity of their interactions. One of the most effective ways of studying this interaction is through an in-company human factors study which will use operational feedback to evaluate the results of design and human factors innovations. 

An emergency situation may display the following general characteristics  

The extent to which a particular combination of such operating environment factors will be perceived by the workers as being stressful will depend on the available resources such as the quality of the control panel, procedures, training, organizational and social factors, and, finally, the individual characteristics of the workers. The outcome of this transaction between stress factors and coping resources will influence the onset of worker stress. Situations are not stressful merely because of the presence of a number of external stressors, but because they are perceived as such by workers. 

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