Pub Date : 2015-01-02DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.988897
Somik Ghosh, Deborah E. Dickerson
OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS This article reviews methods for observing, collecting, and analyzing communication data among individuals and teams in the complex sociotechnical system of construction. Based on this review, and the results from a case study, one method is considered the most suitable method: interaction process analysis. Interaction process analysis is further modified for use within construction work operations. Subsequent to collecting and analyzing interaction data, practitioners can implement corrective actions to promote an environment of collaborative interaction among team members. While implementing collaboration is considered critical for the success of interdisciplinary teams, modified IPA will enable the practitioners to gather the baseline information before making any modifications to the team dynamics. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Construction projects are characterized by diverse personnel working together for short periods and then disbanding to work on other ventures. Considering the transient nature of construction projects and complex task interdependencies, project outcomes rely heavily on effective interactions among participants. Despite interaction being an essential aspect of construction projects, there is limited applied research in the field of interaction among construction project participants. Purpose: The dynamic and unpredictable nature of construction projects, along with the difficulty in collecting interaction data in naturalistic settings, are important challenges. Our objective was to identify the most suitable method for collecting interaction data among workers on construction projects (i.e., in their natural setting). Methods: The authors reviewed the research methods followed by other investigators to capture and analyze interaction in small groups. Subsequently, Bales' Interaction Process Analysis was adopted as the preferred protocol to collect and analyze interaction data. To adopt interaction process analysis for use in construction environments, the coding scheme was modified by introducing two new categories. Finally, a case study was conducted to examine application of the modified interaction process analysis. Results: Using the modified interaction process analysis, interaction data were collected from six different subcontractor coordination meetings during a construction project. Data were obtained from more than 300 minutes of meetings among construction participants in natural work settings. The collected data had more than 2000 “thought units.” Once the thought units were assigned an interaction process analysis code, this yielded a blueprint of the social interaction, which could be analyzed using frequency ratios in the different categories. Conclusion: Our focus was on adapting the existing interaction process analysis protocol so that interactions among the construction participants could be recorded, isolated, and analyzed at a ‘meso’ level. Data collected using the modifie
{"title":"Modified Interaction Process Analysis as a Macroergonomic Method of Analyzing Communication Patterns in Construction","authors":"Somik Ghosh, Deborah E. Dickerson","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.988897","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.988897","url":null,"abstract":"OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS This article reviews methods for observing, collecting, and analyzing communication data among individuals and teams in the complex sociotechnical system of construction. Based on this review, and the results from a case study, one method is considered the most suitable method: interaction process analysis. Interaction process analysis is further modified for use within construction work operations. Subsequent to collecting and analyzing interaction data, practitioners can implement corrective actions to promote an environment of collaborative interaction among team members. While implementing collaboration is considered critical for the success of interdisciplinary teams, modified IPA will enable the practitioners to gather the baseline information before making any modifications to the team dynamics. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Construction projects are characterized by diverse personnel working together for short periods and then disbanding to work on other ventures. Considering the transient nature of construction projects and complex task interdependencies, project outcomes rely heavily on effective interactions among participants. Despite interaction being an essential aspect of construction projects, there is limited applied research in the field of interaction among construction project participants. Purpose: The dynamic and unpredictable nature of construction projects, along with the difficulty in collecting interaction data in naturalistic settings, are important challenges. Our objective was to identify the most suitable method for collecting interaction data among workers on construction projects (i.e., in their natural setting). Methods: The authors reviewed the research methods followed by other investigators to capture and analyze interaction in small groups. Subsequently, Bales' Interaction Process Analysis was adopted as the preferred protocol to collect and analyze interaction data. To adopt interaction process analysis for use in construction environments, the coding scheme was modified by introducing two new categories. Finally, a case study was conducted to examine application of the modified interaction process analysis. Results: Using the modified interaction process analysis, interaction data were collected from six different subcontractor coordination meetings during a construction project. Data were obtained from more than 300 minutes of meetings among construction participants in natural work settings. The collected data had more than 2000 “thought units.” Once the thought units were assigned an interaction process analysis code, this yielded a blueprint of the social interaction, which could be analyzed using frequency ratios in the different categories. Conclusion: Our focus was on adapting the existing interaction process analysis protocol so that interactions among the construction participants could be recorded, isolated, and analyzed at a ‘meso’ level. Data collected using the modifie","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"3 1","pages":"45 - 57"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21577323.2014.988897","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60124620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-01-02DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.971981
L. Sznelwar, F. Hubault
OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS Considering workers' activity as a potential resource for strategic decisions is the main idea proposed in this article. Diverse research in the field of ergonomics supports the importance of knowing what people actually do at work in order to fulfill production goals, especially considering that there is always a gap between what was proposed and considered in task design and the real situation. For this purpose, approaching work situations through an ergonomic work analysis makes it possible to obtain evidence of the worker's activities and to propose, based on a participative approach, improvements in working situations to improve production, safety, and health. This knowledge should be considered as a source for strategic decisions to improve reliability, productivity, and quality, as well as to afford conditions for improving health and safety.
{"title":"Work Activities as a Resource for Work Organization Design and for Strategic Decisions?","authors":"L. Sznelwar, F. Hubault","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.971981","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.971981","url":null,"abstract":"OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS Considering workers' activity as a potential resource for strategic decisions is the main idea proposed in this article. Diverse research in the field of ergonomics supports the importance of knowing what people actually do at work in order to fulfill production goals, especially considering that there is always a gap between what was proposed and considered in task design and the real situation. For this purpose, approaching work situations through an ergonomic work analysis makes it possible to obtain evidence of the worker's activities and to propose, based on a participative approach, improvements in working situations to improve production, safety, and health. This knowledge should be considered as a source for strategic decisions to improve reliability, productivity, and quality, as well as to afford conditions for improving health and safety.","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"3 1","pages":"37 - 44"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21577323.2014.971981","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60124098","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-01-02DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.989338
M. Fray, P. Waterson, C. Munro
OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS The management of risks surrounding patient handling activities continues to be an important factor in healthcare organizations. A great deal of research has been undertaken to investigate the best practices for physical transfers and equipment provision, yet there is less research adopting an organizational systems approach to this problem. In this article we compare two methods for assessing safety climate and patient handling safety performance and argue that a multi-level (mesoergonomic) interpretation of the relationship between the two affords insights into the safety of the system as a whole. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Karsh et al. ((2014)) proposed a model for developing cross-level ergonomics investigations, which clarified the inclusion of micro, macro, and meso level factors to any organizational investigation. The growing body of research into the management of patient handling risks has not adopted these multi-level organizational systems approaches. Purpose: In this article we explore the use of this model to create a clearer understanding of the healthcare specific activities that surround the management of patient handling functions within a neurological rehabilitation setting. Methods: Six acute medical wards in a large UK teaching hospital were used to explore the relationship between patient handling, as part of a complex socio-technical healthcare system, and safety climate. Data were collected using the Tool for Risk Outstanding in Patient Handling Interventions and Safety Climate Survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman's Rank Correlation. Results: A variety of results highlighted strengths and weaknesses in safety climate and patient handling risks. Significant correlations were found between Tool for Risk Outstanding in Patient Handling Interventions Tool for Risk Outstanding in Patient Handling Interventions Safety Climate scores and the Safety Climate Survey Overall Mean. Conclusion: These results suggest that the differences between scores across a variety of measures indicate that a wider range of data may be required to best represent a measure of safety climate in this occupational setting.
{"title":"Macro and Micro Ergonomic Outcomes in Healthcare: Unraveling the Relationship Between Patient Handling Performance and Safety Climate","authors":"M. Fray, P. Waterson, C. Munro","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.989338","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.989338","url":null,"abstract":"OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS The management of risks surrounding patient handling activities continues to be an important factor in healthcare organizations. A great deal of research has been undertaken to investigate the best practices for physical transfers and equipment provision, yet there is less research adopting an organizational systems approach to this problem. In this article we compare two methods for assessing safety climate and patient handling safety performance and argue that a multi-level (mesoergonomic) interpretation of the relationship between the two affords insights into the safety of the system as a whole. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Karsh et al. ((2014)) proposed a model for developing cross-level ergonomics investigations, which clarified the inclusion of micro, macro, and meso level factors to any organizational investigation. The growing body of research into the management of patient handling risks has not adopted these multi-level organizational systems approaches. Purpose: In this article we explore the use of this model to create a clearer understanding of the healthcare specific activities that surround the management of patient handling functions within a neurological rehabilitation setting. Methods: Six acute medical wards in a large UK teaching hospital were used to explore the relationship between patient handling, as part of a complex socio-technical healthcare system, and safety climate. Data were collected using the Tool for Risk Outstanding in Patient Handling Interventions and Safety Climate Survey and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman's Rank Correlation. Results: A variety of results highlighted strengths and weaknesses in safety climate and patient handling risks. Significant correlations were found between Tool for Risk Outstanding in Patient Handling Interventions Tool for Risk Outstanding in Patient Handling Interventions Safety Climate scores and the Safety Climate Survey Overall Mean. Conclusion: These results suggest that the differences between scores across a variety of measures indicate that a wider range of data may be required to best represent a measure of safety climate in this occupational setting.","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"3 1","pages":"58 - 71"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21577323.2014.989338","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60124761","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-10-02DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.974728
R. Bias, M. Nixon, Dan He, Henna Kim
OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS On the strength of ethnographic, task analysis, and co-discovery data collected at a research-focused institute at a major southwest U.S. university and at a major refinery plant, redesign recommendations were generated for a major distributed control system user interface. Demonstrating the value of the user-centered design and task-based approach, a series of generalizable design guidelines were derived, including those intended to reduce operators’ load, increase intuitiveness of manipulation, and increase the ease with which operators could cooperate to make control decisions. A case study is presented involving the collaboration of software developers, users, and academic researchers, highlighting the contribution of Information Science to distributed control system design, and arguing for a general decision- and task-based design approach to distributed control system user interface design.TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Rationale: In a refinery or other complex control room, the operator station allows operators to rapidly assess a set of distinct systems or situations under their span of control and determine where attention is needed on a moment-by-moment basis. If a problem exists, the overview display directs the operators to displays from which they can troubleshoot and correct the problem. Purpose: An extant distributed control system product and workflow were examined, a user-centered design approach to a redesign was applied, and discernment of generalizable design guidelines was sought. Methods: This article focuses on understanding the needs of the operator and using task-based analysis to improve the overall design of operator displays. First, an ethnography and a task analysis were performed from two separate control room sites. Second, the types of tasks and work environments that are appropriate for the operator were considered. Finally, the operators and engineers were given our redesign ideas, employing a co-discovery method. Results: Various points in the current product design were found where mental calculations or cognitive associations of data parameters with the systems they represented caused undue increases in the operators’ cognitive load. Places were also found where slavish echoing of piping and instrumentation diagrams in the product user interface led to inefficiencies for the operators. Conclusions: User interface redesigns steeped in cognitive and perceptual psychology and information science are presented, and an argument is made for a general decision- and task-based design approach to distributed control system user interface design. The collaboration of software developers, users (operators and engineers), and academic researchers is highlighted.
{"title":"Employing a User-Centered Design Approach to Improve Operator Interfaces","authors":"R. Bias, M. Nixon, Dan He, Henna Kim","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.974728","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.974728","url":null,"abstract":"OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS On the strength of ethnographic, task analysis, and co-discovery data collected at a research-focused institute at a major southwest U.S. university and at a major refinery plant, redesign recommendations were generated for a major distributed control system user interface. Demonstrating the value of the user-centered design and task-based approach, a series of generalizable design guidelines were derived, including those intended to reduce operators’ load, increase intuitiveness of manipulation, and increase the ease with which operators could cooperate to make control decisions. A case study is presented involving the collaboration of software developers, users, and academic researchers, highlighting the contribution of Information Science to distributed control system design, and arguing for a general decision- and task-based design approach to distributed control system user interface design.TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Rationale: In a refinery or other complex control room, the operator station allows operators to rapidly assess a set of distinct systems or situations under their span of control and determine where attention is needed on a moment-by-moment basis. If a problem exists, the overview display directs the operators to displays from which they can troubleshoot and correct the problem. Purpose: An extant distributed control system product and workflow were examined, a user-centered design approach to a redesign was applied, and discernment of generalizable design guidelines was sought. Methods: This article focuses on understanding the needs of the operator and using task-based analysis to improve the overall design of operator displays. First, an ethnography and a task analysis were performed from two separate control room sites. Second, the types of tasks and work environments that are appropriate for the operator were considered. Finally, the operators and engineers were given our redesign ideas, employing a co-discovery method. Results: Various points in the current product design were found where mental calculations or cognitive associations of data parameters with the systems they represented caused undue increases in the operators’ cognitive load. Places were also found where slavish echoing of piping and instrumentation diagrams in the product user interface led to inefficiencies for the operators. Conclusions: User interface redesigns steeped in cognitive and perceptual psychology and information science are presented, and an argument is made for a general decision- and task-based design approach to distributed control system user interface design. The collaboration of software developers, users (operators and engineers), and academic researchers is highlighted.","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"2 1","pages":"207 - 214"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21577323.2014.974728","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60124230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-10-02DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.990589
L. Ikuma, C. Koffskey, C. Harvey
OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS Evaluating the effects of control room interface design on operator performance is crucial to maintaining productivity and safety. Current regulations in the petrochemical industry encourage the inclusion of human factors principles in designing displays and the environment but provide little guidance on evaluation. The framework presented in this article can be used to evaluate petrochemical control room interface designs under a variety of conditions, including workload and experience levels. Applications of this framework include the evaluation of novel interface designs to determine which alternatives result in the highest performance and reasonable perceived workload levels. This framework could also be used to evaluate the effects of other performance-shaping factors, such as fatigue. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: The petrochemical industry has a need to improve the design of control room interfaces, but regulations on how to evaluate designs are sparse. Purpose: This study describes the development and initial evaluation of a human factors-based framework for evaluating performance using control room interfaces under varying user experience levels, display designs, and workload levels. The framework considers three steps of human behavior in systems: sensing/perception, information processing, and physical/verbal responses. Direct performance measures of speed and accuracy and measures of perceived workload (NASA task load index and subjective workload assessment technique) assess these three steps, and situation awareness (situation awareness global assessment technique) assesses sensing/perception and information processing. Methods: To provide initial validation of the framework, students and professional operators (two experience levels) used current standard interface designs and poor interface designs at three workload levels. The participants completed three 30-minute scenarios and responded to various alarms that signaled failures during each scenario, which were created using a commercially available refinery simulator. Results: In general, the framework was sensitive to differences in interface design, workload level, and experience. Future research can determine sensitivity to other control room parameters and may include additional metrics, such as secondary task workload measures and eye tracking, depending on the goals of the evaluation. Conclusion: This research demonstrates the feasibility of applying human factors tools to performance evaluation of commercially available petrochemical control room interface designs.
{"title":"A Human Factors-Based Assessment Framework for Evaluating Performance in Control Room Interface Design","authors":"L. Ikuma, C. Koffskey, C. Harvey","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.990589","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.990589","url":null,"abstract":"OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS Evaluating the effects of control room interface design on operator performance is crucial to maintaining productivity and safety. Current regulations in the petrochemical industry encourage the inclusion of human factors principles in designing displays and the environment but provide little guidance on evaluation. The framework presented in this article can be used to evaluate petrochemical control room interface designs under a variety of conditions, including workload and experience levels. Applications of this framework include the evaluation of novel interface designs to determine which alternatives result in the highest performance and reasonable perceived workload levels. This framework could also be used to evaluate the effects of other performance-shaping factors, such as fatigue. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: The petrochemical industry has a need to improve the design of control room interfaces, but regulations on how to evaluate designs are sparse. Purpose: This study describes the development and initial evaluation of a human factors-based framework for evaluating performance using control room interfaces under varying user experience levels, display designs, and workload levels. The framework considers three steps of human behavior in systems: sensing/perception, information processing, and physical/verbal responses. Direct performance measures of speed and accuracy and measures of perceived workload (NASA task load index and subjective workload assessment technique) assess these three steps, and situation awareness (situation awareness global assessment technique) assesses sensing/perception and information processing. Methods: To provide initial validation of the framework, students and professional operators (two experience levels) used current standard interface designs and poor interface designs at three workload levels. The participants completed three 30-minute scenarios and responded to various alarms that signaled failures during each scenario, which were created using a commercially available refinery simulator. Results: In general, the framework was sensitive to differences in interface design, workload level, and experience. Future research can determine sensitivity to other control room parameters and may include additional metrics, such as secondary task workload measures and eye tracking, depending on the goals of the evaluation. Conclusion: This research demonstrates the feasibility of applying human factors tools to performance evaluation of commercially available petrochemical control room interface designs.","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"2 1","pages":"194 - 206"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21577323.2014.990589","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60124582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-10-02DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.1001707
L. Rothrock, P. Bullemer
Ling Rothrock* and Peter Bullemer* Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA Human Centered Solutions, 8746 Tall Grass Place, Lone Tree, CO 80124, USA Thirty years ago, highly visible disasters at process control plants, such as the Three Mile Island nuclear plant and Union Carbide’s Bhopal chemical plant (Woods et al., 1987; Perrow, 1999), launched a revolution in cognitive ergonomics. Researchers began to develop theories and methods that integrated humans and machines as complex systems (Woods & Roth, 1988; Rasmussen et al., 1994). As pioneers in the area, Vicente and Rasmussen (1992) addressed issues in supervisory control and human errors, which later broadened to widely used concepts, such as cognitive systems engineering (Rasmussen et al., 1994) and cognitive work analysis (Vicente, 1999). In the years since their research investigations in the power industry, technological advances have greatly improved distributed control systems (DCSs) with advanced control techniques, such as model predictive controllers (MPCs) and real-time optimizers (RTOs). The purpose of this special issue is to report on current research efforts in advanced process control. The issue is divided into three topics
Ling Rothrock*和Peter bulmer *工业和制造工程，宾夕法尼亚州立大学，大学公园，PA 16802, USA Human Centered Solutions, 8746 Tall Grass Place, Lone Tree, CO 80124, USA三十年前，在过程控制工厂发生的非常明显的灾难，如三里岛核电站和联合碳化公司的博帕尔化工厂(Woods等人，1987;Perrow(1999)发起了一场认知人体工程学的革命。研究人员开始发展理论和方法，将人和机器作为复杂系统整合在一起(Woods & Roth, 1988;Rasmussen et al.， 1994)。作为该领域的先驱，Vicente和Rasmussen(1992)解决了监督控制和人为错误的问题，后来扩展到广泛使用的概念，如认知系统工程(Rasmussen等人，1994)和认知工作分析(Vicente, 1999)。自他们在电力行业的研究调查以来，技术进步极大地改善了分布式控制系统(dcs)与先进的控制技术，如模型预测控制器(MPCs)和实时优化器(RTOs)。这期特刊的目的是报告当前在先进过程控制方面的研究成果。这个问题分为三个主题
{"title":"Human Factors in Advanced Applications for Process Control","authors":"L. Rothrock, P. Bullemer","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.1001707","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.1001707","url":null,"abstract":"Ling Rothrock* and Peter Bullemer* Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA Human Centered Solutions, 8746 Tall Grass Place, Lone Tree, CO 80124, USA Thirty years ago, highly visible disasters at process control plants, such as the Three Mile Island nuclear plant and Union Carbide’s Bhopal chemical plant (Woods et al., 1987; Perrow, 1999), launched a revolution in cognitive ergonomics. Researchers began to develop theories and methods that integrated humans and machines as complex systems (Woods & Roth, 1988; Rasmussen et al., 1994). As pioneers in the area, Vicente and Rasmussen (1992) addressed issues in supervisory control and human errors, which later broadened to widely used concepts, such as cognitive systems engineering (Rasmussen et al., 1994) and cognitive work analysis (Vicente, 1999). In the years since their research investigations in the power industry, technological advances have greatly improved distributed control systems (DCSs) with advanced control techniques, such as model predictive controllers (MPCs) and real-time optimizers (RTOs). The purpose of this special issue is to report on current research efforts in advanced process control. The issue is divided into three topics","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"2 1","pages":"119 - 120"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21577323.2014.1001707","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60123867","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-10-02DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.1000468
Raghavendra Polakonda, Subhashini Ganapathy
OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS This study found that the use of a mobile computing system for field operations in a petrochemical plant allowed operators to get information “at a glance” from various process variables, which could substantially improve operators’ situational awareness. Use of mobile devices can provide an operator with the flexibility of interacting through touch and easy in/out zooming, reducing musculoskeletal stress and facilitating improved human–computer interaction. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Process control and maintenance systems have been used in the petrochemical and refining industry for improving operator performance and workforce efficiency. Design aspects, associated with retrieving and reviewing information, directly affect the ability to make timely and quality decisions in high-stakes environments, such as a petrochemical plant where time-critical decision-making contexts are involved. Hence, there is a need to understand how advances in mobile computing, sensor technologies, software algorithms, and computational methods can provide the possibility for easy access to information anytime and anywhere.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the effectiveness and use of mobile software systems in presenting information for process control and maintenance systems. This article focuses on identifying interface design of process control elements on a mobile form factor that can improve the performance of field operators. Methods: An empirical study was conducted to study the effect of information presentation of petrochemical operations control on mobile devices for field operators. Results: Results indicate that the interface designed for mobile systems is easy to use and is effective for the operator to control the elements while maintaining situational awareness of the process information. Conclusion: As mobile computing becomes ubiquitous and control operations become distributed, the adoption of mobile systems for field operations will be more prevalent in the near future. This study sets the foundation by providing design guidelines for developing a user interface for mobile devices supporting process control information. This research can be extended to integrate sensor information for device information and for intelligent information presentation based on location-based services.
{"title":"Mobile Computing for Field Operator Control: Petrochemical Plant Operations Case Study","authors":"Raghavendra Polakonda, Subhashini Ganapathy","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.1000468","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.1000468","url":null,"abstract":"OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS This study found that the use of a mobile computing system for field operations in a petrochemical plant allowed operators to get information “at a glance” from various process variables, which could substantially improve operators’ situational awareness. Use of mobile devices can provide an operator with the flexibility of interacting through touch and easy in/out zooming, reducing musculoskeletal stress and facilitating improved human–computer interaction. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Process control and maintenance systems have been used in the petrochemical and refining industry for improving operator performance and workforce efficiency. Design aspects, associated with retrieving and reviewing information, directly affect the ability to make timely and quality decisions in high-stakes environments, such as a petrochemical plant where time-critical decision-making contexts are involved. Hence, there is a need to understand how advances in mobile computing, sensor technologies, software algorithms, and computational methods can provide the possibility for easy access to information anytime and anywhere.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the effectiveness and use of mobile software systems in presenting information for process control and maintenance systems. This article focuses on identifying interface design of process control elements on a mobile form factor that can improve the performance of field operators. Methods: An empirical study was conducted to study the effect of information presentation of petrochemical operations control on mobile devices for field operators. Results: Results indicate that the interface designed for mobile systems is easy to use and is effective for the operator to control the elements while maintaining situational awareness of the process information. Conclusion: As mobile computing becomes ubiquitous and control operations become distributed, the adoption of mobile systems for field operations will be more prevalent in the near future. This study sets the foundation by providing design guidelines for developing a user interface for mobile devices supporting process control information. This research can be extended to integrate sensor information for device information and for intelligent information presentation based on location-based services.","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"2 1","pages":"169 - 178"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21577323.2014.1000468","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60123710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-10-02DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.991461
Benjamin Noah, Jung-Hyup Kim, L. Rothrock, A. Tharanathan
OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS Three alternate visualization displays, currently being used in industry to represent similar high-level process conditions, were evaluated here regarding their relative effectiveness in terms of operator performance and situation awareness in an industrial control room environment. A “surface chart” visualization outperformed the other two displays (“heat map” and “visual thesaurus”) in detection and response time performance measures, though there were no significant differences in situation awareness. The surface chart visualization presents display designers with a potential improvement over more traditional visualizations that use features that are similar to heat map and visual thesaurus. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Different types of visualizations are currently being used in refinery control rooms across the globe. In these multi-task environments, operators must properly interact with technology to acquire situation awareness so that they can prevent and respond effectively to abnormal situations. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to identify which visualization of three alternate overview displays (surface chart, heat map, and visual thesaurus) better promotes operator performance and situation awareness in a dual-task environment. Methods: A total of 48 operators participated in a human-in-the-loop test bed simulating a crude oil process monitoring task. Dependent measures included situation awareness, click accuracy, response time, perceived workload (NASA task load index), and secondary task performance (multi-attribute task battery). The experiment used a 3 (display type) × 2 (complexity level) × 2 (trial) mixed-factorial design. Results: The surface chart display was superior in response time and accuracy in detection of gauge state changes. The surface chart also outperformed the heat map display on a portion of the secondary task. No differences were observed for perceived workload and situation awareness between displays. Conclusions: The single graphical object used within the surface chart display may have attributed to the higher detected performance measures. Additionally, it is also suggested that the surface chart may require less effort to detect state deviations due to the noted benefits within the literature on integrating information and using moving lines instead of changes in color. The implications of these findings are that there may exist two levels of a “high-level overview display” for the process industry, one that efficiently shows how a process is running via a single integrated object and another that shows a breakdown of a process through multiple graphical objects.
{"title":"Evaluating Alternate Visualization Techniques for Overview Displays in Process Control","authors":"Benjamin Noah, Jung-Hyup Kim, L. Rothrock, A. Tharanathan","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.991461","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.991461","url":null,"abstract":"OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS Three alternate visualization displays, currently being used in industry to represent similar high-level process conditions, were evaluated here regarding their relative effectiveness in terms of operator performance and situation awareness in an industrial control room environment. A “surface chart” visualization outperformed the other two displays (“heat map” and “visual thesaurus”) in detection and response time performance measures, though there were no significant differences in situation awareness. The surface chart visualization presents display designers with a potential improvement over more traditional visualizations that use features that are similar to heat map and visual thesaurus. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Different types of visualizations are currently being used in refinery control rooms across the globe. In these multi-task environments, operators must properly interact with technology to acquire situation awareness so that they can prevent and respond effectively to abnormal situations. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to identify which visualization of three alternate overview displays (surface chart, heat map, and visual thesaurus) better promotes operator performance and situation awareness in a dual-task environment. Methods: A total of 48 operators participated in a human-in-the-loop test bed simulating a crude oil process monitoring task. Dependent measures included situation awareness, click accuracy, response time, perceived workload (NASA task load index), and secondary task performance (multi-attribute task battery). The experiment used a 3 (display type) × 2 (complexity level) × 2 (trial) mixed-factorial design. Results: The surface chart display was superior in response time and accuracy in detection of gauge state changes. The surface chart also outperformed the heat map display on a portion of the secondary task. No differences were observed for perceived workload and situation awareness between displays. Conclusions: The single graphical object used within the surface chart display may have attributed to the higher detected performance measures. Additionally, it is also suggested that the surface chart may require less effort to detect state deviations due to the noted benefits within the literature on integrating information and using moving lines instead of changes in color. The implications of these findings are that there may exist two levels of a “high-level overview display” for the process industry, one that efficiently shows how a process is running via a single integrated object and another that shows a breakdown of a process through multiple graphical objects.","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"2 1","pages":"152 - 168"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21577323.2014.991461","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60124711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-09-25DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.964812
Mark C Schall, Nathan B Fethke, Howard Chen, Anna S Kitzmann
Background: Ophthalmologists report a high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms, particularly of the neck and shoulders. Improving the design of equipment used in the clinical environment may reduce exposures to physical risk factors (e.g., sustained muscular exertions and non-neutral postures) associated with neck and shoulder pain among ophthalmologists.
Purpose: To compare estimates of neck and shoulder muscle activity and upper arm posture during use of conventional and alternative examination equipment common in clinical ophthalmologic practice.
Methods: Fifteen ophthalmologists performed one mock clinical examination using conventional equipment and one mock clinical examination using alternative equipment with the potential to reduce exposure to sustained muscular exertions and non-neutral upper arm postures. The alternative equipment included a slit-lamp biomicroscope with inclined viewing oculars, adjustable elbow supports, and a wider table-top with more room for supporting the arms in comparison to the conventional slit-lamp biomicroscope. A wireless binocular indirect ophthalmoscope was also evaluated that had a more even weight distribution than the conventional design. Measurements of upper trapezius and anterior deltoid muscle activity, upper arm posture, and perceived usability were used to compare the conventional and alternative equipment.
Results: In comparison to the conventional slit lamp biomicroscope, the alternative slit lamp biomicroscope led to (i) 12% to 13% reductions in upper trapezius muscle activity levels, (ii) a 9% reduction in left anterior deltoid muscle activity levels, and (iii) a 15% reduction in the percentage of work time spent with the left upper arm elevated in positions greater than 60°. In addition, participants rated the comfort and adjustability of both the alternative slit lamp biomicroscope and binocular indirect ophthalmoscope more favorably than the conventional equipment.
Conclusions: The results suggest that the alternative slit-lamp biomicroscope may help to reduce overall muscular demands and non-neutral postures of the neck and shoulder region among ophthalmologists.
{"title":"A Comparison of Examination Equipment Used During Common Clinical Ophthalmologic Tasks.","authors":"Mark C Schall, Nathan B Fethke, Howard Chen, Anna S Kitzmann","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.964812","DOIUrl":"10.1080/21577323.2014.964812","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Ophthalmologists report a high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal symptoms, particularly of the neck and shoulders. Improving the design of equipment used in the clinical environment may reduce exposures to physical risk factors (e.g., sustained muscular exertions and non-neutral postures) associated with neck and shoulder pain among ophthalmologists.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To compare estimates of neck and shoulder muscle activity and upper arm posture during use of conventional and alternative examination equipment common in clinical ophthalmologic practice.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Fifteen ophthalmologists performed one mock clinical examination using conventional equipment and one mock clinical examination using alternative equipment with the potential to reduce exposure to sustained muscular exertions and non-neutral upper arm postures. The alternative equipment included a slit-lamp biomicroscope with inclined viewing oculars, adjustable elbow supports, and a wider table-top with more room for supporting the arms in comparison to the conventional slit-lamp biomicroscope. A wireless binocular indirect ophthalmoscope was also evaluated that had a more even weight distribution than the conventional design. Measurements of upper trapezius and anterior deltoid muscle activity, upper arm posture, and perceived usability were used to compare the conventional and alternative equipment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In comparison to the conventional slit lamp biomicroscope, the alternative slit lamp biomicroscope led to (i) 12% to 13% reductions in upper trapezius muscle activity levels, (ii) a 9% reduction in left anterior deltoid muscle activity levels, and (iii) a 15% reduction in the percentage of work time spent with the left upper arm elevated in positions greater than 60°. In addition, participants rated the comfort and adjustability of both the alternative slit lamp biomicroscope and binocular indirect ophthalmoscope more favorably than the conventional equipment.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The results suggest that the alternative slit-lamp biomicroscope may help to reduce overall muscular demands and non-neutral postures of the neck and shoulder region among ophthalmologists.</p>","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"2 2","pages":"105-117"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10174276/pdf/nihms-1861477.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9461423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2014-09-03DOI: 10.1080/21577323.2014.958632
A. W. Siegel, J. Schraagen
OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS This article describes an observational study at a rail control post to measure workload weak resilience signals. A weak resilience signal indicates a possible degradation of a system's resilience, which is defined as the ability of a complex socio-technical system to cope with unexpected and unforeseen disruptions. A method based upon a weak resilience signal framework introduces a new metric, stretch, to measure the signals. Stretch is a subjective or an objective reaction of the system to an external cluster event and is an operationalization of variables in an earlier stress–strain model. The stretch ratio between the subjective and objective stretch are used to identify workload weak resilience signals. Weak resilience signals identified during real-time operation revealed obstacles that influence the resilience state and enabled actions to anticipate and mitigate changes to maintain the resilience of the system. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Continuous performance improvement of a complex socio-technical system may result in a reduced ability to cope with unexpected and unforeseen disruptions. As with technical and biological systems, these socio-technical systems may become “robust, yet fragile.” Resilience engineering examines the ability of a socio-technical system to reorganize and adapt to the unexpected and unforeseen. However, the resilience doctrine is not yet sufficiently well developed for designing and achieving those goals, and metrics are needed to identify resilience change. Purpose: A new approach was explored to identify changes in the resilience of a rail system around the workload boundary to anticipate those changes during normal operations and hence improve the ability to cope with unexpected and unforeseen disruptions. Methods: A weak resilience signal framework was developed with a resilience-state model for a railway system, resulting in a generic, quantifiable, weak resilience signal model. Two workload measurements (i.e., external cognitive task load and integrated workload scale) were combined into a new metric called stretch. Heart rate variability was used for correlation and validation. An observational study was used to measure workload weak resilience signal through workload quantification at an operational rail control post. Results: A theoretical resilience-state model for a railway system was developed and used to generate a generic quantifiable weak resilience signal model, forming a weak resilience signal framework that is the basis for a method to measure workload weak resilience signal through a new metric called stretch with three variations: objective stretch, subjective stretch, and stretch ratio. A component of the subjective stretch is the integrated workload scale, for which a real-time tool was developed for measuring and monitoring. Workload weak resilience signals identified at a rail control post triggered analysis to reveal anticipated obstacles. Conclusions: A resi
{"title":"Measuring Workload Weak Resilience Signals at a Rail Control Post","authors":"A. W. Siegel, J. Schraagen","doi":"10.1080/21577323.2014.958632","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/21577323.2014.958632","url":null,"abstract":"OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS This article describes an observational study at a rail control post to measure workload weak resilience signals. A weak resilience signal indicates a possible degradation of a system's resilience, which is defined as the ability of a complex socio-technical system to cope with unexpected and unforeseen disruptions. A method based upon a weak resilience signal framework introduces a new metric, stretch, to measure the signals. Stretch is a subjective or an objective reaction of the system to an external cluster event and is an operationalization of variables in an earlier stress–strain model. The stretch ratio between the subjective and objective stretch are used to identify workload weak resilience signals. Weak resilience signals identified during real-time operation revealed obstacles that influence the resilience state and enabled actions to anticipate and mitigate changes to maintain the resilience of the system. TECHNICAL ABSTRACT Background: Continuous performance improvement of a complex socio-technical system may result in a reduced ability to cope with unexpected and unforeseen disruptions. As with technical and biological systems, these socio-technical systems may become “robust, yet fragile.” Resilience engineering examines the ability of a socio-technical system to reorganize and adapt to the unexpected and unforeseen. However, the resilience doctrine is not yet sufficiently well developed for designing and achieving those goals, and metrics are needed to identify resilience change. Purpose: A new approach was explored to identify changes in the resilience of a rail system around the workload boundary to anticipate those changes during normal operations and hence improve the ability to cope with unexpected and unforeseen disruptions. Methods: A weak resilience signal framework was developed with a resilience-state model for a railway system, resulting in a generic, quantifiable, weak resilience signal model. Two workload measurements (i.e., external cognitive task load and integrated workload scale) were combined into a new metric called stretch. Heart rate variability was used for correlation and validation. An observational study was used to measure workload weak resilience signal through workload quantification at an operational rail control post. Results: A theoretical resilience-state model for a railway system was developed and used to generate a generic quantifiable weak resilience signal model, forming a weak resilience signal framework that is the basis for a method to measure workload weak resilience signal through a new metric called stretch with three variations: objective stretch, subjective stretch, and stretch ratio. A component of the subjective stretch is the integrated workload scale, for which a real-time tool was developed for measuring and monitoring. Workload weak resilience signals identified at a rail control post triggered analysis to reveal anticipated obstacles. Conclusions: A resi","PeriodicalId":73331,"journal":{"name":"IIE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors","volume":"43 1","pages":"179 - 193"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2014-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/21577323.2014.958632","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"60124140","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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