Human errors and disasters

Abstract

Human error has been identified as a leading contributor to accidents in many fields, including nuclear power operations. In the past, evaluations of accidents in terms of human contributions have most often focused on the immediate proximate human actions that were the final steps in the chain. These analyses now often include evaluation of the human factors elements surrounding those final actions, including procedures, training, and the man-machine interface. There has been an increasing awareness of organizational factors as a source of 'common-mode' influences on these human factors elements. However, these influences and factors do not present an adequate description of the ingredients for a disaster. The context in which the actions take place is a key element that is now only being considered in evaluating human errors and disasters.<>